NHTSA Complaint #11707166 — 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS

My 2012 Toyota Prius plug in hybrid had just passed state inspections and was even looked at by a dealership a year ago with no reported issues. I brought up a whirring issue at the dealership when breaking but the dealership said that’s normal for a hybrid. In a matter of minutes while driving, the traction light, brake light, and ABS light came on as well as a groaning, whirring sound when breaking. Over time, the breaks failed and I could not stop the car, almost causing a wreck because I could not stop without putting all my body weight on the break pedal. When taking it to the Toyota dealership for a whole diagnostic, they said it was a break actuator and break booster failure that is known to happen with Prius’s. They quoted me $3000 for a repair and then marked my breaks as yellow not red on their sheet implying I could still drive it despite the dangerous situation of driving without functioning breaks. When looking into it, this seems to be a known and common problem with Prius’s due to a faulty manufactured part. Codes were c1391, wc1256, and c1252. I believe this part should be recalled and Toyota should fix these faulty parts, especially considering they inspected my car and did not mention it as an issue despite it being a known issue. I got a second opinion from Mavis Tires and they concurred with the diagnosis but could not fix it.