Selling a Prius v with brake or hybrid trouble

The Prius v was the family's wagon, a US model for 2012 through 2017. Its NHTSA record is short and lopsided: brakes make up about half of it.

The wagon in brief

There was one generation and one powertrain. Toyota built every Prius v at its Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Japan, from May 2011. It paired the 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle four with a 1.3 kWh nickel-metal hydride battery, for 134 hp in all, through a single planetary gearset. The EPA rated it at 41 mpg combined in 2012 and the same in 2017. US trims were the Two, Three and Five. US sales ended after the 2017 model year; they had been falling since the RAV4 Hybrid went on sale for 2016.

Brake booster leaks, 2012-2014

Service brakes lead the complaint list for each model year 2012-2015, and 233 of all 477 complaints name them. The brake booster itself is named in 105 of the 425 complaints on the 2012-2014 cars.

Toyota's bulletin T-SB-0089-20, dated September 4, 2020, describes the pattern on 2012-2014 cars. The brake, ABS or TRAC light comes on, or the dash shows "Check VSC", and the computer stores one of four codes: C1391, C1252, C1256 or C1253. The cause is a small brake fluid leak inside the booster assembly. The repair replaces the booster with its master cylinder, along with the booster pump.

Four days later Toyota started Customer Support Program 20TE07 for about 118,950 of these cars, built through mid-November 2014. It covered a new booster and pump at Toyota dealers through December 31, 2021 at any mileage. After that, cover lasted until the car hit a decade in service or 150,000 miles. Almost every car in the program is now past those 10 years, so a failed booster today is usually the owner's bill.

Three inverter recalls

Between them, three campaigns reach every Prius v model year. Each is free at a Toyota dealer.

• 15V449, for 2012-2014 cars built through June 30, 2014: a part inside the inverter can overheat, cutting power or shutting the hybrid system off. It covers 108,624 cars, all Prius v. The fix is a software update, offered from July 30, 2015.
• 18V684, for 2012-2014 cars: excess voltage in the Intelligent Power Module can shut the hybrid system down and stall the car. Its 807,329 vehicles include the 2010-2014 Prius liftback. Software again, from January 22, 2019.
• 20V369, for 2014-2017 cars that 18V684 missed: the same voltage fault. Its 266,638 vehicles include the 2013-2015 Prius liftback. Along with the software, a car whose inverter has already failed with certain fault codes gets the inverter repaired.

Only 24 complaints name the inverter.

Other complaints and recalls

Engine is the second-largest complaint area at 52, and 28 of those are on the 2012. Across all years, 19 complaints mention a head gasket. On 2014-2015 cars built November 7, 2013 to January 7, 2015, the passenger occupant sensor could be miscalibrated so the air bag might not deploy (15V013, 4,971 cars); dealers recalibrate it. The 2012 also appears in a Southeast Toyota Distributors recall for passenger seat sensors out of calibration, which covered 3,235 vehicles across many models (13V014).

Prius v complaints and recalls by year

Pulled from NHTSA's files on October 10, 2026. "Name the booster" counts complaints whose text mentions the brake booster. A recall counts in each model year it lists, so the column sums to more than the five campaigns.

Repair it or sell it?

Line up the shop's estimate against the going price of a healthy Prius v from your year. Before that, check three things:

1. Inverter recalls. NHTSA's recall lookup shows whether any are open on your VIN. A car that shuts down with an inverter campaign still open belongs at a Toyota dealer before anything else.
2. Brake warning lights. Ask a dealer for the stored codes. If they are C1391, C1252, C1256 or C1253, the booster is the likely part, and the dealer can say whether 20TE07 still covers your VIN.
3. Engine trouble. If a head gasket or worse is the diagnosis, our blown engine guide walks through the decision.

Selling your Prius v

1. Find the VIN and odometer reading, and note each fault, warning lights included.
2. Get an offer online or call (877) 421-6008.
3. Say where it's parked (curbside, in a driveway, at a shop) and if it rolls in Neutral.
4. Keep the hybrid battery, catalytic converter and wheels on the car. Pulled parts lower the price, so be upfront about any.
5. Hand over the signed title, the keys and a copy of your ID at pickup. Plate and paperwork rules by state are in after you sell.

Also see the Prius, Prius c and Prius Prime, or every Toyota we cover.