Four problems related to abs brake fail have been reported for the 2008 Toyota Prius. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Abs system failing and brakes not working very dangerous to drive.
The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. The contact started the vehicle and noticed that the brakes failed to work. The dealer stated that the abs pump failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 127,000.
~tl the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. While the vehicle was stationary, the brake actuator developed a leak that caused it to malfunction. The contact stated that the abs also failed and he could not stop the vehicle. The vehicle rolled out of the driveway into the middle of the road. Bell Toyota in peoria, arizona was made aware of the failure, but the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 147,000.
On my 2008 Toyota Prius, the brake actuator and brake regulator failed first in November 2008-- car was less than 6 months old. In about August 2009, chirping front end noise returned somewhat intermittently-- noise has gotten to the point that it happens repeatedly every time the car is driven. Took car to Toyota dealership to be diagnosed yesterday (10/17/09) and they have determined that it is the brake actuator that has failed again-- twice in less than 1-1/2 years of owning the brand new car. Vehicle mileage as of today is 22,900. They have not fully diagnosed the car and will not look to see if the regulator has also failed again until they replace the actuator. Meanwhile, they've put me back out on the road in this car for a few days until they get the part in. These are multiple failures of components of the anti-lock braking system early in the life of the car. They do not seem concerned about trying to diagnose the true root cause-- what may be causing these parts to fail. The dealer has asked multiple times if this vehicle has been in an accident-- no, it has not. Evidently brake actuator failures is a known problem on the 2004-2007 Prius (Toyota issued a technical service bulletin-- not proactive, but "if a customer complains. . . Here's what to do to fix it"). It seems that no such bulletin has been issued for 2008 model. I'm very concerned that it is not safe to drive this car with two different parts (and maybe others?) of the abs having failed repeated times. I'm also very concerned about Toyota's cavalier attitude about it.