2012 Toyota Prius problems and complaints
Owners have filed 687 complaints with NHTSA about the 2012 Toyota Prius. The most-reported areas: Service Brakes (343), Electrical System (89), Engine (71).
Key takeaways
- 687 owner complaints on file with NHTSA.
- 71 involve a crash, 4 a fire, 49 reported injuries.
- Complaints are unverified owner reports; recalls are confirmed defects.
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes | 343 | 50% |
| Electrical System | 89 | 13% |
| Engine | 71 | 10% |
| Unknown Or Other | 54 | 8% |
| Air Bags | 43 | 6% |
| Exterior Lighting | 42 | 6% |
| Visibility/Wiper | 32 | 5% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 31 | 5% |
| Power Train | 31 | 5% |
| Structure | 28 | 4% |
| Steering | 24 | 3% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 18 | 3% |
One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
| Version | Overall | Front | Side | Rollover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Toyota Prius 5 HB FWD | 5/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 |
Latest complaints, as filed
Owner-written and unverified by NHTSA.
Service Brakes - filed 2026-10-01
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 fluid is not low. This...
Service Brakes - filed 2026-09-18
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 able to pull over safely...
Air Bags - filed 2026-08-18
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 windshield slowly crack...
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More for the 2012 Toyota Prius
Complaints are reports filed by owners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them, and counts rise with how many cars were sold, so compare years of the same model rather than different models. Crash ratings are NHTSA's own 5-Star Safety Ratings results.