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Hybrid Vehicles Toyota Prius Toyota Prius Maintenance & Repair Toyota Prius Brake Problems
77 messages, Last post on Oct 04, 2009 at 8:38 AM
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Replying to: wkogler (May 21, 2006 11:10 am) Antilock brakes will not stop you from sliding, they will allow you to control the direction you slide, but only if you are travelling in the direction of the slide. They will stop you from locking up one or more wheels (depending on how many channels of antilock they were built with - four channel is best). They work poorly on gravel as posted above and poorly in snow - you can stop much quicker on both if you cause the medium to "pile up" in front of the tire and this means you have to stop the wheel from turning. If you are exceeding the traction limit of the tires on rain or ice antilock will allow you to steer and brake at the maximum limits allowed by the traction available. If one or more wheels are above the maximum traction at the braking level you want/need antilock -on any vehicle- will reduce the braking on that wheel(s) until the wheel(s) is turning at about 70-80% full rate (this is where maximum traction takes place). It feels like a brake failure. I recommend better tires if you are experiencing this antilock braking reduction. I like the Nokian WR, but there are many others to choose from.
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Replying to: pathstar1 (Jul 16, 2006 8:20 am) |
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okay, Mr. Stupid today drove almost a mile with the parking brake about 1/2-3/4 depressed..the car drove away just fine and didn't seem to be sluggish...this is a brand new 2006 prius...i noticed the red brake light on and stopped immediately, turning the parking brake off...but I felt the back drums and they were HOT...but no smoke...Any idea of any kind of major damage I may have done or not?? I wish Toyota would have made a better parking brake so you know it is being used or an audible beep or something.... I called a service facility today and they told me not to worry unless when I took the parking brake off, and the light would stay on - but mine didn't... Dean
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Replying to: catt41 (Jul 25, 2006 8:06 pm) The lesson to learn here is when applying the parking brake, put it on hard so you -can't- drive away with it on. If you're still worried, it's a simple matter to pull the drums and inspect the brakes - parking brake is rear drums only.
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Replying to: pathstar1 (Jul 26, 2006 6:52 am) Another question - what does the "B" do...the engine brake...is this somthing to use if I need to stop in a hurry in addition to using the regular brake? After I'm finished with the "B"....do you just go back into "D" again? Thanks Dean
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Replying to: catt41 (Jul 26, 2006 11:54 am) Yes, you select "D" once you've slowed down (if you don't the car still works just fine, but your mileage will decrease a little). If you let up on the accel. pedal and watch the MFD energy flow screen you can make the car coast for maximum fuel efficiency. This is the "glide" part of "pulse and glide", the method the "high milers" use to get the silly MPG numbers. If you let off all the way the car will start to use the MG (motor generator) to slow itself and add power to the "traction battery". If you select "B" this slowing is slightly greater - I say slightly because it isn't ever really powerful at slowing you down. So now you know the "secret techniques" - I expect reports of 100 MPG soon! 
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Replying to: pathstar1 (Jul 26, 2006 2:38 pm)  Dean I tried my parking brake out today and REMEMBERED to take it off...I must not have hurt it too much because it was still working (doulbe )
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My 04 prius has about 37K miles on it. About 5K miles ago, the brakes started pulsating at low speeds. with low to intermediate brake pedal pressure, the car would start jerking a little, as the brakes grab harder & softer. It has gotten worse since first noticed. The dealer checked them and found "no codes". It seems like either the regen system is not working quite right, or the friction brake controller is kicking in and out-like its out of adjustment. But the dealer couldn't help. Anybody out there ever run into this? Its starting to get bothersome...
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Replying to: leonbayarea (Aug 12, 2006 6:26 pm) |
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I have also had a brake problem with my 06 Prius. On two occasions around 15,000 miles, the brakes failed to activate for 2 – 3 seconds, then they took effect. On the second occasion I started to swerve to avoid the car in front of me before the brakes took effect. On both occasions I was traveling at slow speeds ( under 30 mph), moving uphill, and braking with the intention of coming to a complete stop. There was no rain, sand or gravel, and the car was not skidding. The anti-skid light went on. I took the car to the dealership, they could not replicate the problem, they said they could not find anything wrong & were going to return the car to me. I insisted something be done, so they sent a mechanic to observe as I test drove the car. I was not able to get the brakes to fail, but I was able to make the anti-skid light go on when it shouldn’t. The dealership then bled the brakes & returned the car to me. That same day as I approached a stop light, the car did a strange, very slow anti-lock brake response. The brakes applied, then unapplied with about one to 1 ˝ seconds between each application. On two occasions since then the brakes have not applied for 2 – 3 seconds after I stepped on them. The anti-skid light went on one of those times, the other time I was too busy looking at the road to notice. I was going over a rough road surface, but not a surface on which the car was skidding. I have noticed the anti-skid light goes on sometimes when the car is not skidding but going over a rough surface. I really liked the Prius before this happened, but I do not feel it is not a safe car to drive until this  is resolved. 2 additional links that talk about brake problems are http://www.hybridcars.com/forums/brake-failure-2007-t1013.html and http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=20093&hl= |
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