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OK strange noise

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by ronlewis, Jul 23, 2023.

  1. ArCanSawDave

    ArCanSawDave New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 30, 2023
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    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2003 Prius
    Model:
    SE
    On my 2003 Prius I had a brake warning light and constant warning tone. I didn't have much history on the car, and wasn't very familiar with their general operation. On a hunch I placed a screwdriver handle on the booster pump assembly (on the passenger side of the firewall) and tapped the screwdriver handle with a hammer. To my delight, the booster pump kicked on and ran enough to build pressure and the brake warning light extinguished (along with the annoying warning tone). Unfortunately it was short lived, as the pump only operated that one last time. Since I knew the pump assembly was bad I went ahead and removed it and inspected it. I disassembled the section with the electric motor and found that the commutator bars were extremely worn (some copper commutator bars were totally missing). I searched around for parts online because I found a used booster assembly to be expensive and possibly no better than my booster. What I found is that you can buy a new armature assembly to replace the worn one. The mid 2000s 4runner and GX470 used a similar pump assembly for the ABS system, so I used an armature for that application. I've since put 23k miles on my car and have had no further issues with the braking system. So I'm basically saying if you can determine that the motor isn't running, you should probably look into replacing the motor/armature section of the brake booster pump. I'd imagine this is probably the source of most brake issues due to the age of these cars.
     

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  2. Cameron L

    Cameron L New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2024
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    Location:
    Nc
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    My wife's 2012 Prius V seems to have a. Internal leak as you described. Is there a way to fix it myself?
     
  3. Tim Jones

    Tim Jones Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2018
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    Location:
    SE Texas
    Vehicle:
    2011 Nissan LEAF
    Model:
    ----USA----
    $1500 for parts 5 to eight hours labor and Toyota Tech Stream
     
    #23 Tim Jones, Aug 16, 2024
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2024
  4. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
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    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Yes you cannot fix internal leaks inside of the brake actuator and the other part I mean there's no coverage for rebuilding so either Toyota doesn't give that information out and A1 cardone can't pick up the work or something I don't know how it works but no I don't think you're going to fix it but have at it see if you can take the parts out and see what you can do but I highly doubt it there are people saying that they can somebody will give you a link to somebody hybrid pit or somebody claims they can rebuild them