Who has had brake actuator and pump failure - 2010 Prius?

Just took my 2010 Prius in with barking brakes and continuous pump whine and was handed an estimate for $4,629 to repair it: "Replace and bleed ABS brake actuator and pump (internal leak in brake pump leaking nitrogen into actuator.)" The service guy said he would toss it up to management and see if Toyota would give me some relief. But I came home, did research and learned that Toyota issued Warranty Enhancement ZG-1 for this very issue on April 19, 2016 that covers Prius 2005-2009.

When I called back my service rep with this information, he admitted he knew about the problem for the Generation 2 models but that Generation 3 wasn't included and "there are some design changes between the Gen 2 and Gen 3." I wanted to say, "Well, obviously not enough of a design change, eh?" This is clearly a continuing issue.

Has anyone else with a Gen 3 Prius experienced this problem and, more importantly, have you had you have success in getting Toyota to cover the cost? If so, can you recommend a course of action I should take?

Thanks.
Jo in AZ
2010 Prius
96,000 miles

 

I looked at Toyota Canada's recall site and found a reference to "voluntary safety campaign" that included the 2010 Prius and describes the nitrogen leak that my service tech diagnosed. It's the very last entry in this PDF.
http://media.toyota.ca/internal_redirect/cms.ipressroom.com.s3.amazonaws.com/152/files/20144/Toyota_Canada_Notice_of_Defect_Summary_2009-Present_EN.pdf

Description:
The subject vehicles are equipped with brake pressure
accumulators consisting of a metal plunger containing brake
fluid encased in a metal housing. The plunger is designed
with metal pleated bellows to allow for motion. Nitrogen gas
is sealed between the plunger and housing. There is a
possibility that a fatigue crack could develop in the bellows
due to the vertical vibration of the plunger while driving. If
this occurs, nitrogen gas could leak into the brake fluid and
gradually cause the brake pedal stroke to become longer,
resulting in decreased hydraulic pressure. Under certain
circumstances, this condition could affect stopping distance
and increase the risk of a crash.

No, this hasn't been issued in the U.S., from what I can see on Toyota USA recall or voluntary recall sites.

I asked the service tech how dangerous it was to drive the car in this condition. I didn't get a solid answer on that. It can't be safe.

I misspoke on the estimate earlier. The first page showed $4,629. Add in supplies and tax and we're at $5,062.99. Ridiculous.

 

I would agree with that. The 2005-2009 US recall covers the actuator and the Toyota Canada voluntary recall covers the pump. If I were an attorney, which I'm not, I would say that's a pretty strong case for them to cover it.

 

I got no relief from Toyota corporate, and the dealer could only shave a bit off the price. I ended up going to an independent Toyota service center for a second opinion. They tried every angle but couldn't get a new ABS for any less than what the dealer would have charged. So they suggested and I agreed to put a used ABS in the car. Total cost $1800 and it came with a year's warranty, which is the same that I would have had for a brand new part. This ABS came from a 2012 Prius with 55,000 miles on it. The year gets it beyond the problems with the old ABS, which ended sometime in 2010. And the low mileage tells me I'll most likely get plenty of miles on this ABS. I had that done in November. I've had no problems whatsoever. This service center has put in several with used parts. They did, however, recommend that I have the car completely checked over before I made this investment so that I wouldn't also be incurring big expense for something else I didn't know about. The inspection showed a very clean car with no costly issues on the horizon. So I opted to go ahead. And I am returning to them for all future service.

Keep in mind that by putting in a used part, I have relinquished any relief rights with Toyota. Had I put in the costly new part, IF -- big IF -- Toyota ever decided to include my car under the recall, I would have sought relief.

 

Toyota Recall Site
Lookup Safety Recalls & Service Campaigns by VIN

 

I can't remember the cutoff for the manufacturing date, but I recall that 2010 vehicles made up until June or July of that year are covered. Those manufactured after that date are not. Mine fell into that group. I replaced the ABS with a used part procured by an independent Toyota service repair shop. I'm staying away from the dealers, who were no help.

 

No cheap fix, but it was $1,800 rather than $5,000 at the dealer. And the warranty was the same: 1 year. My replacement came out of a 2012 Prius that had 50,000 miles on it. So I feel pretty confident. Heck, if it fails, I can buy another one for $1,800 and still be ahead of the dealer's cost.