Electrical & Brake issues - 2006 Prius

Hi.

Here’s the background:

I own a 2006 Prius with just over 323,000 miles on it. I purchased it new and highway commute into Boston each day, so they’re all my miles. To say it’s been a great car is an understatement.

But-I now have the Red Triangle, VSC, ABS, Brake and the (!) warning lights showing on the dash.

The problem began a couple of weeks ago when pulling out of my driveway I found I had almost no braking when stomping on the pedal. Plus I had warning lights all over the dash.

Towed it the dealer, Dealer found DTC codes 1253 and 1256 and decided the Brake Actuator needed replacing, at no cost to me because of the ‘Enhanced Warranty’. The dealer reported no issues with brake pads, calipers and wheel cylinders.

After the Actuator fix the dealer ran several tests and a road test, and reported the Actuator was functioning normally. The car was parked, waiting for me to pick it up. However, later they had to move it the lot, and when they did they found warning lights reappeared and so did the DTC code 1253.

They tested and found the ABS 2 fuse in the main fuseable link as blown but that continuity is good and there is no known short to ground.

The Dealer suggested replacing the fuse and ABS relays in the main fuse box, but said whatever is causing the issue is intermittent and hard to find.

The Dealer’s head tech discouraged me from further repairs saying it could be like chasing ‘ghosts’ on a high mileage car and could be quite expensive. Frankly I translated that statement as a message that they didn’t want the hassle, so I took the car home.

At home I tested the 12v battery, found the battery was bad and replaced it. I also replaced the all 4 ABS relays in the main fuse box. After replacing those fuses the ABS warning light initially was off, but after I restarted the car, the ABS light reappeared – and all the other warning lights were still lit up.

So, here are my questions:

1-How do you replace a fuse in the main fuseable link, or replace the main fuseable link itself, on a 2006 Prius? (I have looked for You Tube video on this and cannot find one, does anyone have a link to one?

2-Any suggestions as to what may be causing the underlying problem?

3-One more wrinkle: In getting the car towed from the driveway, the tow operator didn’t screw the tow hook in far enough. When he got the car half-way up the truck ramp, the hook flew out, the car shot across the driveway and rear bumper wacked my garage. Not hard enough to do damage, but a good stiff hit. Could this hit have electrically damaged the Brake Control Power Supply Assembly, as the assembly box is in the trunk - or could the hit somehow be causing my electrical problems?

4-Does anybody know of a good, non-dealer, Prius mechanic in central or eastern Massachusetts, in case I’m at the limits of my ability to try to fix it myself?

Sorry for the long note, but I figure more info is better than less.

This car looks good, runs well (except for this issue) and I’d like to try for 400,000 miles unless the fix gets too expensive.

Thanks.

 

Ericbecky,
Thank you. would you suggest a version of Techstream, as it seems as if there are a lot of choices for cables and software out there on EBay and Amazon?

 

I think I need to know exactly what the problems are with the car before I can pursue the Tow Company.