ABS accumulator vs modulator

2007 Prius, 107,000 miles

I am not car-mechanical savvy, as you will see…

I got all the dashboard brake lights a week ago: BRAKE, (!), ABS, VSC . Still able to drive, but doing so carefully, no freeways.

-Brake fluid is just below max.
-12V battery reads 11.3V when not turned on, 14.1V after starting the car.
-It has been making noise for quite a while; two mechanics told me it was the accumulator making that noise, but didn’t say it was something to worry about. But now here I am…
-Mileage is lower; tire pressure is fine, so I don’t know if that’s related

Got an Autozone OBD readout: codes C1256, C1391, C2318 (secondary DTC)

Mechanic #1 quoted me $3000 (in Los Angeles) without even looking at my car.

Mechanic #2, did a diagnostic, cleaned voltage connector, found “faulty ABS unit”, quoted me $2600, but for a modulator valve and labor, not a brake accumulator, which is what the OBD codes indicate.

Wondering if this makes sense. Taking it to be fixed today.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the offer. My car was already at the mechanic by the time of your post. I’ll keep you in mind for the future.

Thanks. I’m not sure exactly what you mean by ‘covered by Toyota’. If you meant it was under warranty, unfortunately that wouldn’t apply to me since my car has long been out of warranty, but good to know.

Thanks. I appreciate your deep knowledge of Priuses. I’ll probably buy another next year, maybe 2 or 3 years old, if you have a recommendation/preference for one year’s model over another.

Meanwhile, my car still makes noise when I brake. I asked the mechanic about it when I picked up my car yesterday (he bled the brakes and he replaced the ABS unit), and he echoed what another mechanic had told me last year, that ‘old Priuses make this noise.’ Do you have any thoughts about this?

I uploaded an audio file of the noise here: