2005 Toyota Prius: brake failure

Filed Feb 27, 2023 · Brakes · OH

We purchased our 2005 Prius in 2014, and after 7 years of learning to drive with the bizarre behavior of this Gen 3 Prius, and reporting it to the dealer (who said that's just how they are designed), I just read dozens of reports on the federal safety agency, all from Gen3 Prius owners, all reporting identical issues with the antilock braking and traction control systems. It is as if Toyota intentionally designed them to operate exactly the opposite of how they should. With traction control, anytime the front drive wheels loose traction - gravel, railroad tracks, even as simple as painted road stripes or damp surfaces - traction control kicks in; however, on this car, traction control immediately cuts all motive power to the drive wheels, leaving the driver vulnerable to getting hit from behind; it cuts in and out until the car decides it has enough traction to proceed. It's dangerous and idiotic. The anti-lock brakes do much the same; if one encounters a situation requiring emergency braking, when the anti-lock system initiates, the brakes simply cut out, and the car jumps ahead, until they grab, then loose again immediately, with multiple lurches, and sometimes just no brakes at all available. It is dangerous and, from the Toyota dealer where we get it serviced regularly, a constant complaint from owners. And, Toyota does nothing. There needs to be a class action addressing both of these dangerous propensities. It's an awful design. Just awful.

Filed Mar 6, 2020 · Brakes · 57,000 miles · HI

2005 toyota prius brake actuator/ fluid accumulator. Toyota has only issued an extended warranty on this issue, which expired in dec 2017. Complete carelessness on their part! This issue seems to be prevalent in many of their vehicles. It should not have been an extended warranty but a full-on recall. This faulty part is very dangerous as it can lead to a total loss of braking on the vehicle. I bought this car used just a month ago and am now dealing with an extremely costly repair bill to correct this problem. The previous owner apparently did not bring the car in for repair during the so called 'warranty' time frame and now I am dealing with it. Toyota has said if the component didn't fail during the warranty timeframe, then they were not responsible for the repair cost. I feel toyota was trying to avoid the repair costs and now want me, the consumer, to cover it out of pocket. Needs to be an immediate recall on this!

Filed Oct 6, 2019 · Brakes · DE

Drove to work on wednesday, september 25, 2019 no issue with the car all day. Left work at 8:30pm and brakes did not work unless pressed extremely hard. Dash lit, brake light on left, ABS on right of dash lit, triangle with exclamation mark in center with high pitched buzzing noise. Backing up was fine but not when the car was in drive. Contacted toyota dealership in wilmington, delaware and they stated no current recall on brakes for 2005 prius. Checked recall history which showed zero unrepaired recalls which means the pump was replaced prior to my purchase of vehicle. However, still having problems with brakes.

Filed Sep 26, 2019 · Brakes, Electrical · 220,000 miles · GA

The dashboard lighting system quit turning on in july 2019. I could not tell how fast or how slow I was driving. The anti lock brake system light turned on while the car was running on sep 23 2019 and the brakes failed to operate while on the road outside my house

Filed Jul 29, 2019 · Brakes · 198,000 miles · FL

Brake acutator failed again after 1 year of use. The brakes failed on this car a year and a half ago, resulting in pedal to the floor and many warning lights going off. Dealer and toyota replaced brake actuator through hidden warranty I had to fight for them to pay. Drove car out of dealership, and it made a squeaky sound coming from under hood, not from brake pads. Turned car around and they took it back. Said they bled air out of brakes. Squawk came back and on next oil change, told them. "no codes, so don't worry about it." was the diagnosis. Squawk continued over the next year and a half, and the same reply from service advisors. "no codes, no worry - maybe we need another brake bleed, but not mandatory." 2 more oil changes at dealer, and the last time, I mentioned the squawk again and the brake bleed to a new advisor and new ownership. "needs a brake actuator - and we will not pay for it this time." I reported the problem to them many times during the one year warranty of the actuator. Now they want me to spend over $2500 on a new actuator because I was a few months out of warranty on new part. Toyota also refused to pay. The brake actuator and accumulator have failed on this car and our other prius a total of 4 times now. This is obviously a major safety issue, and I'm really surprised you are not working with them on a mandatory service campaign. The service manager said they see this issue over and over again, and that toyota did a full redesign of the braking system on the new 2017 model year. Brakes are the most important system on a car. Without them, an accident almost always follows. Please initiate a recall on this as soon as you can. Thank you.

