2012 Toyota Prius C Recalls
No NHTSA recalls on record for the 2012 Toyota Prius C. That means NHTSA has no open safety campaign for this vehicle — it does not guarantee the absence of problems. Owners have filed 88 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Complaints by component
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“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…”
“While driving 65 mph on the expressway on january 12th, 2026 under cruise control, I tapped my brakes to slow down. My brake warning light came on, along with the abs warning light, and the anti-swerve warning light. Cruise control no longer worked, and my brakes were noticeably hard to apply. I…”
“While driving 65 mph on the expressway on january 12th, 2026 under cruise control, I tapped my brakes to slow down. My brake warning light came on, along with the abs warning light, and the anti-swerve warning light. Cruise control no longer worked, and my brakes were noticeably hard to apply. I…”
“Brakes went soft with little braking power. Traced the fault code to a faulty braking actuator; toyota says this is past the coverage date for the recall.”
“I own a 2012 toyota prius c with approximately 156,578 miles. The vehicle has been diagnosed with c1391 – abnormal leak in accumulator, which causes the brake actuator to lose hydraulic pressure. This results in frequent buzzing from the actuator pump, illuminated warning lights (brake, abs,…”
“Brake actuator and abs accumalator failed. It is a common failure reported by multiple owners on these cars. I was on the high way going 70 when it failed and lost any brake boost I had putting me in a very dangerous situation where I narrowly avoided an accident. Upon scanning the car's codes I…”
“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,…”
“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,…”
Defect investigations
Drivability, Service brake failure
On January 3, 2013, NHTSA received a letter (ODI No. 10487746) from Ms. Jessie A. Powell petitioning the agency to investigate drivability and braking concerns in the subject vehicle.The petition expressed two concerns: 1. The first software problem was when the vehicle shifted from battery to motor and caused such…
Pedestrian alert sounds
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2012 Toyota Prius C as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.