Letter fr Toyota @ Brake Booster Pump program / recall

Did you talk to the dealership before or after receiving the letter? If before, maybe contact them again, see if they know about it, what they'll say/do. I found the diagnostic charge is typically around $75. And if they find a smoking gun, something related to the letter, maybe no charge?

I just got this from Toyota Canada, about a month back. Maybe similar?



The one thing I've been noticing is an occasional odd sorta grunt sound, just as the car's coming to a stop.

 

OP, does it say anything about the 2011 models? Our 2011 has some honking/barking sounds coming from the brake booster sometimes when the brakes are applied hard, especially when the car is almost at a stop.

It is hard to reproduce, so the dealer said they can't find anything wrong with it.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Is it a rapidly repeating grunting that sort of dissipates, or is it one longer grunt sound? I think ours started with a single sound, then became more of a series of sounds, maybe 2 or 3.



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Just hearing one "grunt", very sporadic too: might not hear it all for a week or two. The car's only 77K kms too, fwiw.

 

Yeah, ours is very sporadic too. It also started at relatively low miles IIRC.

Hopefully the 2011 will be included, and up to 10 yrs/240,000 miles too. We are coming up on 100k and it's 2nd drain and fill on the transaxle.

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So, have you checked the version of the firmware in the brake computer, per T-SB-0363-10, which was about those sounds in 2010 and early 2011 models? If you have 15 inch wheels, it should be F152647108 or later; if you have 17 inch wheels, it should be F152647128.

Mine started quacking earlier this year, I went to the dealer, asked them to flash the newer firmware, and the quacking stopped. It's not a recall, so you pay for half an hour or an hour of shop time, but it's otherwise painless.

You're using the hill holder. That's what it does. On mine, it sort of takes pressing and holding the pedal and then pressing it a little further; makes a beep and puts the traction light on, and keeps you from rolling until you press the go pedal. (As designed, it will eventually let go after a few seconds if your foot is off the brake and not on the go.)

The ZJB campaign is an extension to warranty coverage for a specific issue your car may or may not develop. If you have no warning lights on (or only on when you use the hill holder ), you don't have that issue, or you don't have it yet, so just enjoy the car.

If that issue does develop in your car, and it happens in the next year and a quarter, or any time up to your car's tenth birthday if you're under 150,000 miles, you will end up getting a brand new, zero mile, brake actuator and accumulator installed in your near-decade-old car for free. Can't beat that with a stick.

You probably don't need the anxiety of trying to convince yourself you've got the problem before you've got it; if you could get the parts replaced early, you would just end up starting to wear out the new parts earlier than necessary.

As for the rattly noises, how many miles since you last had the calipers up for a routine going-over?

-Chap

 

Is the only way to get the firmware version of the brake computer using techstream? If so, I'm going to have to ask them to check it next time I get serviced.

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Thanks for the info, I copy-and-paste this stuff.

 

Yep, copied the firmware info for reference too.

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Now I just have to REMEMBER I copied it...

 

Of course, I meant to say "or later" in both cases ....

 

I too recently received a ZJB letter regarding malfunctions of the brake booster assemblies. I've attached a copy of the letter for others to reference. I scanned it with OCR and cleaned it up a bit before uploading it. For me, the primary coverage lasts until 2021 with no year/mileage limitation. After that date, it's applicable for 10 years from first use or 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

I did have the 3 dashboard warning lights symptomatic of the brake booster malfunction lit up for approximately 6-9 months but the lights turned off after I had a warranty repair in February 2019- the update to the power management ECU software- and before I received the brake booster letter. The lights haven't turned back on yet after over four months of regular driving but I expect that they'll come back on eventually. When I brought the car in for the ECU software update, I had the dealer check to see what the cause of the warning lights were and they said that it was caused by an "ABS Actuator Leak". Interestingly, at the dealer's suggestion, the dealer asked Toyota on my behalf to cover 50% of the cost to replace the ABS actuator but Toyota declined. Ironically, even though I didn't have the dealer replace the ABS actuator, the lights went off so I guess it's ok for now? Now I'm not sure if the lights are caused by a leaking ABS actuator or the brake booster assembly. I asked the dealer if they would replace the brake booster during my most recent visit for an unrelated service but they said that I would have to wait for the lights to turn back on.

Do the quacking/barking/grunting sounds ever occur in a 2012 Prius? Mine makes a light buzzing sound every 30 seconds. This begins as soon as I press the brake (even before starting up the car) and, after a typical drive of ~30 minutes, continues for some minutes even after I turn off the car and am no longer pressing any pedals. Do I just need to update the firmware for the brake computer?

 

I have the exact same problem as Boldroot, except the lights came ON with the ECU update. Now fighting with Toyota over getting coverage under the ZJB CSP. Dealer is saying they are not getting the right codes, even though I am otherwise qualified.