Brake Booster Malfunction

You might check and see if there are any Hybrid specialist shops around your area. There is one here in Houston that will do the accumulator / pump and booster replacement for $1895 out the door which includes brand new Toyota parts.

 

I had this exact failure on my 2012 Prius with 101,000 miles on it at the time just a couple months ago. Took it to the dealer and without me even mentioning it they covered it 100%. They said there was a TSB for that issue. Toyota of Richardson (near Dallas). Excellent service there this last time. They also found a coupon for me for some other stuff they were going to do maintenance wise. I was blown away.

That said, I don’t know if the TSB goes back to 2010, there was a mid cycle refresh in 2012. If it helps, it is T-SB-0024-19, and they did it because of the presence of code 1391. They also told me without the TSB it would have been $2,800, so it’s in the ballpark of what you were quoted. Good luck!

 

It was covered 100% because of Customer Support Program ZJB. The TSB mentioned above is only the document with the technical instructions that go along with the support program (you'll see it mentioned on page 4 of the CSP doc).

But the support program ZJB has eligibility cutoffs, and for 2010s the primary coverage ended in late 2019. The secondary coverage ends at the earliest of: 150,000 miles, or 10 years from the date of first use, so that's likely bad news for any 2010 by now, unless it spent its first two years in storage.

 

You should let us know your location. You might get suggestions.

 

The technical instructions for the repair are in T-SB-0079-18, which gives a time estimate of 5.8 hours (5.2 for a Plug-in, which doesn't need the extra step of making sure the replacement ECU is flashed to the latest firmware. I wonder which markets had a Plug-in for 2010?). That would be for an experienced dealer mechanic with the dealer special tools ready at hand.

The TSB is only four pages long, because step 3 just says to follow the instructions in the repair manual (more info). The repair manual online at TIS gets updates, and although there are downloaded copies findable on the web, they can be older downloads that might not all have the updated repair procedures. This might be a case where going straight to the source can be an advantage for getting the complete updated info.

 

First you should call Gasketmasters and Luscious Garage and ask them for prices and other mechanic recommendations. The job is difficult because of access and other parts that have to be removed so six hours is about right. Plus there are specialized calibration, software updates and bleeding steps. For those reasons and longterm safety, used parts are usually not recommended. Even with a used parts guarantee from ebay, it could still require another six hours of labor. You do want someone with specific Prius booster brake experience to do the job.

Unless you have long distance towing from AAA or similar you are limited on shops. But you could drive it in most cases especially if it has not gone to the failsafe hard brake mode. You determine price first and then get it to a shop. Also have your shop determine parts availability using your vin for reference. There are different part numbers by year and within the same year.

 

Starting in 2010 the brake booster system is two parts, the pump and the master cylinder. If your car qualified for a free repair you would get both parts. Most likely a Toyota dealer will quote both parts because either or both could be faulty. Since it takes six hours they don't want to change one and then realize the other is also bad and have to spend another six hours.

So its possible that some independent shops may think it is the same as a gen2 which is all in one. It is also possible an independent shop has changed just one part on a gen3 and were lucky.

Remember we suggested you give the shop your vin and have them look it up because a 15" tire Prius has one set of parts, a 17" Prius has another, a Prius v wagon has two choices, etc. They all look the same and even have identical housing markings. Plus Toyota may have improved parts with different numbers than your car originally was built with.

These are the parts I find for a 2010 hatchback with 15" wheels:

 

There is a Class Action Lawsuit for this matter. In the meantime, I submitted my comments at nhtsa.gov. This should be a recall and not the lowsy “extended warranty “ which can only be accessed after the problem arises! Waiting on a call back from Toyota while I appeal, since I’m over the 150,000 miles

 

It is only up to 10 years and the campaign for unlimited miles ended on August last year. Only for 2011-2015. Now inly 2012 or newer are eligible

 

Those quotes are way too high.

You can find the best prices for genuine Toyota parts on parts.toyota.com. Enter your VIN, then search separately for "brake master cylinder" and "pump assembly, brake booster". Once you locate the listing for the correct part, you'll need to pick a dealer to purchase it from. There are currently 50 dealers on the site with prices ranging from about 80-100% of MSRP (as low as 60% MSRP a couple of weeks ago). If you check out each one you'll be guaranteed to find the lowest price. This step only takes about 10 minutes per part.

One dealer may not have the lowest prices for both components. Luckily, you can purchase each from separate dealers and still get free shipping with the coupon code FREESHIP. Note that prices can change day-to-day.

You might also want to add the master cylinder gasket (44785 02060) to your order as it is a non-reusable part.

But above all, check the size of your wheels. 17" wheels will need a different brake master cylinder (47050 47150) than 15" (47050 47140). The pump assembly (47070 47060), however, is independent of wheel size.

 

Just a heads up if you decide to buy the parts yourself from a dealer online I would suggest calling them to make sure they actually have it in stock. According to my dealer on Tuesday there are no master cylinders in Toyota warehouses anywhere in the United States atleast for the cars with 15" wheels. He did give the names of 4 dealers in my area that showed to have them but did say they may not be for sale and may be earmarked for customer cars already.

I ended up going with the shop in my area that does the change out for $1900 with new parts and warranty who supposedly has both parts in stock but we will see how long it takes to get the car back from them.

 

Typical 2011 prius with 200t Km probably about 3-4k, $2000 probably is not too bad. Better than junk it for less than $1000

 

More to the point, is your Prius a level that came from the factory with 17” wheels. In the States that’s typically level 5, and (just in 2010?) level V. In Canada it’s Touring.

When searching the parts, entering your level (or VIN if possible) should make the distinction.