2014 Toyota Prius Brakes

Yesterday, while driving on the interstate, all of the brake related warning lights on my dashboard lit up- ABS, traction control, brake, caution)- causing me concern, so I looked for the next exit. While exiting and slowing, I noticed my brakes felt different and were not as responsive as usual. I called my mechanic and cautiously headed to his shop a couple of miles away. Today, I met with him and found out that there is a leak in the brake booster line, but the extent of the problem is yet to be determined. I immediately did an internet search for my model year and found that there was a safety campaign on other Toyota hybrids for that year, so I called the Toyota customer service number. I was told that my vehicle had an extended warranty for the brake booster, but it expired 9 months prior, 10 years post purchase, The rep has escalated my issue but I will have to wait to see if someone with more authority can potentially give me an additional extension. Meanwhile, my car is not drivable, as the brakes could fail at any moment. In my estimation, this should not be a time limited coverage, but an actual recall covered by Toyota. This is not normal brake pad rotor wear and tear, but a known issue with the assembly system and a true safety hazard that one cannot foresee without experiencing minor to catastrophic failure of the system.

The brake master cylinder and brake booster failed. It is available for inspection upon request. My safety was put at risk as braking distance increased significantly. The problem has not yet been confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. The vehicle has not yet been inspected. The warning lights appeared upon failure. Brake warning light, traction control light, and ABS light appeared. Prior to complete failure, the brake booster would cycle on after opening the door and would then cycle every few seconds for 10 minutes or so after parking.

Something felt wrong with the brakes for many years, but mechanics checked the brake pads and rotors and said they were fine on multiple service visits. I had multiple close calls during quick stops on highways, I though I just needed new tires. I then started to hear a whirring buzz noise become more and more frequent. I researched what it was and found on reddit that there was customer support program ZJB to repair failed brake accumulators, which affects hundreds of thousands of these cars. The problem was that my brakes were only in the process of failing rather than being fully failed enough to send codes and light up the dashboard, which is the only way the customer support program would cover the $4,000 repair. The failure finally happened when I was three hours from home and had half the braking power as usual and had to limp the car home for fear of the brakes going completely out. I can't believe Toyota is letting this many people drive around with a potentially catastrophic brake issue.

The braking system is failing with the following codes I tested with the BlueDriver scanner. Code TypeCodeDescription ABS CodesC1241Low or high power supply coltage ABS CodesC1391Abnormal leak in accumulator Main BodyB1206P/W Master SW ECU Communication Stop Main BodyB2321D-Door Motor ECU Communication Stop Main BodyB2430LED Headlight LH Entry and StartU0142Mainbody Ecu Communication Circuit Entry and StartU0155Lost Communication with Instrument Panel Cluster Control Module The car is available for inspection. This puts the drivers, myself and fiance, at risk of catastrophic collision in the event that the brakes fail while driving. I will call Toyota to obtain a replacement of the system that has occurred with many other drivers. The vehicle has not been inspected by manufacturer yet but it is important to know that this is a serious problem that could kill people. The problem was identified when warning lights came up on the dashboard but there is also a sound coming from the brake actuator that shows a problem. The problem is due to manufacturer error, I have driven the vehicle normally.

This vehicle lost braking assist while in motion on a well known problem from TOYOTA. There has been class action lawsuits on this very fact. Toyota issued a customer service warranty for vehicles that have less than 150,000 and filed before March 2024! My car has 127k and failure was Sept 9 out of the warranty. I understand that there is a line if the sand however this needs to be a recall as it effects so many vehicles and it is dangerous! I am asking you urge them to make a recall for this! I have paid for this repair and am furious but I had to do it!

Without warning, my brakes completely stopped working and I was fortunate enough to be somewhere I was able to pull over without being killed. Toyota is aware of this issue, but put a 10 year timeline on the complementary repair, which is totally unacceptable, as owners were not notified directly about this program, therefore how could we know it existed, was a problem, and to go get it fixed within their arbitrary deadline? I could have died losing brakes on the freeway, or even could have killed or injured others. This is a known, and severe safety hazard, and Toyota is not taking responsibility. It is unconscionable. Hoping for a class action lawsuit. It was a $5500 repair in California, which was almost the value of the car. Absolutely brutal and horrendous business practices from this company. Shame on them. I hope this agency NHTSA will add this report to the pile of others who have reported this, and actually take meaningful action for those of us who have been put at risk, and ripped off in the process.

