2009 Toyota Prius Brakes
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
I JUST FOUND OUT YESTERDAY AFTER A VISIT TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP SERVICE CENTER THAT THE ABS BRAKE ACTUATOR ON MY 2009 PRIUS HAS FAILED AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. I WAS QUOTED AT $1750 FOR THE PART AND $605 FOR THE LABOR, PRE-TAX. I DID SOME ADDITIONAL RESEARCH ON THIS ISSUE AND FOUND THAT THERE WAS A WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM ' ZG1 SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS PART AND ISSUE. (HTTPS://TOYOTATALK.COM/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2018/09/T-CP-ZG1-A110-D-1.PDF) IN LATE 2018 I FIRST REPORTED CLICKING AND KNOCKING IN MY BRAKES, AND LAST TIME I WENT FOR SERVICE (BEFORE TODAY) I REPORTED IT TO THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE. THE PROGRAM WAS FOR 10 YEARS AFTER THE DATE OF ORIGINAL SALE, WHICH ENDED IN APRIL 2019. BECAUSE THE BAD PART LASTED 6 MONTHS LONGER I DON'T FEEL THAT IT IS RIGHT FOR ME TO HAVE TO PAY FOR THE FAULTY WORKMANSHIP IN THE VEHICLE FROM THE FACTORY WHEN IT FIRST DROVE OFF THE LOT. THE ISSUE THAT I REPORTED BACK THEN ARE THE PRELIMINARY SIGNS OF THE ACTUATOR GOING BAD (HTTPS://PRIUSCHAT.COM/THREADS/BRAKE-ACTUATOR-WARRANTY-EXTENSION-FROM-TOYOTA.168243/) HAD THIS ISSUE BEEN CAUGHT I WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT WINDOW AND WOULD NOT BE IN THE HOLE I AM NOW WHERE I AM SITTING AT HAVING TO SPEND HALF THE VALUE OF MY CAR TO FIX IT. MY ISSUE IS THAT I DO NOT FEEL THAT IT IS RIGHT FOR ME TO BE ON THE HOOK FOR THIS PART SINCE TOYOTA HAS ITSELF CONFIRMED THE PART WAS FAULTY WHEN IT WAS PUT ON MY VEHICLE AND WAS HONORING REPLACEMENTS. IT SEEMS A LITTLE UNFAIR THAT TOYOTA WOULDN'T ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MY PART IS FAULTY AND REPLACE IT AS SOON AS IT CAME TO LIGHT. WHAT CAN I DO TO GET SOME RELIEF FOR THIS MATTER BECAUSE I NEED MY CAR TO BE FUNCTIONAL TO GET TO WORK AND PAY MY BILLS!
BRAKE WARNING LIGHT BROKEN BRAKE ACTUATOR SYSTEM TOYOTA DEALER REFUSING TO FIX THIS SAFETY HAZARD UNDER THE WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT NOTIFICATION ZG1
BRAKE ACTUATOR NOT WORKING PROPERLY WHEN I USE THE DIAGNOSTIC SETTINGS IT WORKS BUT THEN AFTER A WHILE IT STOPS WORKING AGAIN. WAS GOING 50 ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN BRAKES STOPPED WORKING ALMOST WRECKED. BRAKE LIGHT (!) LIGHT ABS LIGHT AND VSC LIGHT ARE ALL ON.
SOMETIMES THE BRAKES DON'T WORK. IT HAPPENED TO ME AS I WAS EXITING A PARKING SPOT , I'VE PUT THE GEAR IN REVERSE WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE BUT THA CAR KEPT MOVING AND THE BRAKE PEDAL FELT HARD.
THE ABS AND OTHER BRAKE WARNING LIGHTS GO ON RANDOMLY AND THE BRAKES BECOME STIFF. TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID IT IS DUE TO THE BRAKE ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY. THE ABS ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY PART WAS PART OF AN EXTENDED TOYOTA WARRANTY UNDER NOTIFICATION ZG1. HOWEVER MY VEHICLE JUST MISSED THE DEADLINE FOR THE WARRANTY BY THREE MONTHS. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE FOR TOYOTA AS THEY KNOW THIS PART HAS A HIGH FAILURE RATE. WARRANTY SHOULD BE EXTENDED IN ORDER TO COVER REPAIRS. FILED A CASE WITH TOYOTA, CASE # 1901312287.
FOUR LIGHTS CAME ON: EMERGENCY BRAKE, ABS, VSC, EXCLAMATION POINT AN ALARM WILL SOUND AND THE BRAKES WILL GO OUT WHILE DRIVING IN NEIGHBORHOODS AND ON THE HIGHWAY. ABS ALSO TURNS ON WHEN CAR IS OFF.
WHEN BRAKING HARD, THE BRAKES LOSE ALL PRESSURE, GO STRAIGHT TO THE FLOOR AND WARNING LIGHTS COME ON. AS SOON AS BRAKES ARE RELEASED THE LIGHTS GO OFF AND BRAKES AGAIN HAVE PRESSURE AGAIN. TOYOTA EXTENDED THE WARRANTY ON THIS PART, BUT IT IS WAS EXPIRED BEFORE PROBLEMS AROSE.
