Brake problem, with lights "Brake", Exclamation point, ABS, and VSC

2008 Prius, with 154K miles. I finished a 300 mile drive with no issues. Next AM, I went to move my Prius to drive another car, and right away I could feel the brakes were way off......soft, and nearly dysfunctional. I then noticed these warning lights: Brake, !, ABS, and VSC.

I plugged in my ODB2 reader, but it pulled no error codes. I had a somewhat similar problem at the 108K mile mark 3 years back, but that time I got 2 codes, and I replaced the ABS actuator pump. At 145K miles, I had an error code and replaced the water inverter, as well as the brake pads.

Any ideas? I have read where, at times, there can be an issue but with no error codes (unless taken to a stealership, which I have little interest in doing.)

Appreciate any astute input or feedback. Thanx.

 

Good question. I hadda look it up in my maintenance log, as I couldn't recall. Yes indeed, it was a used actuator. (sigh.) Well, I reckon that's the culprit.....?

 

Hi TMR, there are no error codes. (Granted, I don't have a Toyota-specific ODB2 reader.) These warning lights all light up on the dashboard within a few seconds of starting the car. Not sure if I've answered your question or not....? Thanx, Sv

 

A-ha, I hadn't thought of it that way. I reckon yer correct. It dawned on me to ask ......is this car safe to drive to a mechanic shop? Just in my driveway, the brakes seem slow to react, and very wooden. (Perhaps I've answered my question....)

 

That's some neat info, Chappy. Thanks. I just arrived in Cali for a business trip, so I'm not at home at the moment to tinker with this. Very interesting and informative info. Much appreciated.

 

Hello All,

This issue has been resolved/repaired. I had the car towed to my mechanic, as I have free towing. My mechanic (not a stealership, of course) pulled the code....got an odd code for a stroke sensor. That said, he astutely drove it on a quiet back street, and could hear a variety of noise & rubbing on the passenger side.

Lo and behold, the front pass. bearing/hub was shot. It had separated about 1/8", in fact, and this had basically gouged the rotor. That, then, seemed to set off the ABS light. They replaced the bearing/hub, and rotor, and that cleared the ABS warning light. Further analysis revealed a similar noise on the driver side, so we replaced that hub as well, as we had to replace the driver side rotor regardless.

All fixed, and all good. This set me back $800 (would have been probably 3 times that amount at a stealership), with each hub costing $190 per. Much less costly than a new ABS modulator and the labor to install it.