Brake Actuator Assem - Warranty Enhancement

No the work was done at Toyota of Union City in Union City, GA.

 

I have an 07 Prius, and the VSC plus ABS lights came on, stayed on for an hour or so, and went off. Then came on a few days later, then went off. I took it in to a dealer, and they said they HAD TO VERIFY THE LIGHTS CAME ON. "Can you leave it for a couple days while we drive it around hoping to duplicate the problem?"
Nooooooooooooooooo! Lights haven't come on for weeks now. Unless they were very lucky, they wouldn't see the lights.
They say it doesn't throw a code. They won't accept a picture of the lights being on. I am less than enthused.

 

So our 2005 Prius has been exhibiting the classic signs (brakes "barking", actuator pump running constantly), and I received the ZG1 warranty extension notice a few months ago. Last week while driving on the interstate I finally got the warning lights.


Service appointment is Monday. Plan on having the steering recall checked while I'm there. Hope I can leave the car and get a loaner!

 

Does anyone know if this warranty enhancement program is for the United States only? Anyone know if Canadians are covered...

 

So glad I found this old post, as I have a 2004 Prius that just happened this to and coverage is still good through December this year
What a relief finding this as I just experienced the C1256 - accumulator/actuator code (brake light, ABS, VSC warning lights on), and found after just calling Toyota that my 2004 Prius's VIN is covered under this Warranty Enhancement Program to have this fully replaced at no cost to the owner, I just need to get it in and have them do the inspection (wonder if the code lights need to be on as they just went off this morning). Anyway, I'm the 2nd owner to this car and never received any letter in the mail on this, but will be THRILLED if they do in fact stand by it as Toyota Customer Service says they will and to give them the code: ZG1.

Th warranty link:
2006-2007 Toyota Highlander, 2004-2009 Prius Brake Actuator Warranty Extension ZG1 | TOYO Headquarters
And Service Tech Instructions:
http://www.revbase.com/BBBMotor/TSb/DownloadPdf?id=194089

 

This story has a happy ending I guess I got lucky. I bought my Prius 10/14 with 154k miles on Craigslist in Los Angeles (a scary proposition) . Now I have 162k miles, and an actuator barking loudly. After being advised by my mechanic that i needing an actuator I looked on this site and learned about the warranty enhancement. I made the appointment at Santa Monica Toyota not knowing about the letter and all and they couldn't help me. I called another dealer and they said they would handle it. I went 20 miles and they told me that the car was not showing any codes, but they gave me a copy of the warranty enhancement TSB and told me if it goes out before DEC 31, I will be covered. So I shrugged my shoulders and went about my business hoping it would throw a code.

Two weeks ago, I went to the grocery store got my groceries and started to head home. In Los Angeles people drive crazy in parking lots, so you got to be super careful backing up out of the spot. I hit the brake to slow my backing up but nothing happened. I had to panic pump to stop. The next morning I called Toyota and told them what happened and warned them if anything happens because they refused to fix it the results would be on them. Got transferred to local service manager who transferred me to the public relations manager who set up the appointment to check the car and possibly do the work.

That Friday I dropped the car off back at Santa Monica. Five minutes got a call and was advised that the brake fluid was incredibly dirty. They said dirty brake fluid frequently causes that barking. Manager said they couldn't determine about the actuator unless they eliminated the dirty brake fluid as a cause. I authorized the fluid change $178.00, got a call an hour later that the actuator was barely barking but still barking none the less. He had an actuator in stock and gave it to me. Got the car after work and it's been great since.

I noticed since getting work done that my gas mileage went from 40.8 to 44.8. Why is that?

 

That's an amazing story, yes happy ending!! I know someone else that bought a Prius from Craigslist, and have had no problems I suppose because the cars are so well made.. Great to hear they fixed it and you are getting 'Prius' excellent MPGS!

 

Many thanks to the forum members wjtracy for the OP to this thread, and pkwhisker for posting the link to the customer letter text and the TSB. Also many thanks to MJ50 who pointed out it is possible to have the skid control ECU log DTC without any warning lights on:
Brake actuator warranty ehhancement program | PriusChat

I swapped the 2015 for my daughter's 2007 so that I could evaluate the condition of the 2007 (she got the better part of the deal...)

