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Gen 1 ABS light and alarm

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by idontno, Jun 12, 2018.

  1. idontno

    idontno New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2018
    1
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    Location:
    chehalis
    Vehicle:
    2001 Prius
    Model:
    I
    I'm new and I don't see a gen 1 forum. Old school I know. If someone wants to direct me to a better place to post this you're welcome to.
    I have a 01 Prius which I have taken pride in for years now. Some friends and I bought them years ago in SoCal when the batteries were starting to fail and dove into to deep end of rebuilding the batteries. I eventually spent the money to have mine rebuilt with gen 2 cells.
    The other day I was driving and my brakes felt a little soft. As I was looking for a safe spot to pull over I noticed the ABS light was on and a continuous beeping alarm started. I pulled into a parking lot and initially the brakes got even softer and eventually became very stiff like and old car without power brakes. They worked but not as good as they should and there's obviously a problem so I got a tow. After all of this my wife confessed to me that she drove about 20 miles with the parking brake on. I have hooked a scanner up to the car but I'm now borrowing a better one because it only showed a P0420 code. The brake fluid is right to the full line and all of the other fluids including the inverter coolant appear to be where they should.
    Has anyone seen this problem before? I'm wondering if it's going to be worth fixing on a car this old?
     
  2. Brian in Tucson

    Brian in Tucson Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2016
    981
    453
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    Location:
    Tucson AZ
    Vehicle:
    2003 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I've seen it, on my 02. On mine it was the brake booster pump. Spendy if you buy a new one, over $1 grand. When I replaced mine, I found it in a u pull it style yard. Removed it myself and it came to about $28 including tax. You might be able to find a used one on Ebay or if you get really lucky the Pic n Pull in Lacey.

    Mine had the same symptoms you describe.

    Where do you live in Chehalis. I lived there for about 10 years, up on a side street of of HWY 603. Chehalis really is one of my favorite places!

    BTW, welcome to Prius Chat.

    Oh heck! I found this one on Amazon. Try to get a guaranteed to work agreement with the seller.

    Use the search terms prius 2001 brake booster pump
     
    #2 Brian in Tucson, Jun 12, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2018