2012 Toyota Prius C electrical problems

Filed Oct 13, 2026 · Airbags, Electrical · 165,000 miles · VA · crash · 1 injury

The contact owned a 2012 Toyota Prius C. The contact stated that while attempting to park, the vehicle rapidly accelerated upon tapping the brake pedal and crashed into a brick storefront without warning. The air bags failed to deploy upon impact. A bystander inside the store assisted the contact in exiting the vehicle. Law enforcement responded to the scene and administered a breathalyzer test, which returned negative for alcohol. A police report was filed, noting minor scratch damage to the storefront's concrete. The contact did not seek immediate medical attention; however, she sustained soreness in her upper arms and upper legs, as well as driving-related anxiety in a rental vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was inspected and deemed a total loss by an insurance adjuster. The contact stated that two days prior to the crash, the vehicle had surged forward without warning when the brake pedal. The dealer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 165,000.

Filed Mar 5, 2026 · Electrical · 98,015 miles · PA

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Prius C. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the message "Check Hybrid Status - Stop vehicle in Safe Place Immediately" was displayed. There were several warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with an internal power module transmitter and MG control computer inside the inverter assembly failures. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact called an independent mechanic, and DTC: P0A94 (DC/DC converter or inverter performance problem invertor assembly) was associated with the failure. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 98,015.

Filed Jun 2, 2025 · Brakes, Electrical · PR

I am writing to express a complaint regarding the issues I have experienced with the brake system of my Toyota Prius C, 2012 model. For the past several months, I have noticed that the brakes exhibit strange noises, soft pedal sensation, reduced braking efficiency, were driving and the ABS, traction, brake, and that other light turned on and the brakes became slow these issues have been observed on multiple occasions and pose a safety risk to myself, other drivers, and pedestrians. I have taken the vehicle for inspection, but the problems persist or have not been definitively resolved. I believe these faults may be related to defects in the braking system, and therefore I request a thorough inspection and necessary repairs at no cost, considering that the manufacturer could be responsible for manufacturing defects.

Filed Jun 30, 2024 · Brakes, Electrical · NY

While my daughter was driving brake pedal faded and rear brakes locked up causing her to lose initial control of car . Steering felt tight . Many warning lights , check hybrid system , brake lights , steering warning lights , along with abs lights came on . Took car to Toyota dealer to diagnose it needs brake booster and master cylinder module . Service consultant said known issue with TSB but it had expired . Many , many complaints of this same incident of Toyota and Prius forums .

Filed Oct 25, 2022 · Electrical, Engine · VA

I was driving on the expressway and experienced a sudden loss of power. The internal combustion engine suddenly stopped and did not deliver any power to the wheels. I immediately received a message on the system that said 'Check Hybrid System Stop Vehicle in a Safe Place'. The electric motor still continued to provide some power with the available battery charge. I was able to make it to the shoulder of the road but it was challenging to get to the shoulder with no power or warning and high speed traffic. My wife and I were in the vehicle. The vehicle had no engine or error codes until the failure on the expressway. The vehicle has the code P0A1A and P0A94. This is consistent with the error codes in the federal safety agency 19V491000 recall and Toyota Safety Recalls E0E and F0R.

Filed Oct 22, 2021 · Electrical · NM

I was driving going 45mph when my car shut off and wouldn't start back up. It almost caused an accident from it stopping in the middle of the highway. The master warning light, brake system warning light, warning buzzer ABS warning light and the slip indicator light came on as also the message center reading to have the hybrid system checked immediately. I did have ot towed on for a diagnosis and it came back saying i needed a new inverter power module this will cost $2000 . i cant afford that. I read all over the internet how there is. Safety recalls. When i called toyota they said there are no recalls so now im stuck paying this. Not happy at all!!! If there are anymore 2012 prius with this problem please write a complaint so we can get this on recall and have the company cover the cost of repair.

Filed Sep 10, 2021 · Electrical · CA

I was driving with my 10 year old son on local city streets. I was approaching a busy intersection while going approximately 35 miles when my car just turned off with an error message about the hybrid system failing. I stopped the car and put it in park while trying to turn the car back on, but I kept getting the same hybrid system error message. While the stoplight was red, I got my son out of the car and over to the sidewalk because this was a dangerous situation where anyone not paying attention could've slammed into my stalled car (see picture of black Toyota Prius). I called AAA to get it towed. About 20 minutes later, a cop car pulled up to block my stalled car and then got it pushed to the side of the road (picture attached) because of how dangerous it was sitting there blocking traffic at a major intersection. My car was taken to Cabe Toyota dealership where they diagnosed it with a failed IPM card, which would cost around $4,000 to replace. I did a simple Google search and found that 80,000 Prius from 2012 - 2014 have been recalled for this EXACT reason. There have also been class action lawsuits surrounding this IPM failure due to its extreme safety risks to anyone inside a car that will just die in the middle of driving it, especially when their fail-safe system does not get triggered with this particular IPM failure. As of right now, the car is available for inspection because it's still at Cabe Toyota. The invoice shows that the IPM card needs to be replaced. There were NOT any warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms prior to the car shutting off while driving it. It had been running just fine.

Filed Jan 8, 2021 · Electrical · 126,000 miles · OR

2012 prius c sudden inverter failure caused car to stall on busy street, putting driver at serious risk. Car is well maintained newer model with moderately low mileage and no prior issues. Car is no longer operable until inverter is replaced. Toyota has had prior lawsuits, complaints and recalls due to inverter failure. My specific VIN was not included in recall, but same incident occurred as described in recall bulletins posted by toyota and complaints on website. Toyota refuses to include my VIN under recall.

Filed Sep 12, 2019 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 107,931 miles · FL

Takata recall from the date of purchase, vehicle performed unpredictably. I took my car to the toyota dealership and they found that the hybrid battery needed to be replaced. When I drive 45 MPH, the vehicle will stall and all indicator illuminate on the instrument panel. In the middle of the road, the car will stall. Toyota does not stand by their product. My car goes completely dead. Every warning light turns on and its blinking.

Filed Aug 5, 2019 · Electrical, Lights · 100,250 miles · MD

I've had to replace the light bulb on my passenger side headlight constantly over the past couple of months. I heard that there was a recall on the wiring harness of the 2012 regular prius and I'm wondering if the issue has been looked at in the prius c models.