TSB BR001-07 Brake actuator noise

My 2008 started making the seal bark of the brake actuator a few weeks ago. I had this problem back in 2009, at 30,000, and it was replaced under warranty. Now, at 96,000, still under the 100,000 extended warranty, the dealer doesn't think this qualifies for a repair. He will be calling Toyota today, but the mechanic led me to believe that this repair was not going to happen. Very frustrating. Based on Skippy911 (01-07-10), I guess I'll try calling Toyota customer service to see if I can get them to authorize a repair.

 

Even if it is not a safety issue, the noise is irritating and makes the driving experience unpleasant. Not what you expect for a 30k car.

 

Would someone who has/had this issue watch the following videos and tell me if this is what you guys had?

More Gen II Prius strange sounds - YouTube

More Prius Gen II noises - YouTube

Thanks!

 

That's the noise that I hear and would describe as seal barking. It deeply concerned me when I bought my car used with 64k on it. However, I have come to realize the following things about it:
1. It only occurs when I take the car above about 1500 ft. elevation.
2. It disappears after about a day of driving below elevation.
3. It once became more consistent, but when I had my car serviced at 75k miles, they drained and refilled brake fluid and it disappeared again and became less frequent and less loud even at high elevations.

I totally agree that it's annoying and somewhat embarrassing. Even if it is not dangerous, it makes you feel like you paid too much money for a piece of $h!t, but I've come to accept it for what it is. I have had no other issues at all with the car, now at 87k miles, and it is just such a pleasure to drive.

 

I am at 4000' elevation. I met another prius owner with with the same sound. I think I'm going to deal with it as long as there isn't a real issue.

 

Has anybody recently gotten this fixed? I have a 2009 with 60K and I know that the TSB doesn't cover it. But, it is making the same noise. It's rather annoying. There's a sweet spot where the barking noise happens. What are the chances of getting Toyota to fix mine?

 

It's just coming into winter here in New Zealand and my car's started making this noise again (second time, same seasonal change). Can't say I keep an eye on atmospheric pressure, but certainly don't live / travel at high elevation.

Last year when my car was in for other unrelated work I asked the Toyota service centre to try and put an end to this by trying to bleed the brake lines or quote me for a new actuator as described in the TSB. The TSB they refused to look at.

Two interesting points from that:

- After 'bleeding' out the brake lines, it appeared not to make any improvement so proceeded to quote the replacement part - but surprisingly after a day of use it went from no change to almost complete silence.

- They quoted me a nice round $9k for a new actuator (excluding tax); the guy at the desk came off as a bit of a slimy smooth sales type. To confirm my suspicions, I rang the parts counter (same place) and gave them the part number on my quote - surprisingly it was much cheaper, but still a few thousand dollar (not a price I would consider agreeing to).

...

I like to do things myself, would be nice to find a wrecked Prius that could be pulled apart and examined to come up with a DIYers solution to this as it slowly becomes more and more of a problem as they age.

The servicing division of Toyota can't be trusted; it's just a gateway to get you in the door, and then scare you into trading your car in for a newer model.

 

Funny short story; after posting this, driving home from work a BIG dog ran out in front of the car - really slamming on the breaks whilst going down hill seems to have silenced it completely!

Dodgy fix, disclamer - don't try try this at home (but I would be lying).

 

Glad to hear that the brake line bleeding may help. Since brake functionality is not impaired, it makes no sense to me to pay anything more than a low three-digit amount to deal with this noise problem.

I've noticed this noise problem with my 2004 when at higher elevations - 6,000 ft or more.

 

High elevation = low air pressure = more gas bubbles form in the brake lines = "Bark"

JeffD

 

I have the same thing linked in what is this?

 

Hey pEEf. Does your Prius do this at the end of a full stop, or once you're already fully stopped? I had a 2008 that was recently wrecked (some drivers don't like stopping for red lights...) that never had this issue. However I am considering buying another 2008, and when I test drove it I got the bark/chirp at the very end of a stop right before the car came to a complete stop. This is the only time it would make the noise - never when shifting or releasing the brakes, or when depressing the brake while already stopped.

I'm trying to figure out if it's some sort of issue with the brakes/rotors themselves, thus an easy fix, or if it might be this actuator issue, which the seller won't fix.

Any insight that you, or anyone else, can provide would be very helpful! The car is otherwise a GREAT find - great price for a low miles, near mint beauty of a Prius!