Filed Jul 16, 2019 · Brakes · 159,000 miles · MO

I was driving down the street, all of a sudden my ABS lights came on with a loud hi pitched alarm noise, and when I came up to the next stoplight and pressed on my brakes, there was virtually no brakes so I had to stand on the brake pedal to get the car to stop in time. Fortunately I often pump my brakes so noticed they were not working. I have investigated the issue and have found it is a faulty brake pump accumulator. Upon checking the cost to replace is $2800. Ridiculous. I learned of an extended warranty and many complaints on this issue by searching on the internet. I never received the letter or was notified of this defective part by toyota.

Filed Dec 7, 2018 · Brakes · 155,000 miles · FL

Driving at approximately 35 MPH noticed a burning smell. After driving for another 5 minutes an alarm went off and ABS warning light came on. The brake actuator on this car has begun to fail. This is common on the 2004 - 2009 prius. Very expensive to fix. Over $3000 at the dealer. The alarm can be reset and the car driven again leading to a dangerous brake failure while driving

Filed Aug 9, 2018 · Brakes · 130,000 miles · WA

Abs system failed while my daughter was driving alone on rural but heavily traveled streets. Luckily she was not in an accident and injured. With a catastrophic brake failure how is it that toyota has played this bet and won? 130,000 miles on the odometer. Toyota never informed me of this issue though it is a known failure - not uncommon. Why hasn't this organization (the federal safety agency) acted on a known brake failure issue??? Toyota quietly extended the warranties without informing the owners of the safety issue - this is unacceptable. Of course the warranty has expired on my vehicle. Now I have an unsafe/unusable vehicle and toyota wants $2,500 to repair it - more than what the car is currently worth. As far as I'm concerned the federal safety agency has fallen short on this problem and really should get involved like they did with the accelerator problem. There are reports that two people have been injured out of four accidents related to this problem. The number could easily be much higher than that and simply unreported or under-reported, or undiagnosed. Unbelievable!!! A known brake system failure with no action other than a minor extension of the warranty - is that all that toyota can do? Is that all the federal safety agency can do?

Filed Apr 2, 2018 · Brakes · 224,000 miles · TX

The brakes failed to work due to a bad brake aviator pump. Thankfully it happened backing out of the driveway at low speed and I was able to stop using the emergency brake.

Filed Mar 9, 2018 · Brakes · 203,000 miles · FL

Brake actuator problem on my 2005 prius. I have this vehicle I have been driving for since october and has always made this noise from the front like a pump running. The car itself did not have an issue until recently the ABS light and brakes started acting up. I have found out that toyota had a warranty enhancement that expired in december this year. I had called a local dealer when I purchased the vehicle to see if there was any kind of recalls and they said none for this vehicle. This part is a known part that fails and when it does it could end up making the car like a run away train with no brakes depending on your speed. I tried contacting toyota today but got pretty much no where they are saying that I need to bring it to them and pay them 3,000 dollars. The repair is not possible to be made by anyone else without a special scan tool the cars brakes will sometimes go away completely and the pedal becomes stiff and the vehicle will not brake. If there is any other info needed please let me know.

Filed Oct 25, 2016 · Acceleration, Brakes · 45,881 miles · CA

Brake actuator assembly failure this system failed and had to be replaced by owner of prius. Owner was driving car and the brakes stopped working almost causing a crash. Toyota recently (2016) offered warranty coverage for repairs in 2005. But having to take them to small claims because was denied on a technicality.

Filed Jan 12, 2016 · Brakes · 83,706 miles · FL

The vehicle brakes failed to apply completely during morning start up and back up from parking space. The dash warning lights on included brake, triangle with exclamation, and ABS. During drive to dealer, pedal went to the floor. Toyota dealer found brake actuator assembly failure. Paid for repair and contacted toyota with concern. Found internet information on similar failure with later 2010 model.