2012 Toyota Prius Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other Prius years
- Far more complaints than other years 9th of 27 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 6 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- 5 out of 5 stars
Owners have filed 424 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Toyota Prius. That ranks 9th out of 27 Prius model years for complaints. The most reported problem area is service brakes (184 complaints, 43%), typically at around 77,000 miles. Complaints mention 46 crashes, 2 fires, 33 injuries. There are 6 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 3 defect investigations involving it.
- 424owner complaints
- 6safety recalls
- 3NHTSA investigations
- 46complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2012 Toyota Prius problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes problems | 184 | 43% | 77,000 | “brake booster” (31%) | $3,700 |
| Electrical System problems | 52 | 12% | 36,600 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 36 | 8% | 80,000 | — | — |
| Engine | 31 | 7% | 77,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 31 | 7% | 91,000 | — | — |
| Air Bags | 28 | 7% | 28,500 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 28 | 7% | 850 | — | — |
| Structure | 23 | 5% | 15,708 | — | — |
| Power Train | 21 | 5% | 25,300 | — | — |
| Steering | 13 | 3% | 40,000 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 13 | 3% | 21,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 12 | 3% | 132,500 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 11 | 3% | 46,500 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 9 | 2% | 20,500 | — | — |
| Suspension | 8 | 2% | 2,200 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 7 | 2% | 102,227 | — | — |
| Hybrid Propulsion System | 6 | 1% | 79,000 | — | — |
| Seats | 6 | 1% | 21,382 | — | — |
| Wheels | 5 | 1% | 9,300 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 4 | 1% | 11,327 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Air | 4 | 1% | 99,500 | — | — |
| Equipment Adaptive/mobility | 3 | 1% | 9,851 | — | — |
| Forward Collision Avoidance | 3 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Visibility | 2 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 1 | 0% | 9,851 | — | — |
| Equipment | 1 | 0% | 4,000 | — | — |
| Insert, Padding | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Lane Departure | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Tires | 1 | 0% | — | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 1 | 0% | 106,019 | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2012 Toyota Prius recalls (6)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Hybrid propulsion system
Problem: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2010-2014 Toyota Prius and 2012-2014 Toyota Prius V vehicles. Excessive voltage in the Intelligent Power Module (IPM) within the inverter may cause the hybrid system to shut down, causing the vehicle to stall while being driven.
Risk: If the hybrid system shuts down unexpectedly, it can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the motor/generator control electronic control unit (ECU) and the hybrid control ECU as necessary, free of charge. The recall began January 22, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's number for this recall is J0V. Note: The software updates in this recall are needed even if the vehicle had the software previously updated under recalls 14V-053 or 15V-449.
Air bags:side/window
Problem: 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 into the passenger cabin.
Risk: If either portion of the curtain shield air bag inflator ejects into the passenger cabin, there is an increased risk of injury to vehicle occupants.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will install retention brackets to the curtain shield air bags, free of charge. The recall began on October 17, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota Customer Service Department at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is Toyota G0U, and Lexus GLJ.
Seats:front assembly:seat heater/cooler
Problem: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain 2005-2011 4Runner, Highlander, Sequoia, and Sienna, 2005-2010 Avalon and Tundra, 2006-2008 Camry Solara, 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid, 2006-2011 Rav4 and Tacoma, 2007-2010 FJ Cruiser, 2007-2011 Camry hybrid, 2009-2010 Venza, 2010-2012 Prius, 1988-1990 and 2005-2010 Camry, and 1989 and 2009-2010 Corolla vehicles equipped with aftermarket accessory seat heaters with a copper strand heating element. The electrical wiring in the seat heaters may be damaged when the seat cushion is compressed.
Risk: If damaged, the copper strand heating element may short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: SET will notify owners, and dealers will disconnect the seat heaters, free of charge, and refund the purchase price of the seat heater accessory. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact SET customer service at 1-866-405-4226. SET number for this recall is SET16B.
Hybrid propulsion system: inverter; electrical system:software
Problem: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2010 through 2014 Prius vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the Intelligent Power Module (IPM) inside the inverter module (a component of the hybrid system) contains transistors that may become damaged from high operating temperatures. If this occurs, various warning lamps will be illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle will have reduced power allowing it to only drive a short distance.
