Help needed with brake booster issue on 2010 Prius

Hi all,

Thanks for having me on this forum.

I’d appreciate some advice on a brake issue with our 2010 Prius. I’ve seen a lot of posts about brake issues with Priuses online. I am aware of the 2013 recall, the recent warranty extension and the pending class action lawsuit. We’ve exhausted calling Toyota USA to get this covered. More details on the specific timeline below.

According to the Toyota dealership, both the brake master cylinder and the brake booster pump assembly need to be replaced.

Currently the car is not being used. If not started every day, the battery drains itself and needs to be boosted. Pressing down the brake makes a swooshing noise. The car actually seems to brake fine in dry conditions but not if wet.

Our next step currently is to get part(s) replaced at a garage. We’ve gotten different recommendations and quotes from garages in the LA area:

• The Toyota dealership quoted me $1,800 to replace both parts
• A hybrid garage quoted me $750 to replace only the brake master cylinder (with a used part). He said he’s never had to change the pump assembly and would be shocked if it needed replacement.
• Another garage in LA said he would replace both the master cylinder and pump for $1,400 with used parts and wouldn’t consider changing only either part.

I am tempted to go with the $750 change of only the master cylinder. However, before I would want to answer the following question: Is there a way to know if the problem is only with the brake master cylinder and not the pump? The dealership has not provided me with the diagnosis codes but I know I can them from a O’Reilly or Autozone. Any other advice on how to solve this problem would be much appreciated.

Timeline of events:

• In beginning of March 2020 three lights came-up on the dashboard: the parking brake, the ABS and traction control.
• The car was brought to the dealership and they recommended changing the brake master cylinder and pump assembly for $2,700.
• We did our online research and found that there was a large precedent of brake failures with 2010 Priuses. Our car’s VIN number is not covered by the 2013 recall and the extended customer support program ended in February 2020.
• We called repeatedly Toyota USA and they were not able to find other warranties under which could be fixed.
• The dealership felt for us and brought the price down to $1,800.
• We filled a complaint with the NHTSA
• We contacted other garages to get other quotes (see above).
• We signed up for the class action lawsuit.

Once again, any advice or resources would be deeply appreciated!

Cheers,

Vincent

 

Thanks for your reply @Mendel Leisk. We will certainly keep you posted.

The hybrid garage (Hybrid Fix in LA) was recommended to us by a friend. That's why we were tempted to go with them. That is a fair point though, that the cars they repaired might have fallen under the recall. The mechanic I spoke to though was very aware of both the recall and the recent extended customer support program. There is some risk of fixing only the brake master cylinder and unclear whether we can reduce it.

This is the first serious issue with the car and it has 116K miles. It seems worth fixing.

Thanks @pjksr02 ,

Vincent

Thanks for the reply @bisco . We have more than the swoosh sound I suppose. We have dashboard lights, the dealership diagnosis, the battery drainaige AND the swoosh noise . Thanks for the tip though. We should unplug the negative if we leave it parked.

Vincent

 

That is a great question @royrose . We have not been able to square that circle. The events are definitely correlated. My only (uninformed) thought was that if the pressure is leaking from the braking system, then the battery is being continuously called to keep that pressure high.