Petition says Toyota should recall Prius, Prius Plug-in Hybrid, Camry Hybrid and Avalon Hybrid.

Posted in Investigations

Toyota Brake Booster Recall Needed, Says Defect Petition
Petition says Toyota should recall Prius, Prius Plug-in Hybrid, Camry Hybrid and Avalon Hybrid.

— A Toyota brake booster recall allegedly should be issued for 2010-2015 Toyota Prius and Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid (PHV), 2012-2014 Toyota Camry Hybrid and 2013-2015 Toyota Avalon Hybrid vehicles.

According to a defect petition filed by a consumer, more than 1.1 million Toyota vehicles should be investigated and recalled for problems related to brake actuator solenoid valves.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received the petition to open an investigation claiming actions taken by Toyota haven't went far enough to repair brake booster problems.

The petitioner says the Toyota Prius, Prius Plug-in Hybrid, Camry Hybrid and Avalon Hybrid vehicles should be recalled even though some of the vehicles are covered by warranty extension programs.

In one of those programs (Customer Support Program ZJB), the automaker says it will provide additional warranty coverage for brake booster and booster pump assemblies on 2010 Prius and Prius PHV cars.

Toyota said in August 2018 it received reports about brake booster problems that showed diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) C1391, C1252, C1256 or C1253.

If a dealer found any of those codes, technicians were told to replace the brake booster and brake booster pump assemblies until November 30, 2019, regardless of mileage. Then after the primary warranty coverage period, secondary coverage applies for 10 years from the date of first use of the car or 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

The petition also says previous recalls have been issued to fix brake booster problems but the recalls didn't include all the affected models named in the defect petition.

In a 2013 brake booster recall, Toyota said 87,000 model year 2010 Prius and Lexus HS 250h vehicles would be repaired.

Then a 2019 recall was ordered for multiple models because the brake booster pumps could stop working. The automaker said the recall allegedly would repair problems that caused a loss of braking assist, increased stopping distances and deactivated stability control systems.

According to the petition to investigate the Toyota vehicles, at least 117 complaints have been filed about brake booster problems, with 60 of those complaints alleging crashes were caused by the brake boosters.

NHTSA will evaluate the petition and decide if an official Toyota brake booster investigation or recall should begin.

CarComplaints.com has complaints from drivers of the Toyota Prius, Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid and Toyota Avalon Hybrid.

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