I never experienced a car with potential major brake issue, until prius.

It would be best to inhale ... exhale ... and collect the trouble codes from the brake system. It's easy to do with Techstream, unless you don't have that set up and don't want to drive somewhere that does because you're worried about the brakes. In that case it's easier to use the jumper-wire/count-light-blinks method. It doesn't give as much information, but it will be enough to start with, and you can do it really anywhere. I always have something I can use as a jumper wire in the glove box, so if a brake light ever comes on I don't have to go even past the next driveway before finding out why.

-Chap

 

Limp over to dealership, spend the $50~100?

 

I think the title of your thread does a dis-service to Prius.

ANY car that is 14 years old and has 190,000 miles would be prone to all kinds of various "potential major" issues.

 

prius brake actuator may be the trump card of brake expenses.

 

yes 14 year old cars are money pits, thats common sense..
if its your brake actuator its a $3000 repair
if its a wire going to a wheel sensor it 50 cents..
with the age and miles sell it as is for a $1000 and let someone else deal with it..
next your HV battery will die or the instrument cluster will go out..

these are not magical machines that never die, its just a car..

 

I've honestly never price-compared it to the ABS actuator in any other car. Now I'm not sure what I'd find.

The different reshufflings between generations don't help to make easy comparisons. Gen 1 has a nice separate actuator that's just an ABS actuator. Gen 2 went and built the pump and accumulator into it, so you'd have to price compare it to others that are combined that way. Gen 3 took the pump and accumulator back out, but combined it with the master cylinder and the ECU. It apparently gets whatever brake system parts are still on the table when the music stops playing.

-Chap

 

i don't either. it just seems extensive and expensive, but i am not on any other car forums to know how reliability and price compare.
i have owned a lot of older cars that never had an issue, and replaced master cylinders that were relatively cheap.

 

back in the early days of ABS i had a Lincoln Mark 8 and the abs pump was 2400.. there's no reason for them to be that expensive today.. its all made in china.. just a motor and some solenoids, the computer does not fail the mechanics do .. now that the free repair is over you cant find an actuator in a junk yard, if you do its 400 as is