2012 Toyota Prius V

The 2012 Toyota Prius V has 4 recalls, the most serious involving the hybrid system inverter, which can overheat or receive excessive voltage and cause the vehicle to stall or lose drive power without warning.

All three powertrain recalls point to the same inverter assembly. Depending on conditions, the inverter can shut the hybrid system down entirely, leaving the car without motive power in traffic, or it can force the vehicle into a reduced-power mode where only limited forward progress is possible before the car stops. In either case, warning lights on the instrument panel will typically signal the problem, but the loss of power can happen quickly enough to create a hazard, particularly at highway speeds or in heavy traffic. Prior repair attempts did not fully resolve the issue, which is why multiple recall campaigns exist for the same underlying component.

The fourth recall applies only to certain aftermarket replacement tail lights sold for this vehicle. These lights have the brake and tail light circuits wired in reverse, so the brake lights glow continuously at all times and then go dark when the brake pedal is pressed, which is the opposite of what following drivers expect. That behavior removes the visual cue that the car is slowing, making a rear-end collision more likely. This recall affects only vehicles where those specific aftermarket tail lights were installed as a replacement part.