Brake Master Cylinder Problems of Toyota Prius - part 1

Please read the attached file "prius complaint signed" for a full description. I am the owner of a 2010 Toyota Prius, 2zr-fxe. The warning light came up on my dashboard of my vehicle, so I took my 2010 Prius to autozone, to get a free diagnostic. The diagnostic indicated the problem code of “c1256” “accumulator low pressure” for the “anti-lock brake system. ” see ex. A (autozone diagnostic). It is available for inspection. According to the safety recall number “d0h”, 2010 Prius model “2zr-fxe” has a “brake booster pump assembly which can develop a crack inside the accumulator housing. If this occurs nitrogen gas could leak into the brake fluid and gradually cause a loss of power assist. Under certain circumstances, this could affect stopping distance and increase the risk of a crash. ” (emphasis added). I have noticed that when I brake hard, it takes longer to come to a stop, which threatens not only my life, but the lives of my wife and two [xxx] daughters who also ride in this vehicle. According to the safety recall, “Toyota dealers will perform an inspection and, if necessary, replace the brake booster pump assembly at no charge to the vehicle owner . . . ” see id. The safety recall does not explicitly permit dealers or servicers to charge for an inspection with regards to this defect, according to the information provided me. The estimate, provided by darcars recommending replacement of the “brake booster with master cylinder with pump[,]” confirms that the issue appears to be that which is covered by the safety recall. Ex. F. ; see also exhibit b safety recall (the vehicle has a “brake booster pump assembly which can develop a crack inside the accumulator housing . . . ”). See also exhibit e error code from darcars (“c1256 accumulator low pressure”). Nevertheless, darcars refused to waive the diagnostic fee of $150 and would not repair the vehicle unless I paid them “$5,150. ” see exhibit f. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

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Brakes started making a hissing sound a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday evening when I was driving on freeway , I got an assortment of lights on my dash while driving . Abs was instantly disabled and it was significantly harder to brake the car. Brake light on dashboard came on. Traction control light came on . It was very dangerous and it was mere luck that there was no car in the front - otherwise I could have crashed. Pulled over to the side on the freeway and then came in internal roads to my destination , keeping a lot of braking distance and at slow speed. Turns out this is the infamous brake booster leak that was so bad Toyota was forced to create an extended warranty program on gen 3 to fix it. Brought it to dealer next day. Got an estimate for $4000 for "replace brake booster and master cylinder(due to internal leak)".

The contact owns a 2014 Toyota Prius. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the brake master cylinder and the brake booster pump assembly had failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

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Brake master cylinder and brake booster failed and needed to be replaced.

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Tl the contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, the brake pedal was firm causing the braking distance to be extended. The vehicle was taken to Toyota of Lincoln park located at 1561 n fremont st, chicago, IL 60642 who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the brake booster and master cylinder were defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 100,000. The VIN was not available.

I experienced a significant loss of brake performance accompanied by many warning lights on the dashboard, including one that indicated a problem with the abs brake system in my 2010 Prius. Upon immediately taking the car to the dealership, I was told that Toyota extended a warranty program (zjb & zkk) for the source of the problem abs brake actuator/master cylinder failure, but that I was not eligible for the warranty coverage because the deadline had expired. My car was under 150,000 miles, as required by the warranty, and displayed the correct failure code as required by the warranty. But, since my car did not experience the problem or display an error code before the end of February 2020, I was told that I was ineligible. I was informed that I would have to pay over $4100 for a repair through the dealership, buy a new car or take my chances and drive the car 'as is' until I could find a cheaper solution. The cheaper solution would be to find another abs unit at a salvage yard, and have a non-Toyota certified mechanic install it. There is nothing to indicate a salvage yard unit will not simply fail again. I was well within the 150,000 mile limit of the warranty. So, I am to accept responsibility for the repair of a part that Toyota admits is faulty, and would have replaced if the problem would have surfaced a mere six months earlier? I believe Toyota's warranty extension to be a meager attempt at appeasing the NHTSA and other authorities so they do not have to launch a full scale recall. They are endangering the lives of hundreds of thousands of people who depend on these cars on a daily basis, as they should not ask their customers to experience a major brake failure before the manufacturer will agree to fix a known problem (or not fix it, rather, as the time limit has expired). Toyota is putting profits ahead of safety, during a pandemic. I the NHTSA to help us.

