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Brake Line Repair - ABS / VSC Lights

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by missiondad, Jun 13, 2022.

  1. missiondad

    missiondad New Member

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    2007 Prius
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    Base
    Recently the right rear brake line in my 2007 Prius (147,000 Miles) failed. It was a very clear failure - hose almost completely severed, brake fluid almost entirely out, braking performance dangerously low.

    I have a friend/mechanic, who was able to fully replace the brake line. Braking performance is back to normal however the ABS/VSC/Brake light is still on.

    I have gone through the ODBII scan and reset process. Troubleshooting steps I have done are:
    - disconnect and reconnect 12v battery
    - short pins 4/13 on the ODBII port and enter diagnostic mode.
    - Diagnostic mode shows no codes however ABS lights remain illuminated.

    From reading the forums and other areas I am guessing this issue may be related to a few issues.

    1. Air in the brake system. I know he bled the right rear brake but don't think he bled the other three wheels.
    2. Missing / severed ABS system wire.
    3. Damaged wheel speed sensor.

    A few questions:
    1. Is the car safe to drive even with the ABS light illuminated - as mentioned above braking performance seems to be back to normal despite the lights.

    2. What would your approach to troubleshooting be.

    The mechanic who did this work is certainly not Toyota certified and this was the first Prius brake line he had replaced. I am hoping I did not make a bad situation worse.
     
    #1 missiondad, Jun 13, 2022
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    You may just need to bleed the brake line (with techstream) and reset the code. That's easy enough as a first step.
     
    #2 JC91006, Jun 13, 2022
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Weird. Could you describe here, in greater detail, the exact sequence of what you do (starting with jumpering the Tc, CG pins), and how the car responds, up to the point where you conclude it is showing no codes?
     
    #3 ChapmanF, Jun 13, 2022
  4. missiondad

    missiondad New Member

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    Base
    I have tried it a couple of different ways.

    First try was:

    - Pull negative battery cable for a couple of minutes.
    - Place jumper cable in ODB2 port.
    - Turn on and tap brake 8 times rapidly.
    - Multiscreen reads “no codes” and warning lights flash intermittently. ABS / TCS toggle on/off a few times.

    I have run a couple of different versions of this but always the same result once I pull the jumper cable and start the car the lights remain on.
    .
     
    #4 missiondad, Jun 13, 2022
  5. missiondad

    missiondad New Member

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    Thanks - I am thinking that is the next step though I may take it to a mechanic to have them do this at a cost of $140 which is probably what I would pay in tools.

    If that doesn’t fix it I need to make a decision of how much $$$ I want to keep putting into the car to keep it running. It is a second car and is used relatively infrequently.
     
    #5 missiondad, Jun 13, 2022
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Yeah, don't do that.

    The purpose of jumping Tc to CG is to get the car to tell you what the brake codes are. That's useful.

    But the purpose of stomping the brake 8 times while the jumper is there is to make the car forget what the codes were. That's usually not useful, especially if you didn't write down the codes first. Then you just don't know what the issues were.

    Naturally the car will tell you there aren't any codes, right after you told it to forget what they were.

    If you get the warning lights again, use the jumper wire and don't stomp the brake to clear them. Count the dash light blinks so you know what they are. Then you can post them here.

    For some reason, over and over and over, people are finding threads that tell them to clear their codes before writing down what they are. It's like going to the doctor and saying "quick! forget what I've got!"
     
    #6 ChapmanF, Jun 14, 2022
    missiondad likes this.
  7. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    If your brake pedal feels fairly normal I've been driving with my abs traction control and VSC lights on for 2 years left rear brake pressure problem it's internal in the accumulator pump assembly I'm pretty sure and my brakes work great I have regen breaking I do not have abs I can smoke all four wheel wells with the smart application of the pedal all four tires will lock up in the car will skid and leave black marks on the pavement I don't let anybody drive it but me it would scare them doesn't really bother me I'm about ready to try one of these accumulator pump assemblies I've got but the last time I did this I could never get the car to restart so I've got to get prepared for that again and have another vehicle to be using while playing this game
     
    #7 Tombukt2, Jun 15, 2022
    missiondad likes this.
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