Help.. Brake pedal pumping noise

Any warning lights? How many miles?

 

There is a brake pump that goes bad gradually. Fairly common. It has a hydraulic accumulator to store pressure but the accumulator ends up leaking causing the pump to run excessively. Eventually it will throw codes if the pump takes too long to build pressure.

 

Its an expensive set of parts and difficult to access. Normal repair includes the pump and the master cylinder. I would not change until all other brake components were verified. In reality I would pay a dealer to verify the problem once it codes. There is a failsafe mode but you lose power brakes, regen braking and end up with longer stopping distances.

A special customer support program exists, with ten years unlimited miles coverage. Unlimited miles are only until Aug 31, 2021 when it becomes ten years 150,000 miles. A 2010 probably won't qualify, certainly without codes and likely due to age.

The attached gives you an idea of the steps for the pump accumulator. The customer support program replaces the pump and the master cylinder which turned out to be bad most of the time as well. If it comes to this I would first ask Toyota for coverage.

 

If I remember correctly, there was a recall for the Gen III brake booster. At 170K miles, you may or not be eligible. Go to the Toyota Owners site and enter your VIN to find out.

 

There is a "Customer Support Program" but not a Recall. A recall means it will be fixed no matter if its currently broken or not. A customer support program from Toyota means IF it is broken in a defined way within a specific time/mileage, Toyota may voluntarily fix it. In this case its ten years from first usage if it has specific failure codes. To be eligible, a 2010 had to be sold in August of 2011 or later, about eleven months into the 2011 model run.

As suggested above, there may not be a fault yet, much less a code. Generally several warning lights appear including the Brake, ABS and Traction Control. Nevertheless, since it is a brake concern, a proper diagnosis by the dealer may be desired.