2013 Toyota Prius V

The brake accumulator has failed on our 2013 Prius at 170K miles. The brakes are unresponsive and all brake-related indicator lights are on. The vehicle is unsafe. This is a known issue for this model and year Prius, yet Toyota did not issue a recall. Warranties were extended to 150K miles, but this issue is a serious safety risk - danger to us and others on the road. This issue should have resulted in a safety recall, not a "courtesy" warranty extension. Toyota needs to resolve this for all affected vehicles.

I was driving at normal highway speed, all of a sudden, my dashboard lights (4) lit up. Warning lights, Brake lights, Transaction lights and ABS lights all appeared at once. There was some traffic up ahead, so I applied my brakes but noticed that they weren't as responsive as normal so had to adjust for it by applying more pressure than normal to come to a stop.

For the last few months, our brakes seem to have been making "extra" noises, but not palpably struggling to function. After driving roughly 45 minutes via high speed Interstate, parking, and then restarting the car, ALL the brake-related lights suddenly came on ((1)Brake, (2)ABS, (3)VSC, and (4)(!)). We took it slowly, off highway, w hazards on, and lots of space between other cars to the dealership. This felt scary because, although the brakes were making some strange noises, there was no way of knowing what the warning lights were specifically indicating, or if the brakes would go out. The Alexandra Toyota dealership confirms a code C1391, "abnormal leak in the Accumulator" and requires "replace brake master cylinder kit and brake booster pump assembly" This was addressed in a Toyota "customer support program": [XXX] but our car is not covered despite having less than 80,000 miles on it. In Toyota's own words this is an "internal malfunction" and ought to be covered by a full recall. As it stands, owners' vehicles would have had to show symptoms within a tiny 2.5 year window, and it's evident online that many others have experienced failures outside of that window. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius V. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH, the ABS, traction control, parking brake, and the malfunction indicator warning lights were illuminated. Additionally, the brake pedal vibrated while being depressed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and DTC: C1391 was retrieved. The dealer determined that the brake booster pump assembly and the brake booster assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the repair could not be covered under Toyota Campaign Number: 20TE07; because the program had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

[XXX] almost every light on my dash came on & my brakes locked up. I barely made it to the side of the road quickly enough to avoid being struck by traffic. On February 7, 2025. I had the brake booster assembly & master cylinder actuator replaced in my 2013 Toyota Prius V. On [XXX] it went out again. I paid my friend a total of $1600 to borrow his vehicle because rental cars charge so much for me to commute almost an hour each way to work every day. Not only have I been devastated/traumatized, I’ve paid a Mechanic $1500 twice within two months as well as almost $2500 in parts for these repairs. I’m out over $7k, and every time I get behind the wheel of the car I am afraid. I’ve never experienced a fear of driving in my life, and I am almost [XXX] years old. This is my 8th Toyota. My boyfriend drives a Toyota, as well as his son, and both of my twin boys… We are now in the process of switching our Toyotas out for something more safe. I never thought I would hear those words coming out of my mouth, but it’s clear that Toyota has no regard for our safety anymore. Not only that, but they’ve set up the recall for these parts in such a way that the majority of people are no longer within the parameters by the time the brake booster assembly fails. This is by design. I don’t know how they sleep at night, Toyota should be ashamed of themselves. I am sad to say that after 35 years of being a Toyota Family, we are all switching to Honda. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius V. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. The service brakes and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed failures with the brake booster and master cylinder assembly, resulting in an abnormal leak in the brake accumulator pressure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to the Customer Satisfaction Program: 20TE07. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 63,000.

On [XXX], multiple break lights on my dash appeared. I was told that the accumulator is leaking internally due to a known issue with Toyota's break booster system. See code C1391 referenced in TBS POL18-03 [XXX] ). I was never informed of this issue by Toyota either by letter or by a dealership despite bringing in my car for a separate recall in 2020-- within the timeframe that the repair was covered. Additionally, I was informed by Toyota that they would not cover the repair on this part unless it broke within the timeframe listed in the TBS. This is a dangerous system to commonly malfunction especially if Toyota refuses to do any preventive work to fix it, to inform their customers, or to cover it after the short timeframe. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)