TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID · model year

2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID

31 NHTSA complaints, 3 crash reports, and 2 active recalls for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2012TOYOTAPRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID carries 31 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 3 crashes, 1 fire, 6 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2012 PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID is service brakes with 10 filings, followed by unknown or other (4) and electrical system (3). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 2 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 51 investigation files overlapping the 2012 PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

31
Complaints
3
Crashes
1
Fires
6
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

31 filings

Crashes Reported

3 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
SERVICE BRAKES10
UNKNOWN OR OTHER4
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM3
ENGINE2
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL2
POWER TRAIN2
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC2
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)1
HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM1
EXTERIOR LIGHTING1
STEERING1
SUSPENSION1
WHEELS1

Recalls (2)

16V48700030/06/2016

AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Toyota Prius, 2010 and 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, and 2011-2012 Lexus CT200h vehicles. A weld in the curtain shield air bag inflator may crack causing one or both portions of the inflator to eject int

17V71800015/11/2017

HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2012-2015 Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicles. The hybrid battery contains an Electric Vehicle (EV) fuse that may fracture after repeated high-load driving conditions such as climbing long hills.

Recent Complaints

20240821SERVICE BRAKES

1. The ABS system failed upon inspection at a dealership. Specifically the ABS accumulator and booster. 2. The ABS system put us at risk by failing prematurely, and traction control and ABS functions seemingly stopped working while driving on the road. 3. Yes, dealership confirmed the issue with a full diagnostic, and the part has a customer support program bulletin/TSB out for this specific issue. 4. inspected by manufacturer dealership service center. 5. Lights such as the parking brake, ABS, and (!) lit up while driving and the failure occurred at the same time.

20240525SUSPENSION

Today 05/25/2024 noticed a slight camber on the right rear wheel. Jacked up the car and removed the right rear to take a closer look and realized the rear axle/subframe was splitting in half along the weld point. If I hadn't caught this today and my daughter was driving it I'm confident she or others would have been killed or severely injured since most of her driving is highway related. The part that is blowing my mind is the vehicle was at the dealership twice in the last month and no one noticed when on a lift. The car is now permanently on jack stands till it can be repaired. I'm not sure it will even hold together to get onto a tow truck. I will not attempt driving do to safety specially others. I witnessed a tire go through a vehicle resulting in the death of someone.

20240525WHEELS

Today 05/25/2024 noticed a slight camber on the right rear wheel. Jacked up the car and removed the right rear to take a closer look and realized the rear axle/subframe was splitting in half along the weld point. If I hadn't caught this today and my daughter was driving it I'm confident she or others would have been killed or severely injured since most of her driving is highway related. The part that is blowing my mind is the vehicle was at the dealership twice in the last month and no one noticed when on a lift. The car is now permanently on jack stands till it can be repaired. I'm not sure it will even hold together to get onto a tow truck. I will not attempt driving do to safety specially others. I witnessed a tire go through a vehicle resulting in the death of someone.

20240404SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving down a winding road, the brake warning light and brake message suddenly activated and while depressing the brake pedal, the pedal extended to the floorboard and the vehicle would not immediately stop. The vehicle was later taken to the local service center who diagnosed that the brake booster, brake master cylinder, and brake booster pump assembly were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the vehicle did not qualify for the manufacturers extended coverage regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000.

Mileage: 130,000

20240216CrashSERVICE BRAKES

I was driving less than 55mph on freeway on February 5, 2024 when my vehicle went into an out of control spin, Brakes did not seem to work and unable to control vehicle until hit center divider on freeway, Spun 180 degrees and kept going back with no braking until hit center divider.

20240216CrashSTEERING

I was driving less than 55mph on freeway on February 5, 2024 when my vehicle went into an out of control spin, Brakes did not seem to work and unable to control vehicle until hit center divider on freeway, Spun 180 degrees and kept going back with no braking until hit center divider.

20240216CrashVEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

I was driving less than 55mph on freeway on February 5, 2024 when my vehicle went into an out of control spin, Brakes did not seem to work and unable to control vehicle until hit center divider on freeway, Spun 180 degrees and kept going back with no braking until hit center divider.

20231005SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the stabili-trak, ABS, and a several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated there were also audible alarms being sounded. The contact depressed the brake pedal and the brake pedal failed to respond. The contact stated that she was able to coast the vehicle off the highway and shifted into park(P) and turned off the vehicle. The contact turned off and turned on the vehicle and attempted to depress the brake pedal; however, the brake pedal was abnormally firm. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the brake booster pump assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

Mileage: 130,000

20230918SERVICE BRAKES

2012 level 5 plug-in I was driving on the freeway with radar cruise control and the vehicle dash lit up with check pcs system ever warning light came on the brake petal was not there as normal it would go about half way down to engage very scary I took it to the dealership service said I need new brake booster installed not covered under warranty 130k miles

20230504SERVICE BRAKES

Brakes failed while I was slowing down for a speed trap; if I had been stopping for traffic I would have been in somebody's back seat. There was already a class action lawsuit about this that Toyota settled out of court. We were supposed to receive notice about the extended warranty related to this but did not; additionally the dealership lied to us on two different occasions about our brakes being fine after they started behaving differently. If the dealership hadn't lied in both 2020, and 2022, my life wouldn't have been in jeopardy, and we wouldn't be paying thousands of dollars to fix a defective part. Why are you putting so many people's lives at risk by not forcing Toyota to issue a recall? All their hybrid braking systems over a decade of models have this issue. The hybrid specialist mechanic we ended up with said he sees several cars a week with this issue.