I was traveling at about 55 mph on highway 66 when the instrument panel began flashing the following warnings: "braking power low, phsb malfunction, parking brake low, pre-collision malfunction, anti-lock malfunction, lane deparrure malfunction, brake overide" . The only obvious symptom was that there was no brake boost - the brakes continued to function, but without power assist. I am a former auto mechanic, so I would have noticed if there were any other symptons. The dealership had the car for 3 weeks and ultimately replaced both the brake booster and the master cylinder. They initially replaced the booster and discovered that that did not fix whatever was causing the warnings and dtcs. Toyota instructed them to replace the master cylinder and that apparently fixed the problem. They could not explain why a fault in the master cylider would have caused the array of symotoms observed by both myself and the mechanics. I was surprized that the master cylinder was the cause as the the loss of boost seemed to be a brake boost problem. I was told that Toyota is aware of the problem and that it is widespread.

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I brought my Toyota Prius to Toyota dealer as abs alert was on and I lost controlling the brake. Toyota dealer gave me an estimate for repair at $2,850. 00 ( p1391 abnormal leak in accumulator pump rec master cylinder with brake booster and brake booster pimp assembly) due warranty enhancement expired 05. 09. 2020 or 150,000,miles. I've got abs alert in the beginning of may'20, however, due to covid-19 stay-home order, I had to stay home and wan't able to bring my car until end of may, . 2020. I was advised by Toyota dealership to contact Toyota customer relation as they may consider to extend the warranty, so I contacted Toyota customer relation( actually I was transferred to financial department) and they denied to extend the warranty, and they repeated as " warranty is warranty" . I was very disappointed with Toyota's unkind decision and service under covid-19 situation. I read toyoya 2010 has problems of brake issues, so I want Toyota take a responsibility to fix my brake problem.

My brakes failed on a two-lane divided street in lutz. We were driving straight, and when my husband put his foot on the brake, they failed. We drove to the nearest Toyota garage and the agent said that it was a master cylinder problem but the Prius would be covered under a recall - Prius� less than 10 years old and less than 150,000 miles on the clock were covered. My car fit both criteria. On returning to collect the car, none of the v class Prius� were included. The part number was c1391. We had to pay $3886. 09. Our manufacturer number was not covered. It was one number different. I spoke to the most senior executive I could contact at Toyota. (danny castro). Danny had no answers that I found satisfactory. His basic reply was: �your manufacturers number is not included. � these are my concerns and reasons: 1. There is a known fault with the master cylinder with all Prius cars, but the company says that it is only responsible for certain manufacturer part numbers, which doesn't include the v's. I think it's a design fault and by giving the part a different number to avoid the recall on v�s, seems underhanded. 2. There is nothing I have done to instigate or aggravate this problem. 3. My car has been perfectly serviced and I have not missed any mileage dates. 4. We were lucky. With the brakes failing abruptly and without warning, we were at risk and I believe that my complaint may save others that aren't so fortunate as us. All Prius cars should be covered under the recall program. The internet documents master cylinder failures on all Prius models, the top one being a leak; my problem. 1. 5 million cars are being recalled - why not mine!!!!.

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My abs system started showing signs of problems, and I started getting codes for all sorts of brake-related issues. My brakes ended up locking up and not working, and my battery in my car died because it was the brake system was not able to recharge my battery. Even though I started having issues with it in February, apparently Toyota said that because I had a 2010 Prius, that since November 31, 2019 had passed, the recall/extended warranty "ran out" on it. Even though this is a problem that obviously wasn't fixed in the first place. So when I took it to the dealership to get a diagnostics ran on it, they said that they needed $3,200 to fix the vehicle. This included both the purchasing and installation of a new brake booster/master cylinder assem and an abs pump motor assem. I obviously do not have the money for the repair and they are telling me to go kick rocks. This is not right and because of the brake issue not being fixed in the first place, it then allowed my battery (which runs around $1,500) to get completely drained and prevented it from being properly recharged by the brake system.

While driving the brakes went out. I brought the car to Toyota and they said the brake booster is defective and needs to be replaced the price to do so is about $3,000 they also said they don't know why this happened as in some cases you never have to replace a brake booster nor master cylinder.

11/15/19 originally the car showed brake, abs, antiskid and engine idiot lights went to the dealer with a code c1391. They said I need to replace the master cylinder and the power booster for $2600. Then they said it was policy to also replace the brake booster pump assembly for an additional $2,000 or a total of $4600. After I complained that they had recalled 972,000 other Prius but didn't include the Prius v they said I only needed to replace the master cylinder and power booster and said they would do it for $1,516. 89. So then I go to take the car to the service department today 12/4/19 and while sitting there the idiot lights all turn off and the brake start to function normally own its own. . . I ask the service representative what his thoughts were and he said I should still make the repairs, but he couldn't say what they would do it came back. So I'm going to drive the car for a week to see. While I'm waiting can you please do a recall on the brake pump assemebly since these folks dont even know what the heck is going on with this car. It appears its not either device and its a computer glitch that they haven't resolved. . . Help us Prius owners please!!!.

