Chewed wires : Brake actuator

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by hydtah, Jun 19, 2026.

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  1. hydtah

    hydtah Junior Member

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    Hey, I just bought this Prius V with 65k miles, and noticed a weird noise when I push the brake hard to stop. I looked under the hood and found a massive rodent nest tucked under the cowl tray. When I checked the wiring harness right behind the brake fluid reservoir I found that a mouse or rat completely chewed through a black wire right at the main connector plug, leaving the copper totally frayed.

    This looks like it's directly causing the braking issues.

    Please how can I repair this wires, and what oem parts should I buy .. thank you
     

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    #1 hydtah, Jun 19, 2026
  2. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Replacing the harness is very difficult and labor intensive but is the dealer solution.

    Replacing the specific connector far enough back to include the chewed wires is the next option. It takes soldering skills to do it or use of solder filled butt connectors. This can be tedious and difficult in a tight area and has more potential for a bad connection in the hands of an inexperienced diyer.

    Finally, strategic replacement of just the chewed wires using straight solder or solder butt splices sometimes is the easiest but also is the most surgical. If I did this approach I might still get a salvage yard piece of harness (cut off) and use the same wire colors for replacement.

    There is no guarantee that other module damage did not occur due to shorts to other wires. However, "most" of the time Toyota's electrical engineers have protected the electronics fairly well.

    Overall, I would recommend taking it to an auto electric specialist for this wiring repair. Then to a hybrid independent shop if the wire repair was not enough. Or a good hybrid independent for the whole job.

    In terms of wiring repair skills, I like the methods youtube's Pine Hollow Diagnostics uses for soldered wiring repairs. His videos are not specific wiring how to oriented. You will get some advice here to use only the solder butt splices but I think they are best suited for small one or two connections. You are dealing with a life safety system here.
     

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    #2 rjparker, Jun 20, 2026
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2026
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  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk MMX GEN III

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    How long ago is "just bought", was the seller private, dealership, or? Sounds like someone unloading their headache.
     
    #3 Mendel Leisk, Jun 20, 2026
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  4. hydtah

    hydtah Junior Member

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    It was a private seller, and I bought it literally a few days ago. The car only has 64,000 miles on it, so I really didn't expect to find a rodent nest and chewed-up wires hiding under the cowl tray. I even scanned it with Toyota Techstream and nothing showed up, so it definitely feels like they were trying to get rid of a headache before it threw a hard code or turned into a total breakdown.
     

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    #4 hydtah, Jun 21, 2026
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  5. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

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    Those wires do not appear ‘just chewed’, nor does that nest appear ‘just built’, so I agree with Mendel. Seller hoping to create some distance from the issue.
     
    #5 Air_Boss, Jun 21, 2026
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  6. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Its easy to clear codes
     
    #6 rjparker, Jun 21, 2026
  7. hydtah

    hydtah Junior Member

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    Hi dear members, my car threw this DTC code C1467, and the ABS brake dashboard light is on.


    Can someone advise me what should I replace or can I test the wiring damaged or replace them... thank you
     

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    #7 hydtah, Jun 28, 2026 at 6:01 PM
  8. hydtah

    hydtah Junior Member

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    Techstream DTC code C1467 numbers
     

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    #8 hydtah, Jun 28, 2026 at 6:51 PM
  9. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Did you fix the chewed wires?

    If so, these still might be bad.

    IMG_1956.jpeg
     
    #9 rjparker, Jun 28, 2026 at 8:31 PM
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