My 2014 prius experienced a failing brake booster actuator assembly. I was driving when suddenly my traction control light came on and my brake pedal turned mushy. I pulled over to a parking lot and put my vehicle in park. As soon as I did this, the ABS and parking brake light both turned on. I had the vehicle towed to the Toyota dealership. They diagnosed the problem as an internal leak in the brake booster actuator assembly. This is a common problem with these vehicles, but instead of Toyota issuing a recall, they only did an extended warranty coverage of which my prius didn't fit the parameters. Now I am stuck with a vehicle that is unsafe to drive and a repair estimate of $3,900 because of one of their parts failing. This should clearly have been made a recall with the volume of prius owners experiencing this problem. What a disappointment after having 3 Toyotas for many years.

Brake Booster Assembly in my 2014 Toyota Prius began cycling more often than usual in December 2023. By March 2024 it began cycling approximately every 30 seconds. Randomly while stopped or parked, there would be four warning lights illuminated on the dash - SLIP indicator, both Brake System Warning Lights - the word "Brake" and the "((!))", and ABS Warning Light. By June 2024, I would also randomly lose stopping power & a great distance was necessary to stop the vehicle. I took the Prius into my local Toyota Service Center where it was recommended both the Brake Booster Pump and Brake Booster Actuator be replaced. When I brought up Toyota's Customer Support Program for which my Prius is eligible in terms of age, mileage, and symptoms, I was told a DTC is required to verify the issue. According to this local Toyota dealership, the Master Tech confirming the issue and recommending replacement is not sufficient. Since the lights were illuminated, I asked why there was no stored DTC. They responded "Well, I'm not sure" and continued to reference the required DTC. This brake assembly is an issue that Toyota has acknowledged, but fails to accept full responsibility by issuing a recall. This gross negligence by a vehicle manufacturer.

My car started exhibiting signs of a known brake booster/brake systems failure for Priuses in the 2010-2015 range. These include the ABS, brake system, and skid/traction lights coming on and a 3-5 cycling whirring noise. The brake sensitivity is also altered. This happened suddenly today. I checked the battery voltage (normal), so this is not causing the issue. After investigating online, I have discovered that many consumers have experienced the same issue and are being denied a recall/repair coverage by Toyota. Today, I am reaching out to Toyota to see if the replacement/repair, which should be in the range of $3-4k will be covered by Toyota. According to numerous other Prius owners online, this issue is being denied by Toyota for coverage, even though it is something they are fully aware of. This is unacceptable and dangerous on their part. My vehicle has 110k miles, was leased used last year, and has not had any issues otherwise. I am up to date with all routine maintenance, including getting my pads replaced and rotors maintained last year as well as new tires.

Brake warning lights illuminated and loud beeping for the first time. Took the car to local repair shop who advised me to take it to the dealership. Dealership indicates that R&R Brake Booster assembly with master cylinder and brake booster pump assembly need to be replaced at over $3100 and brakes are at risk of failure. I researched and found the NHTSA Customer Support Bulletin - [XXX] indicating this known issue. The support period expired in March and mileage has now exceeded the limit for support. Though I have had the car in the dealership for service many times, this was never brought to my attention. The dealership advised me to contact Toyota. Toyota then advised me to contact NHTSA about the problem. Further research indicates ongoing problems with this issue that have not been resolved - [XXX] should have issued a recall for this important safety issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The brake booster and master cylinder failed on my Prius. The diagnostic code is C1391 Abnormal leakage in accumulator, which is a code covered by Toyota’s prior recall on this vehicle.

Drove car to work one morning and it was VERY difficult to brake almost causing an accident. Brought it into the Toyota shop and they said this code came up: DTC code C1391: Abnormal leak of accumulator pressure ,recommending to replace brake booster and brake booster pump assembly internal malfunction of components.The necessity of its routine replacement is vital as an old or malfunctioning unit leads to decreased braking performance and ultimately brake failure. They told me that there was a program offered to customers where they would replace this known issue, but I'm 2 months outside of this so the issue is no longer covered under Toyota. The fact that this is a known issue that Toyota does not want to recall is ridiculous and now they want customers to pay for it.

We were on the interstate when suddenly our cruise control stopped working. We then noticed several lights on the dashboard lit up, related to traction control, brakes, and ABS system. We could still use the car brakes, but it took more pressure than usual to engage the brakes. We pulled over to an auto parts store, but they stated there were no ODB codes logged. After researching online, I suspected a brake booster failure as described in Toyota's Customer Support Bulletin ZJB. At my earliest convenience, I brought the car in to a Toyota dealership, who confirmed that the brake booster and master cylinder were failing and needed to be replaced. Thankfully, the brakes did not fail outright, but the situation could have ended much worse. I understand by reading online that this is not an isolated incident. I encourage this issue be more thoroughly investigated so that a proper recall can be issued if needed, to bring this to the attention of other drivers of affected vehicles.