I have an early year 2011 Toyota Prius, the break booster and master cylinder assembly work intermediately. Sometimes it shows errors with lights illuminated on the dashboard and brakes have a lot of play and are spongy and other times they work perfectly normally. The vehicle was in motion and when I went to use the breaks in a traffic situation they ended up hardly working putting myself in a higher risk for a collision and putting my life endanger.

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My car has the same brake booster/master cylinder defect that the 2010/11 model Prius were recalled for. Brake booster or brake pressure accumulator failure on 2012 models causes loss of braking effectiveness. Serious safety issue that can cause death. Toyota is well aware of this. This happens in motion at highway speeds.

Car was in motion and brake pedal went half way to floor and abs, brake, traction control and tire sensor lights came on. Master cylinder or brake booster seem to have failed. Dealer didn't recognize codes and could only recommend changing spark plugs when I just had them replace 6-8 months prior. Explained that did think that had anything to do with brakes giving out. They reset codes and sure enough happened again within the next 30 days. Toyota admitted to since receiving many reports of certain internal malfunctions of brake booster assemblies. 4 trips later to dealer the response is the codes are not coming up (dtcs) c1391, c1252, c1256 or c1253 in order to be covered it's voluntary customer support program which has brake booster and brake booster pump coverage. Very frustrating!.

Started car one morning, immediately noticed the �abs�, �brake�, and �traction control� warning lights were on simultaneously. Took the car for a drive around the corner, and immediately noticed brakes were very soft and unresponsive. Pedal literally sinks to the floor while air can be heard leaking from the system/pedal. . Also noticed the brakes no longer recharge the system, and they also feel jerky at times. I checked the brake fluid reservoir, and noticed fluid was halfway between max and low. Perhaps a leak somewhere in the system? I contacted my local Toyota dealer and will have them take a look at it on 05/10/2019 according to some research I conducted, this is a known issue in the 2010/2011 models. Supposedly, over time, vibrations can actually crack the line(s) feeding into the brake master cylinder, and thus resulting in this fault. Toyota should definitely be more communicative about these issues. I have owned this car for 4 years, and have never heard of this before. Currently not driving the car at the moment, as I do not feel safe.

Tl the contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius v. While driving approximately 20 mph and attempting to brake, the vehicle did not stop and the tire pressure monitoring system, anti-lock, brake, and electronic stability control indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to john elway's crown Toyota (1201 kettering dr, ontario, CA 91761) where it was diagnosed that the brake booster/brake booster pump and master cylinder needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the vehicle had a software failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 106,853.

Toyota had a customer support program zjb for default brake booster/master cylinders on the 2010 Prius models. I have a 2011 Prius that has been diagnosed with the same problem and there is no customer support offered. This warranty enhancement on the 2010 models is good thru 11/30/19 regardless of mileage. Even though my vehicle has the exact problem there is no recognition for support due to the year of this vehicle. I was not aware I even had a problem until I took it to the dealer for a software recall update. We were experiencing heavy rain and my indicator lights came on which is why they checked this and confirmed the issue although my brakes are working fine. I am not understanding why Toyota is not honoring the fix for the default or why after discovering this issue in 2010 the 2011 would not be considered. I would appreciate some help in this matter.

The following is a summary of how I became aware of the power booster and master cylinder problem with my 2011 Toyota Prius. �upon discovery of multiple lights displayed on dashboard such as brake, abs system & traction lights, during driving the braking performance has changed drastically & the car no longer performs braking function adequately. Unable to rely on safe braking due to brake resistance felt with stiffening in which pedal depresses deeply & more time is required to come to a full stop. When braking the hybrid battery does not charge & runs dangerously low resulting in damage to the hybrid battery which can lead to substantial cost to replace the battery. �car brought to firestone for diagnostics. Upon further inspection by their technician it was determined that the power brake booster/master cylinder was damaged & malfunctioning and was in need of replacement. Informed repair would be in excess of $1,500. 00. See enclosed supportive documentation from firestone diagnostics.

