2005 Prius + Faulty brake actuator = $$$$$$$$

Hi all

I have a 2005 Prius which I've bought used from a local Toyota dealer (in Perth, Western Australia) about 5 years ago and have a trouble free time until now. The car now has 84,000 km's on it (52,000 miles) and has been serviced regularly by the same dealer.

Last week I started to have the dreaded ABS,VSC, brake warning lights come on and stay on. I can drive for about 5 minutes before I get a high pitched alarm coming from behind the dash and the brake accumulator pump then goes into overdrive until I switch off and then I can get another 5 minutes where it appears to run OK until I get the alarm again etc etc. The brakes seem to be OK throughout this process.

I finally took the car into the dealer yesterday and they ran their Techstream program to diagnose the problem. I was hoping for something minor.... but was told by the service rep that the scan revealed error codes C1252 and C1253 and after checking the circuits the brake actuator assembly required replacement. The cost would be $4,958.56 AUD for the part and $522.44 for labor - total of $5,481.00 AUD ($5,284.33 USD) !!!!. As this is probably half the value of the car I thought I would try and source a replacement myself from elsewhere. Looking online, I see that the part in the US is significantly cheaper (the cheapest I've seen is $ 1,380.42 USD) but the part number is slightly different for the RHD 44500-47080 and LHD version 44500-47090. I've checked the parts diagrams online and can't see any external differences between the two units, but I guess that there must be something or they would be the same number? Just to confuse things the part number of the faulty unit on my vehicle is 44510-47050 which I have seen on quoted on used units for sale (in the US) on e-Bay!

Can anyone confirm the brake actuators are different between RHD and LHD models and it's not just a huge conspiracy by Toyota to separate Australians from their money?

Thanks

David

 

Update to my first post:

After searching for a used brake accumulator locally (with the original part number of 44510-47050) and only finding one, which the seller wanted $1200.... I ended up buying a brand new unit (via an importer) sourced directly from Toyota in Japan. I ordered the current part number listed by Toyota (44500-47080) and when the part turned up it had this number on the box but the unit itself had the original number on it!!! Total cost was $2,100.

I contacted my local Toyota dealer and they agreed to fit the part for the original amount quoted of 3 hours labor plus brake fluid ($522.44) they said they would guarentee the installation but not the part, which seemed reasonable. I dropped the car off on Wednesday morning at 8am and here we are 3 days later and they have still not managed to complete the installation. I'm advised that they can't get the brake system to initiate properly and clear the error codes. After spending 3 days on it, they now think the ABS ECU might be faulty (even though the previous error codes don't show this) and are currently trying to find a used ABS ECU to swap and test this theory out. I'm told to replace the ABS ECU they would have to dismantle the dashboard and this would take about 8 hours!!

I'm wondering what are the chances that both the brake accumulator and now the ABS ECU are both faulty and if anyone has replaced the ABS ECU themselves is 8 hours for labor reasonable for this?

Thanks

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm a bit disapointed with this whole thing, I've had the car for about 5 years and until now it's been pretty much 100% reliable.

I really don't have much faith in the Toyota mechanics, but I guess I don't have many options at this point. I will await their verdict on Monday regarding the ABS ECU. I hate to think how much they'll probably want for the used unit!

I did think about the 12v situation (I fitted an Optima battery about 18 months ago) which I charged overnight before I took the car into the dealer. I thought they would be aware of basic things like battery voltage, but who knows, they might have left the interior lights on for the 3 days they were working on it?

I will report back when I know more.

 

Hi Patrick

I bought the car (2.5 years old) from the dealer in question. I think it may have been in an accident at some time in its life, judging by the paint work (sanding scratches) on the hood.

I checked all the fuses and relays with a multimeter for resistance (but didn't put 12v across the relays to confirm their fuction).

I received a copy of the original diagnostic report from the dealer and it lists only C1252 and C1253. The detailed freeze value is shown as 140. (B1421 was also listed, but I believe this is related to the A/C sensor on the dash if the car is tested inside a building?).

I found via google (8 pages, 05-1045 to 05-1052) Toyota diagostic procedures for C1252/C1253 and this included checking the relays, wiring harness etc. etc. and assumed this is what the Toyota techs would be using? The service invoice reads "Connected scan tool and found trouble code for accumulator pressure and pump running excessively. Tested circuit and confirmed accumulator requires replacement - $5481.10 including parts, labor and brake fluid".

David

 

Latest update:

The dealer contacted me saying they had a similar model Prius come in (used car trade-in?) and they were going to swap the ABS ECU over to see if that was the problem. They later confirmed this was indeed faulty, saying the ABS ECU was causing the accuator to run for too long thus causing the dash warning lights to come on and trip the error codes. They are now getting me a price for a new unit and also trying to see if they can locate a good used unit (as this would probably be cheaper!)

The dealer has now had the car for 5 full working days!!!

To be continued.

 

Final update:

I finally picked up the car (7 days after dropping it off for the 3 hour job !). The dealer couldn't find a used ABS ECU, so I was given the job of finding a replacement unit. I was told the part number I needed was 89540-47090. This ended up being for a 2008 model, where as my 2005 originally came with a 89540-47070!

Total cost all up was $3,830.... ouch! (New brake accumulator - $2,100, used ABS ECU - $550, fitting - $1,180)

One thing I've now noticed is that the rear brakes (discs on Aus models) now appear to be working. In the 5 years I've owned the car they always appeared to have slight surface rust on them (which I thought was a bit odd, but never mentioned it when the car was serviced). The rear discs are now completely shiny and obviously working correctly for the first time since I've owned it. I would assume that the VSC would never have worked properly with non functioning rear brakes?

Hopefully it'll be a long time before anything else major goes wrong!