PRIUS DASHBOARD LIGHTS UP WITH BRAKE LIGHT, ABS AND VSC LIGHT. RAN DIAGNOSTIC CODES AND TOOK TO DEALERSHIP- SAID VEHICLE WAS PART OF BRAKE ACTUATOR MANUFACTURER MALFUNCTION. DEALERSHIP WOULD NOT RESOLVE ISSUE DESPITE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IT WAS A MANUFACTURE DEFECT. CONCERNED FOR MY SAFETY BECAUSE BRAKES ARE NOT WORKING WELL. CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THEY WONT DO ANYTHING.
TOYOTA KNOWS THERE IS A SYSTEMIC ISSUE WITH THE BREAK ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY IN 2004-2009 MODEL YEAR PRIUS VEHICLES, AND HAVE ISSUED A "WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM - ZG1" TO EXTEND THE WARRANTY COVERAGE FOR REPAIRS RELATED TO THIS PART. MY CAR IS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING A MALFUNCTION IN THIS PART, BUT TOYOTA IS UNWILLING TO HONOR THE WARRANTY BECAUSE THERE ARE NO WARNING LIGHTS APPEARING ON THE DASH. THE BREAKS FEEL LIKE THEY WILL FAIL AT ANY MOMENT, POSING A CLEAR SAFTETY CONCERN. I WAS LITERALLY TOLD THAT MY WIFE IS TO DRIVE OFF THE LOT, WITH FAILING BREAKS, HOPING THEY FAIL EVEN FURTHER SO THAT WARNING LIGHTS APPEAR, BUT NOT SO MUCH THAT THEY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.
I WAS DRIVING 10-15 MPH IN THE MIDDLE OF MY SMALL TOWN, COMING UP A SLIGHT HILL ON A STREET THAT LEVELED OUT SHORTLY BEFORE THE SITE OF THE ACCIDENT. AS I DROVE UP ONTO THE LEVEL PART OF THE STREET, I SAW THAT THERE WAS A LONG LINE OF CARS STOPPED AHEAD OF ME, WAITING FOR A TRAFFIC LIGHT TO CHANGE. I WAS ABOUT 2-3 CAR LENGTHS FROM THE LAST CAR IN THE LANE OF TRAFFIC, WHEN THE LAST CAR IN THE LINE OF CARS AHEAD OF ME BRAKED VERY SUDDENLY, AND AS I WAS COMING UP TO THAT CAR, I ALSO STEPPED HARD ON MY BRAKES - AND - MY BRAKES COMPLETELY FAILED! I WILL HAVE NIGHTMARES FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE OF THOSE NEXT FEW MOMENTS OF PRESSING ON THE BRAKE AND SEEING MY CAR IGNORE ME AND CONTINUE FORWARD, RIGHT INTO THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. AND, I FELT THAT MY CAR ACCELERATED, AS THE BRAKES FAILED, WHICH MADE THE SITUATION EVEN WORSE. MY CAR HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME (CAR #2) WHICH HIT CAR #3, WHICH HIT CAR #4. MY CAR WAS DECLARED A TOTAL LOSS, THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME WAS BADLY DAMAGED AND HAD TO BE LOADED ONTO A FLATBED TRUCK OF THE COLLISION COMPANY. CARS #3 AND #4 COULD BE DRIVEN AWAY; CAR #3 HAD SOME DAMAGE TO THE FRONT AND BACK OF THE CAR, WHILE CAR #4 HAD SOME SCRATCHES ON THE REAR BUMPER. I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF ANY SAFETY RECALL FOR THE BRAKES OF THIS CAR, BUT I WAS OFTEN ALARMED WHEN THE BRAKES SEEMED TO SLIP OR NOT WORK FOR A FEW SECONDS EACH TIME THAT I DROVE OVER A SMALL BUMP, POTHOLE, MANHOLE COVER, ETC. DURING THE SIX YEARS THAT I OWNED AND DROVE THIS CAR. THERE ARE MANY OTHER PRIUS DRIVERS THAT HAVE WRITTEN TO THE EDMUND.COM AND OTHER WEBSITES TO TELL OF THEIR SIMILAR ACCIDENTS OR NEAR ACCIDENTS. PLEASE WARN THE PUBLIC AND PARTICULARLY PRIUS OWNERS OF THIS DANGER. THESE CARS ARE NOT SAFE! *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AND FAILED TO RESPOND. IN ADDITION, THE BRAKE, THE VSC, AND THE ABS WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 98,500.
