2011 brake accumulator runs every 60 seconds

Yes, exactly... he had a similar message that's why they killed him... Because... Oppression... The Roman Empire, same reasons...

 

PS: Thanks for pointing out a legit quote from someone who has a very specific problem rather than the person who started this thread who doesn't have that problem but is worrying their way into it as fast as possible...

 

Just one note in case you might fix the car rather than sell it:

Your earlier experience was with a 2009, where the accumulator and actuator are a single assembly, so there was no question what part to replace.

This time, you're talking about a 2011, where the accumulator and actuator are separate assemblies, and there is a question which one to replace.

If you had a different problem (say, the pump wouldn't run) it would clearly be the accumulator.

But frequent running of the accumulator means the pressure is leaking off and needing to be replenished. If you're not leaving pools of brake fluid behind you, it's clearly an internal leak, where fluid is getting through one of the valves that should be tightly closed, and returning to the reservoir.

That could be happening either in the accumulator or in the actuator. Most of the system's valves are in the actuator, not the accumulator. So you would need to know which unit to go after.

At the rate it sounds like yours is leaking down, you would probably be able to hear a fluid hiss in one unit or the other by touching it with a mechanic's stethoscope.

There's also the possibility of using Techstream to wiggle individual valves one by one and see what happens.

 

Thanks: (I've gotten great info from this site over the years... ) I am curious why the brake light has yet to go on. Does it wait until the car is undrivable to light?

 

Every diagnostic code has its own section in the Repair Manual, and every one of those on the first page states what's called the "detection condition", which is the exact threshold that some measured value or values have to cross to trigger that code. Some of them also will say something like "2-trip detection logic", where the threshold has to be met twice in two consecutive trips before the code will be set.

Some of the detection conditions are given as "Toyota proprietary", but a lot of them aren't, and will tell you exactly what has to happen in the car for that code to be set. (For that very reason, those detection conditions are about the first thing it's helpful to read, if your car ever gives you a code.)

So the short answer is, if there aren't any codes, it's because their detection conditions haven't been met yet. There's a bit of an art to deciding what the right conditions should be (which explains why some of them are "Toyota proprietary"); you want to pick a threshold that will be likely to catch real problems, and not likely to nuisance-trip in moments that aren't real problems. (The brake accumulator might have legitimate reason to run every 60 seconds if you were in stop-and-go traffic, for example.)

 

There is an extended warranty. More info and a pdf.
2010-2015 Toyota Prius and Prius PHV Coverage Brake Booster Pump Assemblies CSP ZJB | TOYO Headquarters

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10145759-9999.pdf

 

Buying 2013 Prius V..... biggest mistake I've made in years.......

 

How true........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Mine is doing the same thing..... I finally got the squiggly traction light to come on...pumped the brakes for or five time......light came on then back off no codes. I'm ready to repair but not sure which component is bad....

 

How many times have the brake fluid been changed?

 

Possibly no component is bad, and you got the traction light on by activating the hill hold.

The accumulator pump can run frequently because of a problem developing, but it can also run frequently in other circumstances, like stop-and-go traffic or parking when you're on and off the brake a lot. If you pay too much attention to it, you can turn into the person who just read about a deadly disease on the internet.