I lost the brakes. The Brake actuator failed. I was able to swerve around traffic to avoid a collision and get the car towed home. No warning lamps until it failed. The brake actuator was replaced and I saved the old, defective component.

ABS actuator failed in April of 2023 after more than a year of constant whirling, which my mechanic didn't diagnose until after my dashboard lit up with errors. The issue was diagnosed by AAA mechanics after the dashboard warning lights lit up, with a $4,000 cost to repair. Brakes are spongy, car is rarely driven at this time. We were told that the brakes would continue to work, but the ABS system would not. Now the vehicle beeps constantly when driving, which appears to mean the brakes could fully fail at any time. Based on subsequent research, Toyota was quietly fixing the ABS acuator issue until last year, but it was not offered when my vehicle was brought in last year during another recall. When it failed the car was under 10 years and 150K.

Noticed a whirring/hydraulic sound that occurred every 5-10 seconds. Could only hear sound if no music was playing and not driving at highway speeds. Sound was noticeable upon parking or exiting vehicle. Only noticed sound because it occurred more frequently than usual. Spouse who is hard of hearing could not hear sound at all. My understanding of sound was that it was normal for vehicle, however, within the time span of approximately 2 weeks, sound became more frequent. Researched noise, and found it was the brake booster assembly pressurizing. Took vehicle to dealership to have it confirmed. Per dealership "Accumulator inside brake booster has internal leak causing accumulator to constantly run." Brakes did not show signs of loss of function and there was no indicator lights on dash to warn me of problem with vehicle. When I inquired with dealership of how much longer they would last, they informed me they could not say, and that it was likely they could go out at any time. Called Toyota Customer support to see if they could provide any assistance. They stated a support program had been issued back in 2021, but is now expired. According to support program 21TE01, Toyota was willing to replace brake boosters that had already failed and could be confirmed with diagnostic code. However, as the part had not failed or showed signs of failure at that time, vehicle would not have qualified, and it was prior to current ownership. Owners should not have to wait for their brakes to fail in order to recognize they have an issue. If I had not heard the noise and brought it in BEFORE an accident occurred, it could have been very dangerous indeed. Now I am left to pay $2500 out of pocket for repair of a faulty/failing brake booster assembly.

So my wife is pulling into our driveway with my little ones and notices the ABS, traction control and Brake light come on. I then had the vehicle looked at by a local Toyota dealership and they tell me I'm getting code C1391 and that it's a known issue. They then tell me I'm out of my extended customer support warranty time frame and I will have to pay. According to NHTSA this is a known defect on this vehicle and it affects more than 100k Toyota Prius vehicles. So basically, we've been driving around in a vehicle that the brakes may fail at any moment and potentially kill us all but is only addressed by the manufacturer when the known failure occurs. Even then, they only address it if the error occurs during their set time frame. It seems this has been brought to NHTSA's attention on a few occasions and nothing has been done. I would think brakes are something that warrants a recall on a known defect. Thankfully my wife and kids weren't doing 70mph down the highway when the brakes all of the sudden stopped working.

the brakes have not failed yet, but there is a known issue with the brake booster on my model year. I would like to have the government force Toyota to guarantee the brakes for a longer period of time. currently Toyota has extended the warranty out 10 years / 150k miles from date of first use. Since these cars last so long, this should be 20 years / 300k miles from date of first use.

The ABS and traction control system in my 2014 Toyota Prius 4 are not functioning. They ABS light an the traction control lights are both on. I work in the automotive industry and I used a code reader to pull the codes and got a C1391 which is a brake booster and brake booster pump. That means either the brake booster has failed or the master cylinder is leaking. I contacted Gosche Toyota in Hemet and after waiting for a service writer to contact me (which they never did) I called 5 times till I finally got someone on the phone. They were very familiar with the problem. The problem is so common that SOME vehicles have been recalled. But for others like mine only a "Customer Support Program" was made. That program covers repair "if the parts are available" only for 10 years or 150,000 miles whichever comes first. But for someone like myself who has 170,000 miles Toyota says there's nothing they can do. The cost for me to repair it is $4800. The customer support program bulletin "ZJB" even says that service writers are not allowed to tell customers about the problem or the customer support program. That way when the car doesn't meet the requirements, they won't be responsible for the repairs, even though they know it will eventually fail. There is a lawsuit somewhere regarding this very same problem but for me, I'm screwed. I depend on my car to make money and now me and my family are out of a car. This is a known defect and a safety concern. Toyota is okay with leaving us with nothing.

