Brake actuator "warranty extension" from Toyota

If your question was asking to have something out of warranty covered, the answer will never be a yes

 

I figured as much... Toyota has opted to take care of things slightly past warranty in the past so I figured that it wouldn't hurt asking.

Meaning, I have gotten a yes just by asking (and I didn't walk in expecting a yes - but it is always worth asking)

 

i think because it was already an extended warranty, they are choosing not to go longer. it's unfortunate that the later cars didn't get the same amount of time as earlier.

 

Actuator repair is a very expensive repair (thousands), not sure they'll cover without looking at it first.

 

I had the brake actuator warranty repair done on my '05 Prius at the end of August 2016. I was so glad I remembered receiving that Enhanced Warranty Notice. The dealership where I bought the car had never seen the issue come up before and it took them nearly a week to get the part and replace it. A couple of weeks ago the brakes started acting funny again. Especially when I was going slow and turning to pull into parking spaces (bunny hop inducing pulses) or a driveway. The disc brake idiot light came on a couple of days after that, then as I'm driving home, the ABS, VSC, and Brake lights illuminate on the dash and we're back to the brake actuator in full on failure mode. I call the dealership and they get me an appointment a few days later. I called Toyota and they tell me the replacement parts are only good for One Year or 12,000 miles and they're so happy that I got so much use out of the car, but they're done supporting it. Sigh....I suppose that's about the same response I would have received from any other car manufacturer after 12 years. So, I call the dealership to check on the car and they have the codes for the brake actuator and a lot of other codes. Upon further investigation they discovered that the regular battery is only producing about 10 volts instead of 12 like it should. The tech cleared the codes and put in a know good battery for testing and by some divine miracle (proper voltage) the brake actuator came back to life and started working. The technician tested the car for several miles over the course of two days and the problem never resurfaced. I've been driving it for a couple of weeks now with a new battery and no brake problems whatsoever. Makes you wonder how many of these brake actuator issues are caused by dying or faulty auxiliary batteries. You can check your battery from the Prius diagnostics page on the touchscreen. There's a YouTube video showing you how with no brake, start button twice, and flipping the headlights on/off three times in a row. The diagnostics page has a section or two that will show you the voltage of your auxiliary battery and if it's not at or near 12 volts then it probably needs to be replaced. This could save you time and lots of money. Hope this helps.

 

Your problem was caused by the 12 V buss dropping well below 10 V on start up, which will cause problems for the brake system among others.

A good 12 V AGM battery, such as that used by the Prius, can obtain and hold 13 V or more and drop to and hold 12.7 V under load.

If you care to, a long life and high(er) voltages can be achieved by purchasing and using a 12 V automatic multistage battery charger with an AGM setting. Not to mention no inconvenient car troubles caused by having a flat battery.

 

that program ended in 2017, the repair cost is now over $3000 and exceeds the value of the cars

 

Mine is 2007 prius and just passed 102k miles (on Aug 12th, 2018). Just had brake actuator failure signs today (ABS/VSC brake lights on, red triangle, check engine light on, long beep, no power assist). What to do with this car? Will the dealer still honor extended warranty ?

 

Or is $200-$300 on eBay and $100 to install making it a very cheap repair ($300-$400 total). This is for used but I've owned several in the 130-200k range and never had a brake actuator problem.

 

Go on car-part.com and then:

Select year 2007
Toyota Prius
For part select Anti-Lock Brake Pump
Select your area, sort by distance, enter zip code.

You'll get one for $75 to $100....Bring it to a few mechanic shops for a quote shouldn't be much.

 

Thank you MilkyWay, very useful site and information. The problem with my Prius 2007 yesterday was : VSC ABS brake lights on, check engine light on, red triangle light on, long beep, and then total lose of power, tried to turn off the car but could not, then when turned off, after a while, the car can drive a few hundred meters, then same problem happens. I barely made it to home.

 

Toyota of America confirmed that my vehicle does not qualify the extended warranty program for ABS pump actuator failure, which means very high repair quote from dealer so I decided to leave car at home for whole day. Then when I turned on the car again and found VSC ABS lights disappeared, but check engine light still on, as well as the red triangle light. Got it scanned and found this code : P0A93 Generic Drive Motor "B" Performance. Anybody knows what this means?

 

Are you sure your auxiliary (12V) battery is good? How long ago since that has been replaced?

 

I googled that code and comes back as inverter water pump. Again, pretty simple to put in (hour or 2) with a $65 part on Amazon.

I am just going off google so I would wait until someone else confirms. But if you look up that code the only thing that comes up is inverter water pump.

 

If you're unsure but want to justify it: isn't coolant pump replacements almost a preventative maintenance item? They wear, better to catch it before they seize.

 

inverter water pump or coolant pump, are they same thing different name? is it possible to provide a part link? thanks

 

There's one for the engine coolant circuit, another for the inverter coolant circuit. McGeorge Toyota parts site is good for info.

 

replaced at dec. 2010, so it is about 8 years now

 

The maintenance record shows water pump replaced on June 23rd 2011 @ 55315 miles.

 

I had the code cleared, coolant changed with Toyota coolant, that't all. Now running about 200 miles, lights not coming back, everything seems back to normal. Not sure what was wrong or what might be wrong?