Tl the contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. While the brakes were engaged and the vehicle was stationary, a loud abnormal noise was heard from under the hood. The vehicle was taken to germain Toyota of naples (13315 tamiami trail n, naples, FL 34110, (888) 722-4942) where the contact was informed that the master cylinder needed to be replaced and the linear off set value needed to be re-learned. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 111,399.

Serious brake issues! failure of brake booster and master cylinder causing impaired braking lending to safety issues. Many insiders at Toyota know the 2010 Prius brake issues exist and question why it is not handled at the corporate level. Brakes are spongy and additional pressure must be applied. The abs is inoperable because of the problem. Please hold Toyota accountable for this chronic issue. The safety of all involved is affected due to inconsistent braking. My dealership asked corporate Toyota to address and they refused.

I drive a Toyota Prius 2010, I was driving when my brake, abs, and traction control light came on at once. When I tried to apply the brake it would take a lot of force for my car to stop. I went to the Toyota dealership to get it checked out and they said part number c1391 has to be replaced. Tech found abnormal leak in accumulator. The accumulator pump assembly needs to be replaced. Which would cost me 2,000 dollars parts and labor. They also told me they might find out that the master cylinder might have to be replaced as well if damaged. Which would be 3,300 dollars. So worst case scenario it would be over 5,000 with tax to fix my car. I noticed other 2010 Prius models were recalled for the exact issue but only certain VIN numbers. My VIN number wasn't included. I feel like it should be if many other people are complaining about the same issue with this car. I can't afford over 2,000 in repairs let alone 5,000.

I was driving on the freeway. All of a sudden brake, abs and suction traction light turned on. After that I have to push my brake harder to slow down the vehicle. I was able to drive it back home safely. I took it to the dealer who said I need to replace brake master cylinder with brake booster. Doing research I found many owners of the same model car have same problem and some of the cars are recalled but not all. I believe most of 2010 Toyota Prius car have issues with brake system which is bad for our safety. It can cause serious harm for our safety. I request your good department to investigate the braking issues for 2010 Toyota Prius vehicle. As a good citizen of the country, I felt I need to discuss this issue with you.

(np missing dealer) tl the contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. While the contact's wife was driving 35 mph, the abs, traction control, and brake warning indicators illuminated. The driver had to apply extra pressure to the brake pedal to slow down the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the brake booster and master cylinder failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the vehicle was not within the VIN range. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.

Hello. I recently started to experience an issue with my vehicle. My brakes started to make some kind of unusual noises every time I press on them. I've never had that before and I service my car pretty often. I went to authorized Toyota dealership and they told me there was a computer issue and they fixed it for $110. It continued to make noises and all of the sudden it began showing abs/brake/vsc lights on my car dashboard either while I was driving or being in the ¿park¿ mode. At the same time my brakes stopped working well while driving when the abs/brake/vsc lights were on. I checked the code of the error through the car computer and it showed me ¿c1391¿. I went to the dealership again and they did another check and this time they found that brake master cylinder/booster/abs assembly needs to be replaced with $3,170 price. I attached here the paper that my Toyota prime dealership located here in saco, me gave me. I¿ve been reading a lot about it online and people with the same type of hybrid vehicles have experienced it. I think Toyota needs to look into the issue and acknowledge that it is a common problem in their hybrid vehicles. I service my car all the time, I do oil change and check all the systems very thoroughly, so I don¿t understand why we, consumers, have to pay that big of a price for the car repair. I hope you can look into the issue and help me (and to all other car owners) to resolve this kind of issue. Thank you.

Brake system failure while driving on suburban street. Master cylinder, assembly and booster replacement. All corresponding warning came on. Was able to drive to dealer. This is the exact problem that incited the recall for nitrogen leaking into the brake system in some Prius made in 2010 (82,000). Cost of $3200. Incidentally, brake fluid was flushed and changed at 60,000 and then again at 75,000. The reason, stated from the dealer is that maintenance was responsible for the failure. Priority Toyota of springfield was the only one during the maintenance and I followed their recommended advice for the 2 brake fluid flushes and replacement.

I have driven people for a living for over 30 years. I bought a Prius because of fuel costs. A month ago while transporting passengers, my power brakes go out and my dash lights up with abs,brake, & traction control warning lights. I take it to the Toyota dealer who charges me $111 to tell me I have a brake problem and that it will cost $4418 to fix it. Code # c1391; they recommend replacing the master cylinder; and booster pump assembly saying there is an abnormal leak down of the brake accumulator. This is insane. I cannot afford to fix it and must continue to work to live; therefore driving about 200 miles/day with hydraulic only brakes. My research indicates there was a major recall for this exact problem on the 2010 model. The dealership and Toyota corporate both say my vehicle was not part of the recall. I feel as though it should be since, obviously, the problem has not been solved. I am not alone, as many owners on Priuschat have the same problem. This is a major safety concern to not only myself, other vehicles or pedestrians, but also my passengers. An expanded recall is necessary and warranted. Anything you can do will help and make us all safer. .