I finally noticed a couple of days ago that the brake actuator pump was running every 7 seconds, even when the brake pedal was not depressed. No warning lights were on.

So I hooked up my laptop this evening, and retrieved DTC C1256, acccumulator low pressure. I'll call my local Toyota dealer tomorrow to arrange for confirmation of my findings and replacement of the brake actuator.

 

Would you mind posting a video or sound clip of the noise? Is it the rattlesnake like buzz or brake barking or something else?

 

I dropped off the 2007 at the local dealer on Saturday. My diagnosis was confirmed yesterday and they will be replacing the brake actuator pump today.

So I can't make a recording of the sound, but it was the rattlesnake buzz. The buzz would occur for around 3 seconds. Then there would be a pause of around 7 seconds. Then repeat. This occurred even without my pressing on the brake pedal.

 

I own a 2011 Toyota Prius. Today, while driving to work, I got the dreaded tell tale lights (abs/!/brake lights). The dealership is telling me to fix it will be about $4500... I don't have the money for this. I am not sure, but I have seen but this is an ongoing problem with Toyota cars. Is the actuator itself under warranty? Is the car? I never got a notice, and on the Toyota website no safety recalls or campaign show up under my Vin number. Any information would help so much

 

It sounds like you managed to get the vehicle to the Dealer somehow, what exactly did the dealer tell you was wrong?

Did the dealer charge you for this inspection service and if so did they provide a work order or other paper work?

If your dealer ran a test/scan there should be results, usually if the form of DTC (and INF) codes.. if you can find and provide those codes someone here may be able to help.

 

I just got my 2005 Prius brake actuator replaced under this warranty. You could definitely tell from the noise it made that it needed replacing (like Patrick indicated). Ironically now that it's replaced it sounds like a duck is dying in my dash. The dealership is telling me I need the ECU Skid Controller replaced at $2700. I politely declined and drove it home. I will be using some old posts on how to check the codes and troubleshoot tonight (Thank you for that Patrick). In the meantime, does anyone know where to get a non used ECU skid controller for less than $1000?

Also, I made a video prior to replacing the actuator. If the audio on it is good enough I'll post it tonight.

 

Well...My turn! This past week my wife's 06 Prius lit up a few warning lights. She told me the brakes felt funny when she would first start the car...then went on to say that if she wait about 30 seconds before putting it in gear that it would start rolling even with the brake pedal fully depressed. Hummmmm...failed to tell me this but reminded me to take the trash out! LOL Anyway...

This morning I hooked up the laptop and found the C1256 and C1391 codes active along with the ABS, Brake and {{!}} warning lights lit up (not the low air warning light). Once again...I found my answers on Prius Chat! We have both the 06 and an 08 Prius and did not receive a letter regarding this problem. I have printed off the info regarding the Toyota Warranty Enhancement Program= ZG1. I am hoping and praying they will take care of this problem.

 

better late then never

 

I got a 2008 Prius two days ago, and literally just now joined this forum to figure out how to get in on this. I called my dealer and they said they can't do anything unless the warning light is on. I have the rattlesnake problem in the above video, and the barking problem when stationary when I push the brakes, but none of the warning lights are on. Clearly the problem is the same, and the fix is the same as described in the extended warranty, but am I out of luck just because the appropriate lights aren't on?

Edit: "barking" problem like in this post: My Brakes are Barking at Me | Page 4 | PriusChat

 

its not a free fix for everyone, its only some vin numbers, the lights dont have to be on but there has to be an error code stored in the computer, so you have to pay for the diagnostic at the dealer if they find it to be part of the extended warranty you get the fee back and the free repair, if not your screwed.repair is around three grand parts and labor, if you just bought the car return it to the dealer.... welcome to the wonderful world of prius where you save on gas but spend triple on repairs. have them check for recalls on the HV coolant pump, the steering column and I think there was third one about the digital dash cutting out.