Bleeding the brakes before fixing brake actuator

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Jason Packel, Sep 13, 2021.

  1. Jason Packel

    Jason Packel Junior Member

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    Hi. My Toyota dealership said I need to repair my brake actuator on my 2007 Prius. The lights haven't come on yet though. Does it make sense to bleed the brakes first to see for sure if it is the actuator? It should only cost $95 to bleed the brakes. Thanks in advance.
     
    #1 Jason Packel, Sep 13, 2021
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    If you can hear the actuator keep cycling when you turn off the car (like every 15 seconds), then you will soon have a failure of that part. I changed out my actuator when it started cycling more than normal.

    I don't believe the brake bleed will help this situation but I believe the repair manual does suggest that being the first step to take.
     
    #2 JC91006, Sep 13, 2021
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Can you give a little bit more of the background? Why were you at the dealership? Were you there to ask about some brake concern that you had, and their answer involved the actuator? Or were you there for some other reason, and they said "we noticed about your actuator...."?

    If you were there to ask about a braking concern, what was your concern?

    And either way, what did they say about the brakes?
     
    #3 ChapmanF, Sep 13, 2021
  4. Jason Packel

    Jason Packel Junior Member

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    Hi ChapmanF, thanks. I went to the dealership because there was a mild grinding from the brakes. I thought it was just simply getting the brakes done. They said the brake actuator needs to be replaced. The lights aren't on yet though. They quoted me at $2600, and said the brake lights would come on relatively soon.
     
    #4 Jason Packel, Sep 14, 2021
  5. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    A mild grinding noise that you hear from the wheels while braking is not the kind of symptom that would normally lead me toward the actuator. They might have noticed something about the actuator additionally, while they were checking out your grinding noise.

    Did they say anything specific about what they noticed regarding the actuator? Also, did they say anything about the grinding?
     
    #5 ChapmanF, Sep 14, 2021
  6. Jason Packel

    Jason Packel Junior Member

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    I see what you are saying. They didn't say anything about the actuator, just that it needed to be replaced. They did say though that the brakes are fine, they aren't worn down. They didn't say what they thought the grinding was.
     
    #6 Jason Packel, Sep 15, 2021
  7. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Beautiful. Didn't answer the question you went in for, and didn't say why they brought up something else. :giggle:
     
    #7 ChapmanF, Sep 15, 2021
  8. Jason Packel

    Jason Packel Junior Member

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    Right, I should have asked, I just didn't know what a brake actuator was when they told me. Do you think it makes sense to bleed the brakes first? Someone said that it might be the first thing to do - saving me from installing a new actuator.
     
    #8 Jason Packel, Sep 16, 2021
  9. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I would start by giving them a call to try and find out if anybody there still remembers what they saw or heard or read on a scan tool or noticed that led them to mention actuators or bleeding to you in the first place.
     
    #9 ChapmanF, Sep 16, 2021
  10. Jason Packel

    Jason Packel Junior Member

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    Sounds like a good idea, thanks so much!
     
    #10 Jason Packel, Sep 17, 2021
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