"DOH" Recall - Brake Booster Pump Assembly (Accumulator)

I didn't notice any appreciable difference in pump noise. Wonder if you got a lemon?

 

where is the pump ? I am bring it in this Friday.

 

The Brake Booster Pump is located behind the engine fuse box and just below the Brake Fluid Reservoir. If you follow the rubber hose from the bottom of the reservoir it will go to the booster pump. The Master Cylinder is right behind the reservoir mounted against the firewall and just above the booster pump. You will see the valve assembly mounted on front of the Master Cylinder and small metal tubing going between the valve assembly and the booster pump assembly.

The Brake Booster Pump, the valve assembly and the tubing in between were replaced on mine as they are all nice and shiny compared to the master cylinder. A few others on here have indicated from their service report that their master cylinder was also replaced.

 

Lots of dirty fingerprints on my panels and carpet area when done

 

Picked up my car this morning. It is day and night to me. I could not believe how much I missed out in my last 36k miles. This is how car should feel like. I've been complaining my soft brake pedal. I drove my friend's 2011, and 2012 Prius. All their brake were nice and solid and efficient to stop. Every time I bought up to my dealer and they told me it is normal. One time they even charged me $79.00 to diagnose the brake....Of course the result was" your brake is fine"
I am very glad and happy with this recall.

In my case, All my data remained. The nut on the wiper arm scratches a little. Brake fluid is at full mark.
My Prius production date is 8/2009.

 

Well, I just wanted to relate my bad experience with my 2010 that has issue with brakes twice. I had brake failure(no pressure even though I can hear the pump going and had to pump the brake to get pressure) 5 months ago. I took it in to City Toyota in Daly City and they said there is an ABS recall and they'll look into it. So they pulled the code and replaced the ABS accumulator part(?) under recall pretty quickly and everything was fine when I picked it up.

Before 5 months was up from that repair, I recenlty had same brake issue(no pressure unless pump multiple times to stop) and took it back to City Toyota. They pulled the code and told me this time it's the master cylinder failure. Initially, they said it'll be covered under(or part of the) the ABS recall. They got authorization from Toyota and ordered the part. So I was happy that they can take care of it. Well, they called me back a couple of days later and my repair coverage was denied by Toyota district manager because the codes are not related or not part of the recall. The repair is quoted at $2860 and I was suggested to contact Toyota Customer Experience Center since they maybe able to help me some but it turns out to be such a time waster.

From the beginning the lady rep was telling me the car is way out of warranty and nothing is covered so I have to explain her couple of times that the ABS was fixed under recall and the service/shop guys think it should be covered under the recall. She finally agreed to look into to it but was not much of a help at all calling me back several days later. I don't think she even talked to service and district warranty guys until I explained her again about the situation and she promised to talk to them. I was not expecting much and talked to her again a few days later with same answer. Not even we'll cover labor if I pay for parts type of offers, zero help even though I was cordial in all the calls.

So, any of you looking to get help if your master cylinder fail down the road maybe SOL if it is not replaced together with ABS recall. I'll be fixing it myself(already ordered the parts) and trading the car in for something else soon. I'll miss the mpg and low/cheap maintenance though.

By the way, I have to give props to City Toyota and service rep(Jessy Lloyd) who is the most helpful and customer oriented person even though I never go to City Toyota for anything other than recall works. He is genuinely helpful and tried to help me alot on this but I can't say the same for Toyota Corporate though.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad luck and problems with Toyota and the ABS recall. This is bothersome though that Toyota sees no responsibility in this, especially since your local service department thinks it should be covered. There were some cars reported on here where the master cylinder was replaced as part of the recall, though a limited number. There was no explanation from Toyota as to what they used to determine which master cylinders were replaced. So it looks like we are on our own if we have a master cylinder failure after the recall.

I have the same concerns about our inverters after the recent software recall. Some inverters were replaced if they failed certain testing but most were not. I have a feeling that if we have inverter failures after the recall we are going to be on our own to replace these units also, even though it was due to inverter failures that the software recall was initiated.

The master cylinder and inverter are both very expensive replacement items.

 

Thanks jdcollins5. I've replaced my master cylinder this weekend with a 2011 unit from ebay. It is pretty straightforward job except bleeding air using techstream(keep losing connection to ecu) since I've never done it before. It took me about 4hrs to complete working at a relaxing pace. The master cylinder stroke seems to be shorter and brake feels is much much more improved. I also feel more confident in braking power and response(gear in neutral and no regen). Not sure if it is more sensitive pressure sensors in the replacement part or just placebo effect. Total cost $225 + fluids and my labor (and possibly an accident 2 weeks prior to 1st failure - long story)

I also looked at the inverter parts on ebay and they are around $500 so it's not too bad if it comes to that failing also. I guess this is the fun of owning first year car.

Here is the offending part that Toyota put in our 2010's.

 

With all these high cost for the different parts of the brake system, what would it cost to get all of them replaced? 20 or 30 grand?

 

Not sure of all the parts but master cylinder(booster) is $1900 and Pump Assy is $900 online. Labor is probably another $3-400 for each install.

 

Hi Leeb18c, I might want to meet you. I live very close to you. I have these brake problem that you might able to help by sharing or diagnose my problem.

 

Well I just got a letter about this recall, TODAY. Most of these posts are dated 2013, so this is very weird. However it does say I can bring it in anytime before Nov 2019

 

This is the third time Toyota has tried to fix their faulty inverter problems on their Gen3 models. The Plug-in and the V are included in this third recall notice.

 

Thanks. Do you think I should take it to Toyota dealer even if there are no warning lights? There is some excessive noise similar to what others have posted on youtube... and the brakes feel like they've been sticking, and have not been smooth lately

 

If yours is included, you should receive the letter. Then call your dealer to see if they are ready to service the recall. I don't know how an inverter could influence the brakes - that has to be something else entirely.

 

You are referring to the latest Recall they issued last week (some kind of hybrid software problem), not the issue this Thread's title refers to. I have yet to receive word about the latest Recall, but all of my posts in this Thread are about the brake booster pump / assembly known issue.

 

I have a 2012 Prius and am being told that my brake booster accumulator is going bad but Toyota said the 2012 is not being recalled yet. What recourse do I have? I can't pay almost $3,000 for this

 

sorry to hear it.

call customer service and ask for 'goodwill warranty'

are you having problems, or dash lights?

 

Hey, was wondering if you have the instructions to bleed the brakes?

 

My Toyota dealer wants $3993 plus tax to do the brake recall. ($2300 for parts) The previous owner allowed the extended warrenty to run out. I have called who I thought was an advocate for the owner, but was a Toyota employee who seemed to have no authority to help me.
Who should I call? How about the highway safety administration? Is there a class action lawsuit? I just bought a 2010 with bad head gasket, bad brake booster, bad traction battery, burns oil, leaks water around tail lights (both sides) . But, the body is good. No rust. I fell in love with the car and owner said that an electrical problem was causing all the lights on the dash.
I am willing to take a chance and only replace either the master cylinder or the booster pump-not sure which one to replace.
And, is the very expensive scanner to calibrate the steering angle, or "offset" available to rent (with instructions) anywhere? Or, if I replace the brake part, what is the going rate to do the calibration?