"How reliable is the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid?"

"Based on 31 NHTSA complaints, the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid has a median complaint mileage of 88000 miles. The most common issue is SERVICE BRAKES."

"What are common problems with the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid is SERVICE BRAKES, accounting for a significant portion of the 31 total complaints filed."

2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 31 complaints

Total Complaints

88,000mi

Median Mileage

SERVICE BRAKES

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

64,000 25th Percentile

88,000 Median Mileage

115,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SERVICE BRAKES

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

ENGINE

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

POWER TRAIN

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CAR WAS PARKED AND THE CHARGE CORD CONNECTED. IT HAD ABOUT 2.9 MILES LEFT ON BATTERY POWER, BY THAT CALCULATION IT SHOULD BEEN CHARGED BY 1100P. AT 1230P CAR WAS FULLY ENGULFED IN FIRE. FIRE DEPT IS INVESTIGATING FOR ARSON, BUT MY NEIGHBORS CAMERA CAUGHT IT ALL (I HAVEN'T SEEN IT) IT SEEMS THE CAR J..."

"I HAVE HYBRID SYSTEM WARNING MESSAGE & PCS SYSTEM WARNING MESSAGE ON MY CAR I HAVE TAKEN IT TO DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP IN DALLAS TX AREA ANY NONE OF THEM HAS FIX IT TRY TO DO RESEARCH ON MY OWN TO FIGURE OUT AND FOUND THAT TOYOTA HAS THIS IN RECALL MY DEALERSHIP IS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING ..."

"TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG-IN HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER AND THE VEHICLE STALLED SEVERAL TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO REPLICATE AND DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFI..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28