2014 TOYOTA PRIUS. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO HISSING SOUND COMING FROM BRAKES.

After I started my car and began driving away from a shopping center, I noticed that there were 3 static warning lights on the dashboard that had not been there before. They were the slip indicator light, the brake light, and the ABS light. I also heard a short, repeating buzzing sound coming from the front of the car that I had never heard before. As I was driving, the brake suddenly felt loose. Luckily, this happened as I was pulling out of a shopping center parking lot, so I was able to pull over to the side of the road instead of getting on the highway, which I was about to do. The following day, a Toyota dealer indicated that the issue was the brake booster pump/actuator system and that my car returned with error code C1391. The dealer indicated that this is a known problem with Priuses within my year range. I was told that I would have to replace both the pump and actuator. After talking to the dealer, I realized that there had been subtle clues of this problem beforehand. In the few months leading up to this incident, sometimes if I hit a big bump in the road, for a moment the Slip indicator light would flash and I would feel like I had no control of the car i.e. I was ever so briefly slipping. However, because this happened so briefly and when I hit a bump and everything went back to normal, I didn't think this was an actual problem, but now I believe this was an early sign of the brake failure. I contacted Toyota Corporate Office. They confirmed that this was an issue known to them with Priuses and said that they had sent letters to the previous owner of the car in 2019 offering an extended warranty not a recall. However, apparently, the previous owner had not fixed the problem and the extended warranty expired. Toyota refused to pay for the repair for this and refused to forward a copy of the 2019 letter to me,. This brake defect is a serious issue with no major warning signs. As of this writing, the part is available for inspection.

Was at Toyota dealership looking at 2023 Prius and 2023 Corolla Cross for daughter. I decided to leave and when I started backing up, my daughter noticed the Brake, ABS and Anti-Skid lights all came on at once. She asked if that was normal. It was not. A few minutes later, they stated flashing, then went out after I turned the car off. I live over an hour away and decided to drive it to Walmart, which is approximately 2 miles from the dealership and upon getting into the Walmart parking lot the lights started flashing again and upon applying the brakes, we heard a loud grinding sound. We didn’t think we were going to be able to stop! I immediately parked it and called my husband to tell him our horror story and to come pick us up. Our prayers were answered when he came and we were able to drive it slowly to the dealer. It was a cold rainy night to be on the road with braking issues. This is a very dangerous if not deadly situation! Shame on Toyota for not recalling this. How many lives have to be lost before you take ownership of your faulty hybrid braking system. We demand this be fixed for free regardless of mileage and be made a recall…NOT A CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAM. RIDICULOUS!!! I don’t think our daughter wants a Toyota hybrid anymore…

My brakes completely stopped working while driving on a busy road. I took it to Toyota and they said it was my brake booster pump assembly. There is a known issue with the booster pump assembly and Toyota has a program to extend their warranty to fix this, but I was never once notified of this issue and never received any mail or notifications. They refuse to cover the repair because my mileage is out of warranty, despite the fact that this is an issue they caused and I almost wrecked and could’ve died. I was on a very busy road and my car was completely uncontrollable due to the brakes not responding. My passenger, others on the road, and myself could’ve died. The Toyota customer service representatives confirmed that this is part of the “customer service” program and it does not qualify due to it exceeding 150,000 miles. No warnings appeared on the dash until the brakes stopped working. The vehicle was inspected by Toyota and was confirmed to have said issue. This needs to be immediately recalled, I almost got into a very serious wreck.

Aloha! I got 3 lights lid up on a dashboard: traction control, abs and brakes. C1391 error is coming up on obd reader. I researched online and found that it’s a common issue , brake booster and actuator needs to be replaced. Many people having same problem. I found your website because of this YouTube video where many people found same problem: https://youtu.be/xA9jyrbZDWo

BRAKE BOASTER FAILURE. Dashboard lights illuminated: Brake, ABS and Traction. Brakes themselves felt spongy. Car felt very unsafe. I did find out that Toyota has a hidden Customer Support Program ZJB. However, the dealer found my diagnostic code to be c1202 and the Customer Support Program ZJB only supports repairs for codes c1391, c1252, c1256 or c1253. However, the exact same symptoms and safety issues were experienced and all the exact same warning lights also came on. The dealer’s diagnostics resulted in a $2,087 replacement of the brake booster.  The dealer did contact the Toyota district manager along the way.  He denied coverage based on the diagnostic codes reported BUT again I am arguing that my crazy expensive repair had the EXACT same symptoms, safety issues, and repair (e.g, brake booster replacement). The car clearly could not be driven. Note my Prius only has 92K miles.  Attached is a picture of the dashboard warning lights that came on and the dealer invoice for the repair.