I'm not sure about the 01 Prius, but with the 04-09 Prius special equipment is required to bleed the brake system. It can only be done at Toyota.

 

I was recently told by a Toyota Dealer that I needed a new actuator assembly for my 2005 Prius-the part itself is $1857 !! not to mention the installation-about $2200 total-I have never had one thing go wrong with my Prius in almost 5 years and now this-dealer says that they have NEVER ordered this part before-Anyone else has this part replaced not under warranty? Does it really cost this much or am I getting screwed?

 

Maybe you should try to contact Toyota Customer Care. The number is in your owner's manual. It may be hard to get through with all the hoopla in the media lately about recall issues, etc. But they might be able to help if this is really as rare an issue as your dealer indicated, having never ordered replacement parts for this sytem. Not on this specifically, but other owners have reported getting assistance from Toyota on out-of-warranty repairs in some cases. Good luck, and please post the final outcome.

 

So you go in for a battery replacement and they say you need a brake actuator? Huh? Have you noticed any brake problems, warning lights, etc? If not I would say no thanks and leave.

 

However, the Bosch type, electric hydraulic braking system used in the Prius "2" is one of the most complicated systems used in the automotive world. Probably well over fifty pages in the service manual so when it "blips" you can expect a huge bill if you failed to purchase an extended warranty. This I remember was just one point expressed to me when I purchased my car.
In fact, I believe if a Toyota salesman just kept the three telephone sized service manuals for the Prius on his desk very few Prius's would be sold without the warranty.
But I would go along with the statement that you don't have a problem with these cars if you aren't seeing an "idiot" warning light. This brake system has "two" separate red warning lights associated with it and except for a broken line, cannot fail completely.

 

And here we are 7 years later and there is now a recall on this part.

 

What's the danger?



I don't see a recall on this, I just looked it up.


I believe my Brake Actuator is going out in my '06. It started making this "Barking Noise" when I pressed the pedal. Then over the weekend, my VSC, ABS, and Pressure Sensor light lit up. Also the BRAKE indicator light.

I saw there is a Toyota Service Bulletin on this and it said "it's an annoyance but stopping power is not affected". I haven't had a chance to take it in yet.

But judging by these comments, it looks like I might be in for a $2200+ repair job?

So, is this a safety issue? The car is only worth about $3K in good working order. I was going to get rid of it in 2017 and get a Volt or possibly the Prius Prime. But I don't know if I should just keep driving it around or not until then, get rid of it now.

I need a Plug-In hybrid or full electric in order to keep my "HOV Plate" from the state, I can't just go buy a new Prius.

Suggestions?

 

Brake Actuator is under warranty

If your warning lights come on, take it to a dealer immediately. ONLY a Toyota Dealer can replace this part. I talked to 2 different "Toyota Mechanics" neither would even attempt the job.

My Actuator is still under warranty until Dec 31, 2017, you read that right, another year. It's a known bad part.

Have them look at the ORIGINAL warranty, not the secondary one. I had to call Toyota to find this out.

You don't want your actuator to go out while you're driving, you will lose stopping power.

I'm having mine replaced tomorrow, they're also doing the steering column recall too. I'm really glad to finally get this issue fixed.

 

Brake actuator covered by new extended warranty til Dec 2017

I just got my brake actuator replaced with no charge because Toyota issued an extended warranty on this part until Dec 2017 for 2004-2009 Prius because it is a known problem. It is not a recall and I never received a letter about it but found info by searching around on the web. Mention it to your Toyota repair place and they should look it up for you. I didn't have to show them anything, they looked it up and found the warranty information (see links below). I think the ABS light has to be showing for them to cover it, you can't just go in and ask them to fix it pre-emptively. I've included a link below. If you already paid for a repair I think it will also cover that, as long as it was the brake actuator. The repair made my 2006 Prius with 220,000 miles on it sound like new again...no more "barking" and constant whirring noises!

http://www.toyoheadquarters.com/thr...07-toyota-highlander-2004-2009-prius-brake-actuator-warranty-extension-zg1.629/

http://media.fixed-ops.com/toy_campaigns/Zg1_dlrltr.pdf

Good luck!

 

Gahaya-
I have the ABS light on, and the mechanic says the abs module needs replaced, codes reset. Can you or anyone else please tell me if the problems are one in the same? meaning, if I ask a Toyota dealership to look at it for the ABS light being on, and mention/show this brake extended warranty, is it possible that there's still going to be costs involved in replacing an ABS module that works in conjunction with the brake actuator?