COMING OUT OF THE GROCERY STORE I STARTED MY 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS AND I NOTICE THAT IT LOST BRAKING POWER AND THE ABS,VSC,(!),AND EMERGENCY BRAKE LIGHTS STAY ON. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND THERE IS A RECALL FOR 2009 PRIUS CONCERNING THIS PROBLEM, BUT ONLY ON VEHICLES MANUFACTURED BETWEEN 3/2009-10/2009 MINE WAS MANUFACTURE ON 10/2008. I THINK THE RECALL SHOULD BE ON ALL 2009 MODELS REGARDLESS OF MANUFACTURING DATE. THERE ARE MANY OWNERS ONLINE COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS ISSUE. MY WIFE AND CHILDREN WHERE SCARED, AND I COULD OF EASILY HURT SOMEONE WALKING IN FRONT OF MY CAR AT THE GROCERY'S STORE PARKING LOT. I CAN'T DRIVE THIS CAR ANYMORE PLEASE EXTEND THE RECALL TO ALL 2009 MODELS REGARDLESS OF MANUFACTURING DATE. THANK YOU. *JS
SINCE I PURCHASED THE PRIUS IN EARLY 2012 WITH LESS THAN 60,000 MILES, I ALWAYS NOTICED THAT WHEN BRAKING OVER ROUGH SURFACES, THE ABS WOULD KICK IN AND WOULD DELAY THE BRAKING BY AT LEAST 1/2 SECOND PER ABS/STABILITY CONTROL EVENT. WHILE I HAD NEVER HAD AN INCIDENT INITIALLY, THERE WERE MANY CLOSE CALLS. AFTER TALKING WITH THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALERSHIP, THEY SAID IT WAS PERFORMING AS EXPECTED AND THAT I WAS NOT USED TO THE CAR'S HANDLING CHARACTERISTICS. HOWEVER, ON 6/4/2013, THE BRAKING SYSTEM PERFORMED ITS USUAL DELAY AND DID NOT ALLOW ME TO STOP IN TIME, THEREBY REAR-ENDING ANOTHER PERSON IN A CONSTRUCTION ZONE OVER A ROUGH ROADWAY. THIS NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING THAT NHTSA LOOKS INTO FOR A RECALL SITUATION. THERE ARE TOO MANY COMPLAINTS ALREADY FOR THEM JUST TO IGNORE THIS WHEN THERE ALREADY HAS BEEN A RECALL OF THE 2010 PRIUS FOR THE SAME ISSUE. *TR
I PURCHASED MY 2009 PRIUS 3 YEARS 4 MONTHS AGO. I NOTICED A STRANGE NEW SOUND COMING FROM THE ENGINE. IT WAS A RATTLING NOISE EVERY 15 SECONDS OR SO LASTING APPROXIMATELY 3-4 SECONDS THEN STARTING OVER 15 SECONDS LATER CONSTANTLY REPEATING THIS CYCLE. IT CONTINUED WHEN THE CAR WAS OFF OR ON. I BROUGHT IT IN TO MY TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. THEY CALLED ME THE NEXT DAY WITH VERY UNSETTLING NEWS SAYING IT WAS THE "BRAKE ACCUMULATOR" AS IT WAS LOSING BRAKE PRESSURE AND THE NOISE WAS IT TRYING TO BUILD THE BRAKE PRESSURE BACK UP BUT IT WASN'T HOLDING. HE SAID IT WOULD COST $2,700 TO REPAIR. MY SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE SAID THIS IS A PART THAT SHOULD NOT FAIL AND HAS NEVER BEEN REPLACED BEFORE AT THIS DEALERSHIP. IT WAS A FIRST FOR THEM. I WAS VERY UPSET AS THIS SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING IN A 3.5 YEAR OLD CAR WITH ONLY 66,500 MILES ON IT THAT HAS BEEN IMPECCABLY MAINTAINED. THE MORE RESEARCH I DID, I SAW THIS WAS OCCURRING QUITE OFTEN IN CAMRY HYBRIDS ALONG WITH THE PRIUS. THIS IS A PART THAT SHOULD NOT BE FAILING AT ALL ESPECIALLY IN NEWER CARS. IF THIS PART IS NOT REPLACED IT CAN LEAD TO CATASTROPHIC BREAK FAILURE. THIS SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED AND ADDED TO TOYOTA PRIUS'S NEVER ENDING RECALL LIST! THIS IS THE LAST TOYOTA I WILL OWN. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE EXITING A PARKING SPACE, THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED AND THE VEHICLE DID NOT RESPOND. THE VEHICLE INSTEAD ACCELERATED WHILE THE CONTACT HAD THE BRAKE DEPRESSED. THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO A TRUCK. THE CONTACT DID NOT SUSTAIN INJURIES. THE PASSENGER DID SUSTAIN SOME MINOR CUTS AND A MINOR HIT TO THE HEAD. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED OR REPAIRED. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WAS PRESENT AND A POLICE REPORT WAS AVAILABLE. THE VEHICLE HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN REPAIRED UNDER THE RECALL ASSOCIATED WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 09V388000 (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: ACCELERATOR PEDAL). THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE UNDER 15,000.
I WAS APPROXIMATELY 8 OR 9 CAR LENGTHS FROM A VEHICLE THAT SLAMMED ON HER BRAKES BEFORE HITTING THE CAR IN FRONT OF HER, SO I STOOD UP ON MY BRAKES AT ABOUT 30 -35 MPH. THE CARS BRAKES DID NOT GRAB FOR ABOUT A SECOND, THEN STARTED TO GRAB RIGHT BEFORE IMPACTING THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. *JS
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Quick Summary
The 2009 Toyota Prius has 41 Brakes complaints on file. 5 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.