2017 Prius V ineffective braking performance

Maybe the hybrid brake actuator? I know some v owners have had issues, and some lucky ones had it replaced under warranty

 

Do you hear the brake accumulator pressurize at startup? Have you checked for any codes?

 

No trouble lights? Got to say the video helped very little. Maybe a shot of the dash. Of course this system is brake by wire with a hydraulic pump and accumulator normally sharing the load with electric regen. If it fails completely, lights are on and you have very hard and ineffective braking. Gen3 v's and corresponding hatchbacks have lots of worn and failed brake booster and master cylinder problems. But none I have heard of without trouble codes and lights.

 

Is this car recently new to you? Is it possible dash lights have been disabled? This is why a check of stored/retained codes would be important.

 

Sell it.......

 

This is the guy who puts 50-60k a year on his company cars. Sounds like the brake booster issues may have continued into 2017 on the v.

 

That’s easy to check: when starting the car, do the red BRAKE and ABS warning lights on the combination meter (instrument cluster) come on briefly, and then turn off, as described in the Owner’s Manual (PDF), pages 87–88?

It’s almost always good idea to check for diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) using a Toyota Techstream diagnostic system, but if the warning lights are normal—that is, seen only for a few seconds when starting the car—this may not be the most productive direction for diagnosis.

From the symptoms, I’d wonder about a brake fluid leak, air in the lines, or contaminated fluid. Have you checked the brake fluid level in the reservoir (Owner’s Manual, pages 437–439)? The procedure for bleeding air out of the lines is in the Repair Manual (more info); Toyota warns, “The Techstream must be used for air bleeding. If not used, the air bleeding will be incomplete, which is hazardous and may lead to an accident.”

If the trouble persists after replacing the brake fluid and proper bleeding, the Brake System section of the Repair Manual has an on-vehicle inspection procedure, which also requires Techstream and some special tools.