20230116SERVICE BRAKES

The brake booster pump started pressuurizing frequently last year around 140,000 miles. Error lights and less responsive breaks this year so I called Toyota service they said bring it in. They said repair is over $3000. The mileage was just over 150000 and just over 10 year extended warranty I didn't know about for this problem coded c1391

20221106SERVICE BRAKES

The brake pressure pump comes on every 2 seconds. The warning lights on the dash are on for brakes and abs. The car still stops but it reacts slower to pedal pressure. Dealer says it needs master cylinder and actuator pump for 3000$ at least. It is available for inspection, has 155,000 miles now, but pump has been hyperactive for about 12 mo. May be a hazard now, may fail completely ,I don't know. But too expensive to me to fix. Has only been inspected by autonation Toyota, not police etc. Pump was overactive for a year but right after anautomatic car wash the lights came on an the brake pedal got mushy. Then I called dealer. Apparently a common problem that was a recall for 2010 and silent recall after for later model gen 3s.

20220825SERVICE BRAKES

I bought a first generation Toyota Prius PHEV in 2012. Apparently a Customer Support Program notice was sent out two years ago which I never received. For the last year or so my Prius has made a hissing sound when I stepped on the brakes unless I push extra hard on the pedal. Didn’t think anything of it until last month several lights went off. I took it to Big O Tires and they added brake fluid and the lights went away. Next month it went off again, I took it back and they suggested taking it to a dealer. I take it to Tustin Toyota they diagnose it as a Brake Booster and Pump problem. My issue is that I never received a mailer or email like I did for previous recalls. I did transfer ownership to my wife a while back, so I don’t know if that DMV administrative change impacted the mailer. It is a safety concern as my wife drives our two kids and the brake had signs but we did not take it in to the dealer until the failure lights lit up 11 months after the expiration. Is there a c

20210111SERVICE BRAKES

MY 2012 PLUG-IN PRIUS CAME UP WITH A C1391 CODE. THE ABS, BRAKE AND BRAKE SKID LIGHTS CAME ON. I HAVE NO RE-GEN BRAKING AND WHEN I ACTUALLY BRAKE IT SEEMS VERY SLUGGISH.

Mileage: 135,000

20200325UNKNOWN OR OTHER

WHILE STOPPED IN A PARKING LOT, FOOT BRAKE PRESSED,TRANSMISSION IN DRIVE, WHEN OPENING DRIVERS DOOR AND FOOT BRAKE RELEASED CAR STILL MOVES FORWARD. IT SHOULD GO INTO PARK AUTOMATIC BUT DOES NOT.

Mileage: 90,000

20200103EXTERIOR LIGHTING

HEADLIGHTS KEEP BURNING OUT. BOTH SIDES. ABOUT EVERY FOUR MONTHS. THIS IS DANGEROUS!!! AND UNNECESSARILY EXPENSIVE!!!

Mileage: 10,500

20190727POWER TRAIN

AUTO STOPPED. ENGINE RUNNING. BRAKE PEDAL PRESSED. TRANSMISSION IN DRIVE. WHEN OPENING DRIVER DOOR AND RELEASING BRAKE PEDAL, CAR MOVES FORWARD. VIN INCLUDED IN ATTACHED FILE.

Mileage: 125,000

20190220HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE ECO MODE SHOWED LESS FUEL PER MILE. THERE WAS NO WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO NALLEY TOYOTA OF ROSWELL (404-994-5422, LOCATED AT 11130 ALPHARETTA HWY, ROSWELL, GA 30076) TO BE DIAGNOSED, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE BEGAN AFTER IT WAS REPAIRED PER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 17V718000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 1812050132. THE CONTACT WAS REFERRED TO NHTSA. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 105,000.

Mileage: 105,000

20190105ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

I'M DRIVING AROUND 60MPH AND SUDDENLY THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL LIGHT WENT ON AND THE ALL WHEELS SUDDENLY BRAKED. IT'S JUST SO DANGEROUS, GOOD THING NO BODY BEHIND ME AT THAT MOMENT. THIS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES. THE CAR COULD BRAKE SUDDENLY BY ITSELF WITHOUT WARNING EVEN WHEN IT'S HIGH SPEED OR LOW SPEED. THERE'S A CLICKING NOISE UNDER THE DASHBOARD. THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE MALFUNCTION OF ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL IN THE PRIUS. IT COULD CAUSE THE CAR BRAKE BY ITSELF WITHOUT WARNING AND COULD CAUSE BIG ACCIDENT, ESPECIALLY IN THE FREEWAY.

Mileage: 168,000

20180729ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

NOTHING HAPPENED YET, BUT I AM CONCERNED ABOUT NUMEROUS REPORTS OF THE INVERTER FAILING AND CAUSING SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER. I UNDERSTAND THIS IS STILL HAPPENING DESPITE AFFECTED CARS HAVING RECEIVED A SOFTWARE UPDATE TO "PREVENT" THE ISSUE. DURING AN EMERGENCY, REGENERATIVE SYSTEMS PREVENT THESE CARS FROM SWIFTLY COASTING OUT OF THE TRAVEL LANE AS OTHER CARS WOULD DO. INSTEAD, THE CAR WILL ACT LIKE THE BRAKES HAVE BEEN SLAMMED ON, CAUSING A SERIOUS HAZARD. I READ ABOUT THIS HERE HTTPS://TOYOTATALK.COM/TOYOTA-PRIUS-HYBRID-INVERTER/

Mileage: 54,000

Compare 2012TOYOTAPRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations 1 Open

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID have?
The 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID has 31 NHTSA complaints, 3 crashes, 1 fires, 6 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
Are there any recalls for the 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID?
Yes, the 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID has 2 recall(s). The most common affected component is AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID?
The most-complained component for the 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID is SERVICE BRAKES with 10 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include UNKNOWN OR OTHER and ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
Is the 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.