Problems · by component

2008 Toyota Prius electronic stability control (esc) problems

43 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2008 Toyota Prius cite electronic stability control (esc), 3% of all 1,497 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
43
3% of all complaints
Crashes
3
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the electronic stability control (esc)

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the messages for the parking brake, tire pressure monitoring system, ABS, and VSC illuminated while driving. The vehicle was later driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the brake actuator and brake pump were faulty and needed to be replaced. The failure was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed of the Manufacturer's Extended Warranty Coverage for the failure however, the warranty had expired. The failure mileage was 129,674.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 27, 2023Service brakes, Electronic stability control (esc)ODI 11546918
“MY 2008 TOYOTA PRIUS BRAKE SYSTEM IS VERY DANGAROUS ,ON THE HI WAY SPEED OF 55 I PUSH THE BRAKE SOFTLY ,OUT OF SADDEN CAR STARTED ACTING LIKE A WILD HORSE SLIPPING TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT AND I AM AN EXPERIENCED DRIVER ON ICE,I LIVED IN M ICHIGAN FOR A LONG TIME ,SO I SURVIVED , AND ALL DRIVERS AROUND ME STOPPED AND THERE WAS NO ACCIDENT, I AM AFRAID DRIVING THAT CAR,I HAVE CALLED TOYOTA DEALER, SEEMS LIKE USE TO BE A RECALL BUT THEY HAVE SOME HESITIONS TO ACCEPT THE FAULTY,DANGAROUS BRAKE SYSTEM,I AM GOING TO COMPLAIN TO THE CEO OF THE COMPANY.GOD HELP ME,I WAS LUCKY MY FAMILY AND I SURVIVED ,MY MESSAGE TO THE TOYOTA PRIUS OWNERS IS PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK YOUR VIN NUMBER AND RECALLS,AND INSIST TO FIX THIS COMMON DEFECT ON TOYOTA PRIUS ,BY THE DEALER WITH NO CHARGES.VERY VERY UNSFE BRAKE SYSTEM. AND MY INSTRUMENT LIGHTS ARE ON AND OFF I CAN NOT SEE THE SPEED AND THE ODOMETER AND THE GAS INDICATOR,I HEARD IT WAS A RECALL BUT THE DEALERSHIP DID NOT ACCEPT IT. IF I WANT TO FIX THESE FAULTY DEFECTIVE PARTS WOULD COST ME OVER 4000 DOLLARS,TOYOTA IS RESPONSIBLE,I BELEIVE SHOULD AND MUST FIX IT FOR FREE VALUNTARLY ,”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 4, 2020Electrical system, Electronic stability control (esc), Service brakesODI 11343137
“MY BRAKE, ABS, VSC, AND (!) LIGHTS ARE ON. THE BRAKES WORK AT ROUGHLY 10% STOPPING POWER. MAKES AN AWFUL BUZZING NOISE WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED AND THE WARNING CHIME IS ON CONSTANTLY THE HIGH PITCH RING IS UNBEARABLE. I CALLED MY LOCAL TOYOTA SERVICE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THE CHAMPAGNE ENDED NOV 30TH 2017. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 19, 2020Vehicle speed control, Electronic stability control (esc), Service brakesODI 11325200
“MY CAR HAS BEEN HAVING THIS ISSUE WITH BRAKING AND DASHBOARD LIGHTS WITH 'BRAKES, ABS, VSC. HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER AND HAVE SPENT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ALREADY. REPLACED THE BRAKE SYSTEM (PADS, DRUMS, ETC..), CATALYTIC CONVERTER, HYBRID BATTERY. EVERY TIME I DRIVE OUT OUT OF THE DEALER 'ALL IS GOOD' AS CODES WERE CLEARED BUT A FEW MONTHS AFTER, THE LIGHTS ARE ON AGAIN. THESE ISSUES HAVE CAUSE ARE CAUSING MY CAR TO BE ACTING UP WHILE DRIVING AND TRYING TO BREAK AT STOP SIGNS AND CROSSING LIGHTS BY DELAYING TO STOP ON TIME. