TSB BR001-07 Brake actuator noise

I heard the barking sound upon stopping today for the first time too. I have the same question as above. Is the 2008 covered by a TSB now. I suspect we will hear of more 2008 and 2009 models having this problem as they age.

Has any one else gotten the 2008 fixed under warrantee for this issue?

 

I have had this same problem. They replaced the actuator in 2008 on my 2007 model. Now it is doing it again. Took it in and they said there was nothing they could do to get it to stop. They say the actuator is fine but I dont know how they know that since you have to take out the dash to even get to it. I have the 7 year 100,000 platinum warranty so I am going back to try it one more time.

 

Quick update, the barking only lasted one day and I haven't heard it since. Guess I won't worry about it until I get near the end of my warranty.

 

I have the Chirp/ baby seal/ Barking Actuator noise now in my 2006 prius with 49,950 miles. Only hapens when it is at a stop. Went to the dealer - actually 2 dealers and both want to charge a 100.00 diognastic fee, want to bleed the brakes and charge me for that service and if the noise is still there after bleeding the brakes - then they will replace the actuator for no fee (everything covered). The car goes into the dealer Friday at 7AM - lets see what this will cost me when everything should be covered by Toyota in the first place! - lets see what that 75,000 - $1,000.00 Toyota extended warentee will do for me now !!

 

Well I went to the dealer today, Head mechanic got in the car with me and confirmed the brake actuator noise right away. Since it is over the 3 yr 30,000 factory warentee it was an amazing thing that I bought the 7yr 75,000 extended Toyota warentee for about a grand. Everything was covered. Dealer showed me that it would have cost me $2,500 for the repairs. Gave me a free rent a car and I will see them in a few days. I will update when all work is done and final if any cost to me , and tell you about the dealers service when the job is done.

 

I've heard the noise on my '06 if I push down hard on the pedal while already stopped. It has done this since new. I am not at all concerned about it.

 

Not a do it yourself job? LOL right .......

 

My 2008 with 15k does this if you press harder than normal at a full stop. There is a "sweet" spot where if you hold this pressure it will keep chirping in a cycle indefinitely. Is this covered by warranty? Is it the brake actuator, or could it simply be some air in the lines somewhere?

I cannot reproduce this problem on a friend's 2004 with 100k miles.

 

The "chirp" is due to air bubbles in the lines. A new actuator is required if it is causing the air bubbles. Otherwise bleeding the brakes (not an easy task in a Prius, it requires computer control of several valves) can fix the problem (it did in my 2004). Others have noted that the symptom is aggravated at high altitudes (low air pressure).

JeffD

 

Thanks Jeff!

I guess I'll have to bite the bullet at some point and visit the dealer for a bleed/actuator replace.

 

anybody else have to get the actuator replaced more than once? I just got another one a couple weeks ago and last year they put one in. Car's only got 40,000 km. Is this going to be a yearly thing? I paid an extra thousand for a 4 yr warranty instead of the 3 it had. Seen somebody said they have a 7, i'll have to look into that. These repair bills could get pretty nasty.

 

Are they bleeding the brakes after they change the actuator?

If so, then I'm out of ideas.
Although the the noise isn't supposed to affect braking performance...

 

Since the problem is air getting into the hydraulic lines, check that all of the connections were done correctly. You actuator may not be the problem.

JeffD

 

Altitude is the key: I also have the seal-barking sound when I apply the brake while pushing start, putting it in park, or putting it in drive. It has happened off and on since I got the car used last May, and I have confirmed that in my case, it is totally dependent on altitude. If I go about 1800 feet above see level, I will get the sound and it will continue while at that altitude and remain for a couple of starts and stops after returning to sea level. It does not resurface at all until I return to a higher altitude again. Given this, I'm not planning to fix it unless a) it comes and stays regardless of altitude or b) I move to high elevation city permanently. It is annoying enough and hideous enough that no newer car should make that noise regularly.

 

Low pressure at altitude makes any air in the hydraulic lines expand exacerbating the "bark".

 

I had the actuator replaced at about 58,000 km. The odo currently is about 87,000 km. Starting this fall, when the overnight temperature dropped into the range of 1C to 10C, the actuator squawking returned when the car was started in morning. However, when the overnight temperature is around -10C or less, the actuator is silent.

How might the outside temperature affect the brake actuator?

 

Update: I've been to the Dealer (One Toyota of Oakland) 2 times for other things and bought this up each time. The first time when I picked up the car, they handed me the keys without mentioning anything, when I asked about it they said the "tech could not reproduce the problem". So when I took it in again, I demanded to have to tech sit with me in the car. After an hour of waiting they called me out of the waiting area and the Tech met me in the car. I was able to reproduce the problem for him with a little bit of pedal manipulation, and he just looked at me puzzled and said "I guess that's normal". I explained to him that it's not really a bother to me, but if something is indeed wrong with my actuator and my warranty runs out, then I don't want to be in the situation of having to fork over thousands to have it fixed. He sympathized but said there was nothing he could do.

At least I have it documented twice. If it does fail just after warranty, I'm going to raise holy-hell with corporate until they fix it, as I really don't think this is normal Prius behavior. More than likely it's just a little air in the system, but as long as my car is under warranty I expect them to fix it.

Anyway, I'll keep everyone posted here if the situation changes, and I'd love to hear everyone else's reports.

 

I thought it was wholly altitude related, but temperature at sea level produced the sound for me last week as well. Temps got down to 20 degrees fahrenheit, and my seal starting barking. Temps up in the 30s and 40s this week, no barking noise.

 

Mine gets into the "chirp loop" anytime if I play with pedal pressure for a bit, but is definitely louder and seems to trigger faster when it's cold.

 

My 07 with 55k has this issue, which would make sense if it's altitude related (I'm at 5400 ft here in Boulder). I can reproduce it just by pushing the pedal down all the way.

I'm taking my Prius in soon for the usual oil change (Boulder Toyota has Internet coupons for 3 oil changes for $75, which is cheaper than just about anyone else around here). I'm also going to have LSC A0N (inverter coolant pump) and SSC 90L (pedal reshaping) done, and I'll ask about the brake TSB.