2013 Prius Five Advice - Brake Booster Pump Replacement?

Needing some advice. I have a 2013 Prius five. It apparently needs the brake actuator/pump replaced and wondering if it is worth it for a car that has 240k on it. I love the car, and just recently noticed the brake pump running more than it should. It looks like the parts cost are about $1200 for OEM new. I can do the work myself, just will have to find the tech stream software and dongle, but should be pretty easy job, just time consuming. What are your thoughts? I live in an area of the country that I rarely see a decent Prius come available for a reasonable price. The car is in good condition it is garage kept and I drive it like I am trying to save gas. It is not abused in any way.

My next question is, if I decide to replace the brake parts what all will I need. The 2 main components of the brake system, Bleeder( Mightyvac) Gallon of Dot 3 Fluid and the Tech stream software and dongle and a helper and lots of shop towels. I have all of the other tools.

Thank for any advice you can offer.

Todd

 

Thank you for the responses. I think I will go ahead and order the parts. Can anyone tell me what version of Tech stream I will need to do this job?

Todd

 

I have the revised pump. I am trying to decide if I can just replace one of the parts. But cant seem to find any documentation to test them. Also not sure what version of Tech stream I need.

A few things about the problem or potential problem

Pump runs about every 15 seconds
No warning lights or anything out of the ordinary
No odd smells or any leaks of any type
I noticed after the pump runs I see the fluid level to the minimum line.
When it sits for a bit, the level goes back up to Max

I am wondering if I caused the problem or coincidence when I had to make an emergency stop
on drive pavement and activated ABS. Seems like I noticed it from then on. I hit the pedal pretty hard to stop
and wondered if I blew out a seal or something.

I really appreciate all of the help.

Thank you

Todd

 

I might just need to flush it out and see if that works. I am not hard on the car at all. I am very gentle with it normally driving below speed limits. and using the brakes sparingly. I am having a hard time finding what version of the tech stream software to use. I cant seem to find a chart that specifies what versions are for what cars. And it appears some versions do not work for the ABS bleeding procedure.

Thank you for all the great info. I have read several of your post

 

Good to know, I bought the car with 180k miles and have driven it 60k. I am religious about maintenance 5k oil and filter changes with Mobil 1. Changed the plugs and drive train fluid. Cleaned the intake manifold, and egr system. It is garage kept, and I drive it like I am trying to save money on fuel. I regularly get at least 50+ MPG. It uses very little oil between changes (1/4 qt. in 5k miles). I will see if anyone in my area has a tech stream system I can use for a few hours to flush the system and see if it has maybe induced air into the system for some reason. I figure it would not hurt. The current fluid looks clear and does not seem to be discolored.

Thanks again for all of your help

Todd

 

I just changed the front pads and checked the rears. The fronts were about 90% gone and the rears are about 50%. I noticed the level was a little low (Not below Min line) and thought pads were the issue. I did not add fluid, thinking it was because of the almost gone pads. If i can find the software for the brake bleed I will try that first. I figure it is a cheap option to see if it clears up. I will for certain be prepared to replace parts if it does not correct it. I have still not seen any type of warnings for the failing system.

Thanks for all of the great ideas. I am fairly new to Prius (Bought my first one in Nov 2019, gave it to my SO after 1 year ownership and bought the current one. Oct 31 2020. I really love the car and it has been nothing but a pleasure to drive.

Todd

 

Here is an update on what I have found out about my problem with the car.

First of all I am going to keep it! Today I went to Harbor Freight and bought a $6 Stethoscope and pin pointed the leaking
brake system. It is very obvious when probing with the stethoscope where the issue is (Master). I have ordered a dongle and Tech stream software to do a brake system bleed to see if possibly a valve is stuck when I had to go into ABS mode a few weeks ago. If that does not work then I will replace the Master unit. I will update again after the flush to see if it was indeed a stuck valve or leaking master.

Thank you all for all of the great advice. It is very much appreciated. I hope everyone has a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving.

Todd

 

Update!!

I got the new part and have it installed, but cannot seem to find all of the instructions to re-calibrate and clear all of the codes. It definitely fixed the constantly running pump. I am running a Version 16 of Techstream. Seems to be kind of working. I had a heck of a time getting the brakes bled, especially the stroke simulator. It kept telling me there was something wrong. I figured battery was too low. Charged it up but still was very finicky. Anyone have the instructions on replacing this Brake Actuator using techstream?

Thanks again for all of the help.

 

Last update!!!

Ok it is in and working very well. Not sure why I had so much trouble with the software.

Thank you so much for all of the help and guidance. I hope to pay it forward someday.


Todd