ABS Actuator replaced - Scantool + Pump Error

2008 prius that was showing signs of ABS actuator going bad. Got new one from toyota dealership and swapped it, done except for the brake bleeding procedure which I'm having some unexpected issues on at the moment.

Car starts fine, communicates with techstream (via a Mongoose-Plus dongle) drama-free with no new errors, just the ABS codes.

Forewarning I'm not very mechanically inclined.

Issues:
(1) When starting the brake bleeding procedure on techstream for an ABS actuator replacement like instructed in the repair manual, I get to the first screen that says to turn IG off, remove the 2 ABS-MTR relays, and turn on again, and it errors out asking if I'd like to try again. The same error screen did suggest the 12v battery was low but I couldn't tell if that was the default error output or actually telling me something. Either way I have the 12v charging on a 3A charger currently. Made sure to do a 'Health Check' in the beginning as well (recommended in another thread). Also tried restarting my laptop and unplugging/replugging the dongle. Was wondering if there were any other recommendations outside the 12v battery.

(2) Brake pedal goes to floor. I'm not very mechanically inclined so maybe thats expected but it's offputting that I've refilled the brake fluid reservoir to the top and the brakes bottom out completely with zero resistance. Is that expected given no bleeding has been done?

(3) After I finished installing the actuator and everything else, I jumped the gun and pressed the brake pedal before I had refilled the reservoir. The pump worked (to my delight) and I thought nothing else of it, but a day later when I'm trying to bleed it doesn't sound like it turns on at all. I'm worried I sucked in a bunch of air into the actuator and screwed something up. Do I just need to get the techstream bleeding process to work to fix this? Or do I need to consider the walk of shame to the dealership?

Appreciate any advice at all, I learned a lot about my prius during this process.

 

@Tombukt2 I'd like you to know many drip drip drips were had and it worked! I could tell large pockets of air were forced out of the system from the front brakes being pumped by a second person. I jacked up just the passenger side of the car and put it on a jackstand for easier access to the front bleed valves and that alone made fluid in the reservoir drop noticeably.

I successfully got thru the techstream ABS bleeding procedure. Brakes now feel firm and good, and can't press to the floor. All the lights on the dashboard still light up EXCEPT for the traction control light. The 'READY' light actually comes on. The ridiculous infinite "beeeep" sound that was made the moment the door was opened no longer sounds.

My techstream issue came from me just not knowing anything I guess. The system says to set the parking brake in the very beginning, which I thought meant to have the car literally set to "P" for setting the transmission or however it works, while the bottom left foot-pedal was just an emergency/back-up brake, but I guess they consider it the parking brake. I also connected a 3A battery charger to the 12v during the entire procedure and pre-bled things to help it along like you instructed, but the techstream goes thru the same thing anyway and I'm not sure either of those were needed at all.

I can't keep going tonight but progress was made and I'm grateful for the help. Next steps are to bleed the engine coolant system including the heater core/pump, reset the DTCs, and perform some testing.

Also, I might go thru the ABS bleeding again (assuming it's okay to put the pump thru multiple bleeding procedures). I'm considering this because the bleeding went smoothly except when the pump was supposed to run while holding the brake pedal down for the RL and RR, for some reason the pump just...didn't go for those. We double checked the instructions and it looked like we were doing it right. Tried multiple times and decided to just move on and complete the procedure.

 

Fair enough. I did try to follow them as closely as I could but it seemed like at every major point I'd hit a snag that forced me to improvise. I'd be done with this by now if it went as smoothly as the manual makes it out to be, or the youtube videos.

I tried to access the techinfo site since I didn't save a copy of the actuator replacement section and I think its down? Says im unauthorized, thanks toyota. Wanted to double check if I missed a step in there.

I have 2 questions now (for anyone to answer if they could).

The actuator runs A LOT less than I'm used to. I think that's expected if the old one was going out and running more often to compensate, but the new one doesn't run when I open the door or when I tap the brake pedal and press the start button. I have heard it kick on occionally and for very short periods, ss that healthy actuator behavior? I wouldn't know, its my first prius and I bought it used 8 months ago. I reset the DTCs and nothing has popped up yet on techstream except the one AC code that everyone says to ignore.

Also, I put the car into dianostic mode to bleed the engine coolant, ran the engine continuously with the radiator cap off and filled, and opened the radiator bleeder valve by several turns but no fluid came out whatsoever, not even a drop, 100% dry. Heat was turned on inside and I revved the engine a few times, and let it sit for quite awhile. Is that a good indicator of air in the system still?

 

@dolj That seems to line up with the replacment's behavior then. This morning I opened the door and heard 1-2 very distinct clicking sounds, sounded like it was coming from the driver-side large relay box (maybe the ABS-MTR relays), and maybe the pump ran for an instant then stopped which was kind of concerning. But when I pumped the pedal 4 times it came on strong and stayed on while the pedal was down, stopped when the pedal came up. Might just have to do some real testing to know for sure. No lights have come back on yet, so that's good.

I did squeeze that hose, the large one that goes into the radiator right below the bleeder valve and gets hot when the engine is running, but I'll try again and use my muscles and make grunting sounds next time and see how that goes. And yes, the bleeder valve that's opened with a 6mm hex thing is the one i used. Is there a way to check if it's blocked or to unblock it?

 

You're right chapman, that was just a coincidence. Went at it multiple times, pump brakes 4-5 times before it kicks on and when held down it runs for ~4 seconds then turns off. Brakes are looking good.

Sorry for the barrage of questions. Brake bleeder just needed to be looser I guess I kept opening it until coolant (and some bubble) shot out. When I turned off the engine from maintenance mode I heard a sound that kinda sounds like its maybe a coolant leak somewhere right around the engine but I never really messed with any of the hoses there during the job. Maybe someone could confirm? Coolant got up to ~200F.

Attached video link /w audio. Camera was just me getting close to the sound. it almost sounds mechanical

 

For me the volume toggle is on the top right for mobile, bottom right for desktop

 

@alftoy ty so much! saved

I did my first official test today driving around, accelerating hard and slow, braking hard and slow, ran the AC and heat on full blast, so on so forth. The braking is sooo much smoother and I could be making it up but the regen feels a lot more prominent. Actuator runs way less, but still kicks on strong, 100% sure on that. No codes so far.

My research (i.e. google) last night also pointed towards the water pump for the weird sound but the symptom didn't reappear during the test. I'll listen for it during a long highway drive tonight and probably just replace it anyway as a preventative maintenance item, but that's a next month problem for now.

I appreciate the insights ya'll shared. Helped me save a 08' /w 275k miles, on to live another day.