Abs actuator with master cylinder assembly has internal leak. Assembly doesn't hold pressure and actuator motor continiously working in order to create the pressure. Due to this problem brakes are not operate as properly. It takes more strength to put on the pedal to stop vehicle. I also noticed that during emergency braking not all wheels were involved equally. Due to this problem braking distance significantly increased. I have 3 instrument cluster error lights turned on due to this problem: "brake", light with vehicle on sleepy road, and light with "!" sign. I found that there already was recall for same 2010 year Toyota Prius under tms-ntc-13178 of July 23, 2013, Toyota recall name d0h, but my vehicle is not covered. I kindly ask you to investigate if my car eligible to participate in this recall campaign, since seemsthat this car were assembled with same unreliable parts.

My car at 139,500 miles driving straight on a main road at 45 mph had three lights come on, red 'brake' light, yellow 'abs' light and the yellow 'tcs' light. Earl stewart Toyota diagnosed problem as brake actuator needs to be replaced at a cost of labor/parts of 2,100$. I was able to financially afford the repair so I told them to perform the repair. Less than two days later, driving normally on a main road, the same three warnings appeared, and of course upset me greatly. Toyota this time diagnosed the problem this time as the brake booster needs to be replaced. Another dealer said the brake master cylinder needed to be replaced. I am in talks with the dealer to figure out how to proceed.

Loss of brake pressure, with insufficient breaking to hold at a stop while in drive. Warning lights for brake system, abs, electronic brake system (yellow exclamation point in a circle), and traction control. Diagnosed by brown Toyota in charlottesville va as faulty brake booster, accumulator, and master cylinder. Brown Toyota said it was a recurring problem they have encountered and they have been in contact with Toyota headquarters about it. Estimate was $5800. Toyota customer service was contacted. Was told it is not one of the 2010 cars covered by the recall despite being the same failure and no compensation was offered.

I was moving forward in a turn lane on a city street preparing to make a left turn. A vehicle cut in front of my car and it was necessary to make a quick stop to avoid an accident. Immediately red warning lights lit up indicating a problem with the brakes. The repair statement from the dealer indicated that the brake booster with master cylinder assembly had failed and needed to be replaced. The repair required over two weeks to complete and I was informed that the procedure in the service manual for repairing the problem was incorrect.

The Toyota dealer diagnosed a brake master cylinder and booster failure on our 2010 Prius at 27892 miles. Toyota declined to extend the brake recall that covered 2010 cars with a production date before November 2009. Our car has a March 2010 production date. Clearly Toyota was assembling cars with faulty brake master cylinders and boosters and they should extend the recall to cover those cars. The cost of the repair was $2760.

The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving down a hill at approximately 20 mph, the brake pedal was depressed and the brakes failed to respond without warning. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed that the brake booster pump leaked nitrogen into the master cylinder brake booster assembly that caused the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign: 13v235000 (service brakes). The approximate failure mileage was 148,000.

Abs, brake and traction control warning lights came on while driving on posted limits on highway under dry conditions. At same time, brake pedal suddenly required more pressure to stop car. Warning lights stayed on, and returned after car was turned off and on again. Dealer stated it was brake stroke sensor malfunction and replaced part. Car was purchased new and had only driven it for a few weeks. Exact same thing happen again June 2015 and July 2015. Driving on highway, dry conditions, all three warning lights came on, and brake pedal required much more pressure to work. Steering also lost some power. Dealer diagnosed a stroke sensor malfunction. Computer code was c1247. First dealer I took it to in June 2015 couldn't recreate the problem, cleared the code, and said everything was fixed. Wrote "car is safe to drive" on my receipt. 2 weeks later same problem reappeared and a different dealer said brake master cylinder was failing.

The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the contact applied the brakes then the pedal went to the floor and the vehicle failed to stop. The contact pumped the pedal and eventually the vehicle stopped. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the contact was informed that the brakes needed to be replaced. Several days later the failure recurred. The vehicle was returned to the dealer and the contact was informed that the master cylinder and the brake booster would need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 144,000.