1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

New GenIII brake recall affects 87,000 cars

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by DavidA, Jun 5, 2013.

  1. walter Lee

    walter Lee Hypermiling Padawan

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2009
    1,126
    376
    5
    Location:
    Maryland
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Thanks for the heads up. Found that my car isn't part of the the recall.

    Wrt to tire overinflation - I've dropped mine from 50/48 psi to 44/42 psi over the last two year because I couldn't achieve any significant FE improvement at the higher pressure setting. My personal experience has been that local wet and/or rough road surface conditions negated most of tire over inflation's fuel efficiency advantage (between 15 to 40 mph when rolling resistance does matter most for FE ) at the higher psi settings for my OE Yokohama Avid s33 tires .
     
    F8L likes this.
  2. FireEngineer

    FireEngineer Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2004
    1,247
    124
    0
    Location:
    SW-Side of Chicago, IL
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    About time, I had two total brake failures until both my master cylinder assembly and accumulator were replaced.
     
    cwerdna, bwilson4web and F8L like this.
  3. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2005
    27,068
    15,372
    0
    Location:
    Huntsville AL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    I'm sorry I missed this. Did you post a thread about it?

    Bob Wilson
     
  4. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2010
    3,524
    981
    8
    Location:
    US
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Can people with recent total brake failures confirm if their cars were built before October 2009, please?
     
  5. Braddles.au

    Braddles.au DEFAnitely using an EBH

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2012
    295
    99
    1
    Location:
    Canberra, Australia
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    My car is included in the recall, confirmed by Toyota from their very helpful "email us" page Toyota Email Us

    Aussie PriusChatters can read the recall details here: Toyota—Toyota Prius ZVW30
    Toyota—Toyota Prius ZVW30

    PRA number: 2013/13622
    Date published: 7th June 2013

    Product information

    Product description

    Toyota Prius ZVW30 - Brake Booster Pump Assembly (Accumulator)
    Identifying features

    From VIN - JTDKN36U#
    01000031 - 01092008
    05000003 - 05076028
    Production period from October 2008 through to October 2009

    (Please refer to VIN table attachment)
    ...
     
    Feri likes this.
  6. Feri

    Feri Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2011
    761
    144
    0
    Location:
    Maldon Victoria Australia
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III


    Thanks for the links Braddles! confirms what my dealer told me.
     
  7. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2005
    12,544
    2,122
    1
    Location:
    SF Bay Area, CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Finally! Safercar.gov finally has the recall and some associated documents: 3, for now.

    The NHTSA campaign # is 13V235000. Not much new info in the text outside of the PDFs other than



    http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/UCM439340/RCAK-13V235-4933.PDF
    http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/UCM439361/RCAK-13V235-8848.PDF
    http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/UCM439269/RCDNN-13V235-2333.pdf
     
  8. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 30, 2009
    5,131
    1,338
    0
    Location:
    Wilmington, NC
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    I like the NHTSA remedy better than the one on the Toyota Owner's website. The Toyota website states the remedy is "for the dealer to inspect the brake booster pump assemby and replace if necessary". The NHTSA remedy drops the inspect and replace if necessary part and just says replace.

    I hope this is correct.
     
    spiderman and bwilson4web like this.
  9. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2005
    27,068
    15,372
    0
    Location:
    Huntsville AL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    I agree "replace" as metal fatigue on the bellows would be very difficult to trust in even a well equipped, service department.

    Bob Wilson
     
  10. Feri

    Feri Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2011
    761
    144
    0
    Location:
    Maldon Victoria Australia
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    The Australian one says replace if necessary too. I definitely will try to convince my dealer to replace no matter what.
     
