Brakes went out!!! 2010 Owners beware!!!

Just national corporate Toyota, or Concord Toyota too for refusing to cover the failure under warranty? They are different entities with different owners.

Note that the later is owned by Sonic Automotive:
"Sonic Automotive operates over 100 dealerships spread across 13 states and 25 major metropolitan markets. We represent approximately 24 different automotive brands ..."

... so you may wish to beware of all their other locations of all brands:
Locations | Sonic Automotive

Then, if you suspect that the other shop put in the wrong fluid, search up for their ownership and other locations (of all brands) too.

 

i would find another dealer and just tell them about the warranty program and your DTC pulled by the toyota dealer. be firm on your stand otherwise take your wife

 

Interesting, my car has been emitting brake actuator noise abnormally (tech confirmed it) and on every occasion of brake pedal usage and release, the Toyota dealer said they can't help unless there is a code, which means I have to wait until the issue occurs, which is scary and safety issue

Is there a way to get this done without any active codes or lights, has someone been successful in getting this fix done without active codes or lights?

PS: I haven't received any letter

This the noise I have been experiencing, does it sound familiar, is anyone else observing this as well:

 

nope, some can't even get it fixed with lights, apparently

 

no code = nothing wrong for them. so i doubt unless you know someone that works there

 

Chapman I am always welcome to learn about the breaking system and I am getting conflicting information by both professionals and on the internet.
I welcome the knowledge and appreciate the time you take to go over it.

Op good luck with the car.

 

It appears that an external issue (factor) caused the hydraulic system to fail. Someone added something other than brake fluid into your reservoir. Rubber components on a brake system will only swell if there is oil/petroleum contamination.

Prior to this discovery, how long ago was someone under the hood?

A brake actuator failure will not cause the brakes to fail in the manner you described.

Depending on how much time has elapsed, you may have a case against the last person who worked on your vehicle. But you will not have success against Toyota.

 

A sand pounder: a brake system in good order, not leaking, never needs a fluid top up. The fluid level goes down with brake pad wear, returns to the initial high mark with new pad install.

 

Or you open the bleeders when changing pads, so you squish some of the oldest fluid out, instead of back up toward the works department, and then top off with fresh.

Sort of a middle-of-the-road compromise between the never-change-your-ten-year-old-fluid camp and the flush-everything-every-two-years camp.....

 

With pad longevity, that's going to be long haul? I've never done that (just push the pistons in, no bleed), but do a flush tri-yearly, cus Toyota Canada's saying 36 months or 48K kms (as of 2014~). Honda's always said tri-yearly (no mileage component, as long as I can remember.

 

I squished some out in my last inspection (without changing pads), just for the opportunity to dunk a test strip in it. That's at 9 years and a little shy of 150k miles.

Based on that result, my hair is not on fire to change it just because.

 

I use this which shows my fluid OK after 10 years, 96,000 miles (dry climate).

 

I use a couple of these:



Tri-yearly. Takes maybe an hour or two extra. I've got the car up on safety stands and all the wheels off, for snow tire swap.

I appreciate it's likely overkill, but it keeps me busy, lol. Our winters are pretty rainy, fwiw.

 

Sorry noob qs, is it safe to open the brake fluid reservoir in Prius, as I understand it's highly pressurised, would it be safe to still open it for inspection/testing

 

yes, the reservoir is not pressurized

 

What percentage of water was detected in the fluid?

 

Have you seen this, video #18 by @NutzAboutBolts:

Nutz About Bolts Prius Maintenance Videos | PriusChat

 

The accumulator is highly pressurized. The plastic reservoir where you pour the fluid in is not.

Even so, it's recommended to keep the reservoir closed whenever you have no significant reason to open it. Atmospheric moisture gets let in any time the cap is off.

 

It has been a few months since I checked it. I remember it as being 1% or less, the first yellow light.