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY TOYOTA IN ASSISTING US WITH REPAIRS. UNLESS THEY'LL WAIT FOR A TRAGEDY BEFORE DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT. HAVE CALLED THE DEALER AND THEY ALWAYS SAY 'IT COULD THIS' OR 'IT COULD BE THAT'. SO FAR THE REPAIRS THEY HAVE DONE IS SUPPOSED TO FIX THE CURRENT ISSUE WITH BREAKS, LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD BUT NOW ABS CAN BE RELATED TO THE ACTUATOR AND THAT WILL COST ME AROUND $3,000! WHICH I CANNOT AFFORD ANYMORE. MY CAR IS PAID FOR AND I'VE SPENT ALMOST $7,000 IN 'REPAIRS' AND OF COURSE ALL VEHICLE'S WARRANTEES HAD EXPIRED WHEN I TOOK IT IN. IN REVIEWING MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS, THIS SEEMS TO BE AN ISSUE…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 27, 2019Electrical system, Electronic stability control (esc), Service brakesODI 11258611
“WAS PARKED IN LINE TO PICK UP CHILD FROM SCHOOL. TURNED CAR ON AND PUT IT ON DRIVE, MOVED SLOWLY WHEN PARKING BRAKE LIGHT, ABS WARNING LIGHT, TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT ALL CAME ON AND THEN MY BRAKES WENT LIMP. HAD TO PUSH ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR AND STOPPING WAS STILL HARD TO DO. ALMOST HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME WHEN SUDDENLY ALL LIGHTS WENT OFF AND BRAKES JERKED TO A SUDDEN STOP. I'M TERRIFIED TO DRIVE MY CAR AT FASTER SPEED KNOWING MY BRAKES BASICALLY WENT OUT. PRETTY SURE IT'S FAILING BRAKE ACTUATOR AND TOYOTA KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBABLY BUT DIDN'T DO A RECALL ONLY EXTENDED WARRANTIES... I DIDN'T OWN THE CAR WHEN THOSE WARRANTIES WE'RE GOING ON IN 2016. HEADLIGHTS ALSO WILL RANDOMLY TURN OFF AND I HAVE TO TURN THEM OFF AND BACK ON CONSTANTLY DRIVING AT NIGHT.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 23, 2019Exterior lighting, Electronic stability control (esc), Service brakesODI 11257443
“SECOND GENERATION TOYOTA PRIUS (MODEL YEARS 04-09, AN ESTIMATED 669,700 VEHICLES, TOYOTA HIGHLANDER 06 ~66,200 VEHICLES (AND LEXUS MODELS~196,000 VEHICLES) HAVE A KNOWN DEFECTIVE BRAKE POWER BOOSTER KNOWN AS BRAKE ACTUATOR ASSEMBLY. TOYOTA PUBLISHED TSB 0032-16. THE BRAKES FAIL. TOYOTA DENIED TO REMOVE THE KNOWN FAULTY PART IN 2016 BECAUSE THE PART HAD NOT ESTABLISHED SYMPTOMS YET AND VEHICLE WAS OVER 175,000 MILES. 5/24/2019 WHILE IN MOTION ON INTERSTATE 77, THE YELLOW ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM ABS, THE ELECTRONIC VARIABLE SPEED CONTROL VSC (TRACTION) , THE ELECTRONIC CONTROLLED BRAKE ALERT LAMPS ILLUMINATE. THE HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM FAILS BECAUSE THE POWER BRAKES DO NOT REGENERATE ELECTRICITY TO CHARGE THE HYBRID BATTERY FUEL CELLS. TURNING THE HYBRID VEHICLE INTO A PLAIN GAS POWERED VEHICLE WITH FAULTY BRAKES. THE POWER BRAKE SYSTEM CREATES A THUMPING VIBRATION SOUND DUE TO THE PRESSURE INSIDE THE ACTUATOR IS NOT RETAINING/HOLDING PRESSURE. I ASKED LOCAL O'REILY'S TO SCAN VEHICLE, READING CODES BRAKE ACTUATOR FAILURE. REPORTED TO TOYOTA DEALERSHIP 5/30/2019 WITH YELLOW WARNING LAMPS ENGAGED AND WITH KNOWLEDGE OF CODES. CHARGED $150.09 TO VERIFY CODES THAT I…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 11, 2019Electronic stability control (esc), Service brakes, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11243156

Showing 6 of 43 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 4, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.