2012 Toyota Prius Electrical System

The hybrid system fails to enter “Ready” mode with no SMR engagement audible from the junction box. Dashboard displays ABS, brake, engine, and master warning lights. OBD codes include U0142, U0155, and previously U0073 . Rear brake lights function normally when pedal is pressed. Dealer said to pay 250$ for diagnostic and diagnosed incorrect voltage from brake light switch and quoted $348.94 to replace, but refused to proceed with open safety recall J0V / 18V684 (NHTSA 18V684000) citing inability to achieve “Ready” mode. Recall covers inverter failure leading to loss of motive power. Dealer declined to jump 12V battery or use external power to perform required software update and inverter inspection. Vehicle remains inoperable and poses safety risk due to sudden power loss potential. Component (inverter G9200-47141) available for inspection. Problem confirmed by dealer diagnostics. No police or insurance inspection. Warning lamps appeared after 12V battery replacement three months ago.

The accelerator wasn’t pushing down after I turned a corner then the lights in attached photo appeared. The power inverter needs to be replaced and since my car had the J0V software update in 2/2019, and the recall update came out in 3/2019, it was not linked to my vin as it should’ve been. The update to J0V (attached) should have been posted w my vin, correct? They are fixing it under customer support but refuse to tow it or give me rental bc they are saying it isn’t a recall issue, when the document below says it applies to all cars that needed J0V. I want to be sure all cars that had recall service before the March2019 update get this update linked to their vin.

Odometer Fraud. The contact’s son recently purchased a 2012 Toyota Prius. The vehicle was a private sale. After the purchase, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy based on the Carfax report. At the time of purchase, the vehicle displayed 137,000 miles. However, the Carfax report listed the mileage as 281,586 miles, and the current mileage on the vehicle was 151,103.

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.

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.

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 NHTSA.GOV WEBSITE. TOYOTA REFUSES TO INCLUDE MY VIN UNDER RECALL.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS V. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP, THE CONTACT TURNED LEFT WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL DEPRESSED HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO EXCEED 9 MPH. THE CONTACT DROVE THE VEHICLE HOME AND HAD VEHICLE TOWED TO LIBERTY TOYOTA (4397 ROUTE 130 SOUTH BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY 08016, (609)-386-6300) TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE MECHANIC LOCATED THE FAILURE AT THE INVERTER. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 95,000.

VEHICLE WAS SERVICED FOR SAFETY RECALL J0V. AFTER SERVICE, IN CAR ELECTRONICS SYSTEMS DID NOT WORK PROPERLY: NAVIGATION, BLUETOOTH/PHONE INTEGRATION, AUDIO SYSTEM. DEALER REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT RECALL SERVICE WAS RESPONSIBLE.

HEADLIGHTS BURN OUT IN LESS THAN 6 MONTHS DUE TO DEGRADATION OF THE WIRING HARNESS. AS THE VEHICLE AGES, HEADLIGHT LIFE DECREASES DRAMATICALLY. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD. IN THE MOST RECENT BULB FAILURE, BOTH BULBS FAILED ON THE SAME DAY - AND ONLY BECAME APPARENT THAT NIGHT..

CAR HORN STOP WORKING , IF THE STEERING WILL ITS TURN HALF WAY EITHER WAY IT WORKS , THE CAR ITS NOT THAT OLD FOR ELECTRICAL TO DO THAT

HORN STOPPED WORKING IN NOVEMBER 2018. DEALER TELLS ME THAT THERE IS AN OPENING IN THE SPIRAL CABLE WHICH IS CAUSING HORN NOT TO WORK. ENTIRE SPIRAL CABLE NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD DRIVER'S AIRBAG RECALLED ONCE, MAYBE TWICE. DID SPIRAL CABLE GET DAMAGED IN ONE OF THESE RECALLS? I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A RECALL IN EARLIER TOYOTAS WITH SAME PART, BUT NOT THIS YEAR AND MODEL, WONDERING IF THERE SHOULD BE.

THE CAR LOCK DOORS NO LONGER WORK AND MUST BE LOCKED AND UNLOCKED MANUALLY. WENT TO TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND REPLACED REMOTE BATTERY TO NO END. NOW ATTEMPTING TO ISOLATE THE PART THAT IS CAUSING THE PROBLEM WITH ALL FOUR DOORS. SAFETY IS AN ISSUE BECAUSE, IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT, I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO EXIT THE VEHICLE DUE TO DOOR LOCKING MALFUNTION.

BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT LOW BEAM HEAD LIGHT BULBS FAIL IN 6 MONTHS OF LESS

ON MY WAY HOME I SUDDENLY SAW A SIGN ON THE SCREEN "CHECK THE HYBRID SYSTEM. STOP IN A SAFE PLACE". I PULLED OVER, SMELLED SMOKE AND SAW SMOKE IN THE REAR. I OPENED THE TRUNK ANS FRIGHTENED BY FLAME. I PULLED THINGS OUT AND COVERED THE FLAME WITH TWO BIG TOWELS AND SUCCEEDED IN PUTTING IT OUT, ALTHOUGH I GOT BURNED ON MY FINGERS. I CALLED GEICO. THEY SENT A TOWING CAR AND IT TOOK MY CAR TO MY APARTMENT. WHEN GEICO TOOK MY CAR TO A COLLISION CENTER, THEY SAID IT IS TOTAL LOSS AFTER INSPECTING IT. I CLAIMED IT TO TOYOTA. THEY INSPECTED IT, BUT SAID THAT THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THAT THE CAR HAD ELECTRICAL OR MECHANICAL DEFECT. I DID NOTHING BUT DRIVING THE CAR, BUT IT CAUGHT FIRE. WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS THAT? I BELIEVE THE PRODUCER SHOULD TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY BUT THEY DO NOT. WHERE CAN I BE COMPENSATED FOR THE LOSS?

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 17V718000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR REPAIR. THE CONTACT RECEIVED THE RECALL NOTICE IN NOVEMBER OF 2017. THE DEALER (THOUSAND OAKS TOYOTA, 2401 THOUSAND OAKS BLVD, THOUSAND OAKS, CA 91362) STATED THAT THE PART FOR THE REPAIR WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALSO CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT THE PART WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT RODENTS CHEWED THROUGH THE AIR FILTER AND WIRING IN THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THIS ISSUE OCCURRED THREE TIMES. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO AN UNKNOWN DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE AIR FILTER AND WIRING NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT IT WAS AN OUTDOOR ISSUE AND PROVIDED NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

MY 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS'S DASHBOARD INDICATORS (ODOMETER, WARNING SIGNS AND EVERYTHING) SHOWED SYMPTOMS OF DISAPPEARING MOMENTARILY DURING SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR 2016. UPON RESTARTING, IT USED TO COME BACK. HOWEVER, ON FEBRUARY 18, 2017, THE DASHBOARD LIGHT WON'T COME BACK EVEN AFTER MULTIPLE TIME RESTARTING. DROVE TO WORK IN THAT CONDITION HOPING THE DASHBOARD INDICATORS WILL COME BACK BUT THEY DIDN'T. MADE AN APPOINTMENT WITH DEALERSHIP TO CHECK IT OUT ON MONDAY. BEFORE THE APPOINTMENT, THE INDICATORS CAME BACK SO I CANCELLED THE APPOINTMENTS. WHEN DISCUSSING THE PROBLEM WITH A FRIEND, I WAS TOLD THAT TOYOTA IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND HAVE EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR SUCH REPAIRS. UPON HEARING THIS, I CALLED TOYOTA CUSTOMER SERVICE TO INQUIRE AND WAS TOLD THAT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY IS EXPIRED AND CAN'T FIX THE PROBLEM UNDER WARRANTY. DRIVING WITHOUT THE DASHBOARD LIGHTS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT TOYOTA SHALL ADDRESS FOR ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS V. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V449000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AFTER THE TRACTION CONTROL WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE RESTARTED AND WAS ABLE TO BE DRIVEN IN THE LIMP-HOME MODE AND FAILED TO ACCELERATE PAST 40 MPH. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE INVERTER FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,475.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND ALL OF THE WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE RESTARTED BUT WAS NOT ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD OR REVERSE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT WAS AWARE OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V053000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM) HOWEVER, THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 53,000.

OVER THE LAST NINE MONTHS I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE BULBS IN MY 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS 6 TIMES. WHEN I BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALER THEY STATED THAT IT WAS BECAUSE I WAS NOT USING TOYOTA CERTIFIED BULB AND I PAID OVER $150 TO HAVE THEM INSPECT THE HEADLIGHTS AND REPLACE THE BULBS. AFTER I HAD THE CERTIFIED BULBS INSTALLED, A BULB WENT OUT AGAIN. WHEN I RETURNED TO THE DEALER, I WAS TOLD THAT I NEEDED NEW WIRING FOR A COST IN EXCESS OF $250.00. THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT TSB-0204-12 WAS ISSUED FOR FOR 2010-11 PRIUS FOR THIS PROBLEM AND THAT THE 2012 PRIUS HAVE THE EXACT SAME WIRING HARNESS, BUT THAT TOYOTA WAS NOT GOING TO FIX THAT PROBLEM FOR TEH 2012 MODELS AND THAT I WOULD HAVE TO ABSORB THE COST MYSELF.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS V. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND FAILED TO RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE INTELLIGENT POWER MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED OR THE SOFTWARE NEEDED TO BE UPDATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V053000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM). THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 67,000. ...UPDATED 07/30/15 *BF UPDATED 9/23/15 *JS

WHEN OUR NEIGHBOR WITH A 2013 PRIUS KEY FAB ENTERS OUR 2011 PRIUS IT DISABLES THE IGNITION. IT WILL SOMETIMES ALLOW THE CAR TO START BY TOUCHING OUR KEY FAB TO THE IGNITION BUTTON HOWEVER IF ENGINE STOPS, LIKE AT A STOP LIGHT, IT WILL DISABLE THE IGNITION AGAIN NOT ALLOWING YOU TO START THE CAR UNLESS YOU PUT YOUR KEY FAB UP TO THE START BUTTON AGAIN. THE DEALER KNEW ABOUT THE SITUATION AND AGREED IT IS A SAFETY HAZARD BUT SAID TOYOTA WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. *TR