  11. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2010
    3,524
    981
    8
    Location:
    US
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    It actually says "replace the affected brake booster pump assemblies". I think by affected they mean defective. Maybe they know what serial numbers are defective?
     
    jdcollins5 likes this.
  12. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2010
    3,524
    981
    8
    Location:
    US
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    No one did, so I went ahead and PMed all 11 members that complained about total brake failure in 2010 Prius on this forum. Only 5 responded back, and while 1 didn't know when his prius was made, 4 other ones reported their prius made before october 09. I can't help but think that the recall is connected with the total master cylinder failure incidents. I think Toyota downplayed the extent of the problem in the public release.
     
  13. Terrell

    Terrell Old-Timer

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2010
    326
    169
    3
    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Dumb me :( I told my wife about the recall, then she asked me how safe the car is to drive on a trip to MI we're planning. She's already afraid to drive the car (it's too complicated!) because I tried explaining how the system works, instead of just telling her it drives "normally." So far I've not noticed any problems with braking, although my Prius is part of the recall.
     
  14. michinnom

    michinnom Member

    Joined:
    Apr 28, 2013
    162
    29
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Here's what I saw when I logged into my toyota owners site today:


    DESCRIPTION
    CUSTOMER MESSAGE
    CAMPAIGN NUMBER

    Safety Recall D0H (D1H) Preliminary Notice - Certain 2010 Model Year Prius Vehicles Brake Booster Pump Assembly (Accumulator)
    At the present time, Toyota is currently preparing the remedy.
    What is the Condition?
    The subject vehicles are equipped with brake pressure accumulators consisting of a metal plunger containing brake fluid encased in a metal housing. The plunger is designed with metal pleated bellows to allow for motion. Nitrogen gas is sealed between the plunger and housing. There is a possibility that a fatigue crack could develop in the bellows due to the vertical vibration of the plunger while driving. If this occurs, nitrogen gas could leak into the brake fluid and cause the brake pedal stroke to become longer, resulting in decreased braking force. Decreased braking force could result in increased stopping distance and increase the risk of a crash.
    When will the Remedy be Available: The remedy procedures will be provided to each dealership in the near future. At which time, Toyota will notify owners of covered vehicles by first class mail. Additional information will be posted on this site once the remedy is available.
     
  15. Braddles.au

    Braddles.au DEFAnitely using an EBH

    Joined:
    Jan 25, 2012
    295
    99
    1
    Location:
    Canberra, Australia
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Would she prefer to drive a Jeep?
     
    WE0H and bwilson4web like this.
  16. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 30, 2009
    5,131
    1,338
    0
    Location:
    Wilmington, NC
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    This is what I read from the Toyota Owner's website about the Safety Recall and the FAQ section:

    Q3: What is Toyota going to do?

    A3: Toyota is currently preparing the remedy for this condition. Once preparations are complete, Toyota will send an owner notification letter by first class mail to owners of vehicles covered by this Safety Recall.

    When available, the remedy will entail an inspection and, if necessary, replacement of the Brake Booster Pump Assembly at No Charge
    .
     
  17. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2005
    4,067
    687
    0
    Location:
    Eastern Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Yes, I have the same message at the owner's site. I see this as a good thing, I am glad Toyota is trying to fix this before someone is injured or worse. I will schedule my car as soon as I get the notification.
     
  18. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2010
    3,524
    981
    8
    Location:
    US
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Edit: My post makes no sense now, Did we merged some threads here?
     
  19. Jon Hagen

    Jon Hagen Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2011
    336
    136
    0
    Location:
    North Dakota
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    My 2010 Prius bought July 09 is one being recalled. A check of the Toyota owners site told me my car was one of the ones needing the updated part. I seem to remimber they said the Prius built from Early 09 through about October had the old part, about 87,000 US models.
     
  20. FireEngineer

    FireEngineer Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2004
    1,247
    124
    0
    Location:
    SW-Side of Chicago, IL
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    No I didn't Bob, I had enough problems trying to get three different dealers to fix the brakes. All-in-all my Prius was in some dealer shop for a total of over a month. And come to think of it, it was 3 total brake failures. B-mode is your friend.