Risk: The vehicle may enter a fail-safe/limp-home mode that limits the drivability of the vehicle. The hybrid system could also shut down completely resulting in a vehicle stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners and dealers will update the software for both the motor/generator control electronic control unit (ECU) and the hybrid control ECU, free of charge. If an owner experiences a failure of the inverter before the vehicle receives updated software, the dealer will repair or replace the inverter assembly with a new one at no charge. The recall began on March 21, 2014. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Equipment:other:labels
Problem: Southeast Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 and 2010-2013 Toyota Tundra, 2010-2012 Rav4, 2012 Toyota Sequoia, 2010-2011 Toyota Corolla, 2010-2011 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2010-2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser, 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser, 2010-2013 Toyota Venza, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, 2010-2013 Toyota Tacoma, 2011-2012 Toyota Sienna, 2012 Toyota Prius, 2013 Scion FR-S, 2011 Scion XD, 2011 Scion XB, and 2012 Scion TC vehicles. These vehicles were sold with labels that were outside the allowable one percent of accuracy of actual weight added. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) Number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Risk: An inaccurate label could lead to owners overloading their vehicles and tires. An overloaded vehicle can result in a tire failure which may result in a vehicle crash, personal injury, or property damage.
Fix: Southeast Toyota will notify owners and provide a corrected label with instructions concerning its installation. A small group of the affected vehicles will need additonal remedies which are still being developed. The recall began on May 28, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
Seats; air bags:frontal:sensor/control module-inactive
Problem: Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) is recalling certain models interspersed through model years 2009 through 2013 as follows: model year 2009-2012 Tacoma, 4Runner, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Prius, and RAV4; model year 2009-2010 Avalon, FJ Cruiser, and Highlander Hybrid; model year 2010-2013 model year Corolla, Sienna and Tundra; model year 2009-2013 Highlander and Venza; model year 2012 Prius V; and model year 2010-2012 Sequoia. During modification by SET to include accessories such as leather seat covers, seat heaters or headrest DVD systems, these vehicles may not have had the passenger seat occupant sensing system calibration tested. Without passing the calibration test, the occupant sensing system may not operate as designed.
Risk: If the front passenger seat occupant sensing system is out of calibration, the front passenger airbags may not deploy or they may deploy inappropriately for the passenger's size and position. This could increase the risk of personal injury during the event of a vehicle crash necessitating airbag deployment.
Fix: Southeast Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will test the sensitivity of the occupant detection sensors, and recalibrate them as necessary. The recall began on March 21, 2013. Owners may contact Southeast Toyota at 1-800-301-6859.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Brake Actuator Valve Wear (DP23005) — opened Nov 22, 2023, still open.
- Pedestrian alert sounds (DP22005) — opened Jan 27, 2023, closed Aug 7, 2023, led to recall 22V063000.
- Brake Actuator Valve Wear (DP19004) — opened Sep 30, 2019, closed Jan 21, 2021.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
When I started my car this morning, the red BRAKE light, ABS warning light and anti-slip light were all illuminated. The car does still stop but the brakes are very spongy and there's a clicking noise under the hood. I only moved the car out of the driveway to allow other cars to leave. The brake…
1. My Brake booster failed/malfunctioned. I had to get it repaired/replaced by Toyota so it might be with the dealership or thrown out by now. 2. I had to take it in because I had an incident where I was unable to apply the break on the car. I was lucky enough to be in a not busy street and was…
The contact owned a 2012 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while making a left turn at 10 MPH, another vehicle crashed into the vehicle and t-boned the front passenger's side door of the vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. There was no warning light illuminated. After the impact, the front…
Brake warning lights on, buzzing sound every 10 seconds. Likely a known actuator and master cylinder issue
Brake lights icons stay on mechanic at Toyota dealership state need new brak master cylinder and booster
Other Toyota Prius years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Prius | 6 | 1 |
| 2025 Prius | 16 | 2 |
| 2024 Prius | 27 | 4 |
| 2023 Prius | 20 | 4 |
| 2022 Prius | 24 | 1 |
| 2021 Prius | 6 | 0 |
| 2020 Prius | 14 | 0 |
| 2019 Prius | 30 | 3 |
| 2018 Prius | 37 | 1 |
| 2017 Prius | 91 | 3 |
| 2016 Prius | 155 | 5 |
| 2015 Prius | 166 | 1 |
| 2014 Prius | 208 | 3 |
| 2013 Prius | 412 | 3 |
| 2012 | 424 | 6 |
| 2011 Prius | 521 | 6 |
| 2010 Prius | 2,823 | 10 |
| 2009 Prius | 502 | 6 |
| 2008 Prius | 1,497 | 4 |
| 2007 Prius | 2,003 | 4 |
| 2006 Prius | 1,439 | 6 |
| 2005 Prius | 1,051 | 6 |
| 2004 Prius | 610 | 6 |
| 2003 Prius | 99 | 1 |
| 2002 Prius | 167 | 2 |
| 2001 Prius | 165 | 3 |
| 2000 Prius | 4 | 0 |
See all Toyota Prius problems by year, every Toyota model, or the Toyota VIN decoder.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2012 Toyota Prius?
Owners most often report service brakes, electrical system, exterior lighting problems. The top one, service brakes, accounts for 184 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2012 Toyota Prius?
Yes, 6 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2012 Toyota Prius a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other Prius model years, the 2012 has far more complaints than most years, and NHTSA rates it 5 out of 5 stars overall in crash tests. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.