Hello, So I have every light on the dash lit up and a constant beep that never shuts off on my 2008 Prius. I took it to the dealer to check the codes, and they say it's the ABS and it'll be around $2500. This puppy has 242K on it so I'm going to look at buying another car. HOWEVER, as many know there is very little inventory of new or used cars, not to mention the prices. My question is: am I taking my life into my own hands by driving it on short trips to grocery etc.? It does function and other than the annoyance of the lights on the dash and the beeping it seems like the brakes are functioning in the old school pre ABS braking way. Thanks in advance. Normally I wouldn't even consider driving it, but it's still kind of a crazy time and my options are limited.
be very careful, simply because the brakes aren't working as intended. you seem to have a feel for it, keep your speed down and stay well back of others. you might be able to find a mech who can install a salvage for much less cost if you look around. that's still a nice car, and you won't lose any investment when you can sell/trade
The car has the warning lights and beeper on because it's telling you that there is a serious problem. Without knowing the exact codes no one can give "precise" advise. (Were any codes listed on the invoice for the diagnosis?) If you search the Gen2 forum for "flash codes" or "blink codes" you should be able to find a procedure to (carefully) jumper two pins of the OBD2 connector under the dash and have the car flash any trouble ABS-VSC codes using the warning lights (as two digit numbers). Barring that, you can only assume that ABS, traction and stability control functions don't work. Regenerative braking also likely doesn't work. It is POSSIBLE that you can lose "power braking assist" at any point, which would result in longer stopping distances with a hard pedal. (The prius' braking "failsafe" mode has the front brakes directly connected to the master cylinder- no boost or electronics at all. This is a "get the car safely to the side of the road" strategy) What is your risk tolerance? Some people have driven cars with (similar) problems for quite some time. Me, I wouldn't go much anywhere with "bad" brakes. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Thanks for the responses gentleman. I'm not one to question alerts. If they are "On" then something is not working the way it was designed. I saw some things on youtube that said they would still work, they just wouldn't have ABS. I take online advice with a grain of salt (present sight excluded) . I don't want to drive it at all, but I do need to run errands occasionally. I called up a couple of dealers and it's more or less, "I think we have 1. We can always order you one." I'd like to wait for inventory to catch up. It doesn't seem like the best time to buy a car. As I said crazy times right now. Thanks again.
You definitely won't have ABS or stability control. When you are hearing the alarm beep, you also will have diminished or absent power assist, and brakes on only two wheels of the car.
This probably isn't it, but have you verified that the 12V is good? "Every light on the dash" does not happen if just the ABS is bad. If the 12V runs way down all sorts of crazy things happen, and a Christmas tree dash is one of them. Put a voltmeter on it (with the car off, you can do this at the jump point in the fuse box under the hood). If it reads more than 12V then the battery probably isn't an issue, but if it is less than that, especially if it is much less than that, it might just be a bad battery. The dealer should have tested this, of course, but did they?
A photo of the lights can sometimes help too. It's not unheard-of for people on PriusChat to post about "Christmas tree" or "every light" without really, literally, meaning every warning light there is on the dash.
Good idea Chapman. So I took it to 2 places to run the codes. One of couldn't do the work. The second was the Toyota dealer. I was told it was the Brake actuator pump assembly (by both places). Toyota says $2700 and I've been checking with other places. It seems like a junk yard isn't an options which you can understand as it's associated with braking. So far it's looking like the best price is 2100. Thanks for the help.
If you can find an independent shop near you that isn't spooked by the job, you might talk them into installing a recycled one. More of a gamble than a spanking new one, but maybe a more palatable amount to invest in a 13 year old car (depending on how it's been treating you so far).
Quick update. Every place I've tried (7 total) have come in at the same price of around 2700 and none of them will put in a used. I also asked a dealer about a new Prius Prime and was told probably around 2 months as there are only 2 in NC, 20 in the whole South Eastern US. Interesting times. My guess is next year some time for inventory to get back to what it once was.
