Should the mechanic have caught this? (possible ABS issue)

Just bought a 2008 Prius Touring, 109k miles. Previous owner had babied it and faithfully changed oil, rotated tires, etc. all at his local Toyota dealership.

I still took it to a highly-rated (as in, honest and experienced) Hybrid repair shop for a good 2-hour buyer's check before purchasing it from the dealer (who is himself honest and highly-rated, but less experienced with Hybrids). I'm coming off 3 years of driving an entirely electric car, so I really wanted to have a more experienced eye look the car over thoroughly.

They pointed out a couple minor issues - passenger head lamp needs to be replaced, for instance - but they said the car looks great. I grilled them just to be sure, and they do guarantee their own work for 48 months.

So, I figure, I'm as good as I can reasonably be.

That was two days ago. I bought the car. This morning, the ABS starting lighting up and beeping and (while I didn't note any serious braking issues), it was immediately concerning.

Called Toyota: despite their customer going to see them twice per year at a bare minimum, because he didn't have any problems with the actuator then the actuator was NOT a problem. They never replaced it. Extended warranty expired 3 weeks ago.

I'm not 100% sure that's what is going on but I am thinking it might be the case. The Hybrid shop doesn't open for an hour, and I'm not intending to be rude or to point the blame at them, but just so I know: is that something they should have caught, a mere two days before the problem cropped up? Or do those actuators just die without any warning?

 

UPDATE: Just talked with the mechanic, and he doesn't think it's the actuator at all (he was very familiar with that issue). He agreed that's something you'd certainly hear running when the engine was on.

They had noted codes C1241 & C1378, but also that the 12V battery looked new and the codes could have been related to that. Since they have come back they'll need to do more thorough diagnostics. I'll be taking the car back to them on Monday.

 

Sorry, I meant to come back and update this!

The issue was resolved fairly simply: when the new 12V battery had been installed, the connection with the ABS power supply hadn't been totally 'clicked' (for lack of a more technical term?) Happy Hybrid/Yost Automotive in Austin, TX, did the initial inspection and then the follow-up diagnostic; they checked the voltage on the battery, which they said looked great (I actually had the 12V battery die in my previous all-electric vehicle, so I'm a bit more familiar with that issue), and they rechecked all of the electrical connections before taking the car out for a drive again. No alarms or issues since then.

I did e-mail Happy Hybrid after posting here last week, just to say if they had communicated more thoroughly at the initial appointment "Yes, your ABS actuator looks fine, but if these codes come back this is what the alarm will look like" then I wouldn't have had to Google "ABS problems in a Gen 2 Prius"...which is not unlike looking on WebMD for a reassuring diagnosis They e-mailed back and said that absolutely should have been explained to me, they were very sorry I had such a frustrating experience, and ultimately I was not charged anything for the diagnostic check on Monday.

So that's that. The car is in fantastic shape otherwise, and now that I'm not worrying, I can enjoy it