I was driving the 2012 prius on a downhill parkway at about 40 MPH when the warning light check hybrid system came on. Within 10 second, the vehicle totally lost power. It automatically shifted into neutral. There was no back up fail-safe/limp home mode. Fortunately the car was gliding downhill by gravity and eventually was steered into a driveway. Then it refused to go on ready or drive mode. On this saturday afternoon the car had to be towed home. It had to be towed again to the dealership for service the following week. It took the mechanic two days to make a diagnosis that a fuse on the main drive battery had blown. Another day was spent waiting for the part. The dealership cannot guarantee that this event will not happen again. I contacted toyota USA. An agent named michael was courteous enough to listened to me and gave me a case number 1604142245. To anyone with common sense, this total lack of an emergency alternative propulsion system for even a cheap car is unacceptable. The dealership cannot even come up with a plausible explanation as to what may have caused the fuse to blow. Was it over heating? Was there a short in some internal battery cells? This past week, I noticed that the charging part of the operation no longer can fully charge the battery to the former 11.9 mile range. It only charges up to 9.8 miles. This is a sudden loss of 2 miles of charge. I suspect that some lithium cells have been damaged after the incident. I also suspect that there may be other issues as well such as something wrong with the inverter module related to a recall on other models of prius during my search for an answer. I need assurance from someone that this vehicle is now safe to drive. Besides the case number from my complaint to toyota USA, aaa has record of my recent towings on 04/09/16 and on 04/12/16.
2012 Toyota Prius fuel system complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 17 of 17, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owned a 2012 toyota prius. While driving 60 MPH, the engine stalled. Various warning lights illuminated and a beeping noise was present. The contact's vehicle coasted to a stop and was rear ended by another vehicle. A police report was filed. The air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained injuries to the forearm that required medical attention. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v053000 (electrical system, hybrid propulsion system). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.......updated 04/01/16 *bf *js consumer stated there have been previous stalls which there have been recalls. Updated 6/7/18
I was stopped at a red light on a hill. When the light turned green, I stepped on the gas with no response. The car slid back and I braked. The panel light affirmed that the car was supposed to be in drive. Yet there was no response at all. The car seemed to be in neutral. I put the blinkers on and the cars behind me passed. The panel lights and radio were on along with the blinkers. I turned the ignition off and then turned it on again. It worked without a problem. I called the dealer who stated he had no idea what happened and there was nothing he could check. I have driven the car to various hill tops and stopped. The problem did not repeat itself. Is this car safe to drive? Is there a way to evaluate the transmission?
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 toyota prius. The contact stated that whenever he made a u-turn, the vehicle made a loud noise. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the fuel sending unit needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 15,000 and the current mileage was 16,400.
Fuel indicator on the dash showed 3 bars for remaining fuel. Vehicle ran out of fuel despite showing 3 bars. Oftentimes after tank is filled it only illuminates to 1 or 2 under the top bar instead of showing a full tank. There is obviously a problem that the car is not accurately reporting the fuel level.
Hybrid engine suddenly shut down without warning while vehicle was traveling 65 MPH on a busy freeway, causing vehicle to come an unsafe stop. Depressing accelerator had no effect. Onboard computer gave error message "check hybrid system. Stop the vehicle in a safe place." restarting vehicle produced the same error message and still unable to shift vehicle into drive or reverse. Fuel tank full at time of incident. Vehicle purchased new 5 months prior from toyota dealership. No aftermarket parts or modifications present.
When driving dashboard "hybrid system not working. Pull over..." this was 7/3/2012. It had run out of gas even though there were 2 bars out of 10 still present on gas gauge. On 7/30/12 later this happened again with 4 bars showing. Got the fuel sensor and gauge replaced on 7/30/12. 8/14/12 with 3 bars showing, cruising range of 60 miles and having gone 480 miles the same warning "hybrid system not working..." I was able to get to a gas station before running out of gas. The prius manual states the tank holds 9.5 gallons. Filling up the tank took 9.91 gallons. There is clearly something wrong. The fuel sensor and gauge have already been replaced, though. This is a major problem for a new car. This is a new model.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2012 Toyota Prius?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history