2005, Brake Cylinder Leaks, please help

Unless firestone has the equipment to properly bleed the brakes afterwards, you're probably going to need a more hybrid specialist to do this.

 

How "handy" are you? Have you ever done mechanical work on cars before? IF you have, then repair is pretty straightforward.

• Replace the brake cylinder
• Replace the brake shoes. (In the past when I've had brake cylinders leak I've only replaced the brake shoes when they were worn. If the shoes were good, I've just let the brakes heat and boil off the fluid with use. )

I would suggest getting a Prius aware scanner and the Tech Stream available on eBay. You're going to need to bleed the brakes once you've replaced the rear cylinder. When I did this job, I used a Hand Held Toyota Scanner to turn the brake fluid accumulator on and off. This lets you pressurize the brake lines and not throw a lot of error codes. That scanner is pricey. But you can do the same thing for cheap with the cheaper TechStream systems run on a laptop.

If you go the DIY route, then the car will be down while you accumulate the parts and scanner and software as well as the repair time.

As for the quote, yes, this does seem fair. They've got a lot of overhead to pay for. If you look up parts at an auto parts store and double the price, that's about what you'd pay for the parts at a shop, and then pile on the labor and shop fee costs. It all adds up quickly. As JC91006 mentioned, the shop MUST be able to deal with the Prius brake fluid accumulator to properly do the job.

 

Not to be one to ruin your memorial day, but If you think the firestone quote will make you wanna cry, the dealer one is really going to sting even more. On top of that, they'll help point out more problems that would require attention

 

Yep, you're not going to like the Dealer quote. Again, JC91006 has the Dealer pegged. You'll likely not get out with your bank account intact. Honesty is a big word, one that has many meanings at a dealership. They don't call them "stealerships" for nothing. Is it honest to upcharge and point out everything wrong with your 13 (almost 14) year old car? Sure it is honest, they're there to make a buck. How much they make depends on how much they can frighten you. You become frightened because they say "The car won't last much longer without this repair" or "We can't let it back on the road unrepaired, it's a safety hazard."

So then you've got decisions to make. You may want to just start becoming handy. Look at it this way, you'll pay one way or the other. You'll pay to have others do the job in earnings, savings, etc., that you're probably not prepared to pay. The biggest factor here is fear, fear of messing up the job and likely crashing the car. So let me suggest an alternative.

Can you rent a car or borrow a beater, ride a bike, etc., while the Prius is being repaired? If so, the time issue is solved. You'll be able to rent a car for less than the repair bill from the dealer.

Next comes tools and experience. Do you have a good friend or relative that would be willing to guide you in this repair? If so, then heck, use them if they're willing to help.

Parts are easily bought off the internet, or at your local auto parts stores for a whole lot less. What costs $100 at the dealer is about $25 to $35 at the auto parts stores.

If you don't DIY you're stuck with paying someone else what you can do yourself with

• a little effort,
  
• a few tools and
  
• a manual.

You'll build a few skills that can never be taken away and have the satisfaction of knowing you didn't pay the dealer the cost of repair and saved money.

Give it some thought. It's your car, it's your time, it's your money, and of course, it's your decision.

 

What happened so far? did you fixed it?