MY 2012 PRIUS V HAD ABOUT 3000 MILES ON THE SPEEDOMETER WHEN I BEGAN TO NOTICE THAT FROM A START, WHEN I WOULD PUT THE LEVER INTO DRIVE IT WOULD GO INTO REVERSE. IT IS VERY INTERMITTENT. I CANNOT MAKE IT DELIBERATELY HAPPEN. I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP OVER THIS ISSUE TWICE. THEY COULD NOT GET THE CAR TO MAKE THE SHIFTING ERROR. BECAUSE THEY CANNOT REPLICATE THE ERROR, THEY WILL NOT GIVE CREDIBILITY TO THE PROBLEM. THIS PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED PROBABLY 20 TIMES SINCE IT BEGAN HAPPENING. I AM NOW KEEPING A LOG ON EACH OCCURRENCE. IT HAS BEEN INSINUATED THAT I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO SHIFT THIS VEHICLE. AFTER WATCHING THE HOW TO SHIFT VIDEO, I DON'T THINK THE DEALERSHIP UNDERSTANDS THE SHIFTING MECHANISM. HOWEVER, THIS DID MAKE ME MORE CONSCIOUS OF MY ACTIONS DURING SHIFTING. I ACTUALLY DID CATCH THE SHIFTING PROBLEM AS IT OCCURRED. MY HAND WAS ON THE LEVER IN THE DRIVE POSITION WITH THE HAND PRESSURE BEING DOWN. THE CAR WAS IN REVERSE WITH THE BEEPING AND CAMERA ON WITH THE LEVER IN FULL DRIVE POSITION. I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT THE CAR WILL GO INTO REVERSE AND I WOULD NOT BE AWARE OF IT BECAUSE I HAD PUT IT INTO DRIVE. THIS IS AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS V. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH, SMOKE EMITTED FROM THE DASHBOARD AND THE VEHICLE'S MILEAGE FLUCTUATED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT HER INSULIN PUMP MALFUNCTIONED WHILE IN THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE SMOKING FAILURE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED BUT THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE SMART KEY'S FREQUENCY INTERFERED WITH THE INSULIN PUMP. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED ABOUT THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 156.

BOUGHT CAR ON 1/23/13 AND DROVE HOME. NEXT DAY GOT A CALL THEY FORGOT TO GIVE US ACCESS KEY SO DROVE 27 MILES TO DEALERSHIP AND SMOKE ON DASHBOARD. PULLED INTO SERVICE AND SALES MANAGER GOT IN CAR DROVE AROUND AND SAID ALL IS FINE. CAME HOME AN ODOMETER SHOWED 564 MILES AFTER I DROVE 27 THERE AND 27 BACK. THE CAR HAD 156 NIGHT WE BOUGHT IT THE DAY BEFORE. WE ARE OLD AND DISABLED AND DO NOT DRIVE OFTEN. ODOMETER NOW SHOWING ALMOST 900 MILES IN LESS THEN THE 3 WEEKS WE HAVE OWNED IT. REPORTED THE SMOKE ON DASHBOARD TO TOYOTA CORP OFFICE AND TOLD THEM HOW HOT THE DASHBOARD GOT AND ODOMETER JUMPING. THE MAN THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY AND SAID HE HOPED I DID NOT BURN MY HAND. NOW NAV SYSTEM NOT WORKING AND RADIO SOUNDS TINNY. CALLED LAKELAND TOYOTA AND TALKED TO OWNER [XXX] WHO SAYS HE IS AN ACCOUNTANT AND KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT CARS. TOOK CAR TO ANOTHER DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD NAV SYSTEM SOFTWARE 2.1 SHOULD BE A 2.2 AND CLAIMED TO HAVE IT UPDATED. THE CAR THEN ADDED ANOTHER 100 MILES AGAIN. WE NEED HELP TO MAKE SURE CAR IS SAFE TO DRIVE AND NEED MILES TO STOP ADDING UP EVEN WHEN WE ARE NOT DRIVING. ALSO THE HISTORY ON MPG ONE TIME SHOWED 99.9 AND THEN 26 AND THEN 44.7 AND THEN 49. WE HAD TO PUT GAS IN IT THREE TIMES IN IT IN LESS THEN 3 WEEKS BECAUSE GAGE ON DASHBOARD KEEPS SHOWING GETTING LOW BUT THEN IT ONLY TAKES 6 GALLONS. I PUT NO FOR FIRE BUT I DID SEE SMOKE ON THE DASH ABOVE THE COMPUTER AND IT WAS VERY VERY HOT. SO NOT SURE IF THERE WAS AN ELECTRICAL FIRE OR NOT OR JUST A SURGE OR SHORT. NO ONE WILL HELP ME. NEED HELP. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR