I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question though...

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

I've never noticed my indicate anything on the dash either. Maybe that's the fault or part of it?

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

Had a 2004 Prius for 5 1/2 years, and never really notice the same "braking discontinuity" that we have had a few times with our 2010 that we purchased in July 2009.

The 2010 Prius gave us an unsettling feeling of loss of brakes for just a split second when going fairly slowly. I'm not in a rush to get the firmware updated, not really an issue for me.

And my one concern with updating the braking firmware is that it not use the regenerative braking as much as it does now, I'd like to see the regenerative braking used just as much as it is now, I feel that it is used more in the 2010, and of course the display is much better so I can brake just hard enough to stay in the "charging" mode.

2010 is a MUCH better car in the snow than our 2004, we are able to get up our hill in 1-2" of snow that stopped the 2004 many times. Of course with the recent 27" of snow here in Maryland, and the 12-20 on the way, my Prius will stay in the garage for now!

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

I have a 2005 and a 2010. (See signature.) The braking characteristic is very similar on both. It only occurs at very low speeds. It is not an issue, if you know how the car's supposed to work.

I will not rush out to get the firmware upgraded. I imagine the dealer will do it when I'm in for a service next time. I'd almost rather he didn't; I don't want to add more friction braking to the stopping process than I have now.

I second MD_Silver: My 2010 is an excellent car in the snow. I've been driving all over town with it, many times on as-yet untreated streets. We got 26" of snow where I live.

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

well i have a 2005 and i notice that when driving over hole's in the road i also have loss of braking feeling but this is just the traction system working.
when i would drive a car without it would not have any better effect only not the feeling of the system...
only if toyota things that this is still a problem then i want to hear about it anf hope toyota wil have a software upgrade for the 2004-2009 models.

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

Is anyone else here shocked by the hysteria and whining caused by the 2010 brake non-issue? I am truly amazed. If I thought they were capable, I would assume that the Big 3 have flooded PC with trolls, but I can only assume that there are a bunch of people really concerned about this. Do you think we would have seen this much concern without the media fanning the flames?

Tom

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

+1

My mind is truly blown by the media frenzy surrounding Toyota in the past two weeks. It really does feel like the American media want to "get Toyota" once and for all.

I heard a Toyota commercial on the DC news radio station this afternoon (WTOP) apologizing for the situation and expressing concern at their customers' level of unease.

I have never--NEVER--heard a similar radio spot containing an apology by an American car maker, in spite of hundreds of safety recalls regarding issues much worse than the Prius braking "problem." The Big 3 have issued such recalls for decades, with only occasional media attention, and without any expressions of contrition.

It's as if the mainstream American media won't be satisfied until Toyota's in as bad a shape as GM is or something. Truly incomprehensible.

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

I also had the same braking sensation with my 2006 and never really thought much about it.

But they are saying that the issue is only with the pre-January 2010 Prius.

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

I had a same brake issue on my 2010 prius. I purchased on sept 2009. This is my first hybrid so I thought this is different than conv car braking. I almost hit car in front couple times. car lunged about a feet before complete stop. If I didn't have my feet on the brake hard my car would kiss sombody bumper. The brake was hard it felt like it lost power assist I had to press very hard on the brake pedal. I wonder if a brake booster vaccume is always on in between transition. It had a same sensition feel brake with no power assist.

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

Only a foot? Methink you applied the brake way too late or were going too fast to begin with. It's not normal to stop this close to a car.

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

youthink you never or will have a close call?

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

I also have a 2006 and a 2010. No offense intended at all, but to me it sounds like you haven't really experienced the problem on the 2010 - it's MUCH different than on the 2006. While the lapse of breaking power is still a fraction of a second, it's more like 7/10 of a second instead of 2/10 of a second... I actually think that a lot of people *think* they've experienced it but that they haven't.
I've only had it happen once, and so has my GF... but in both cases it was a pretty long stretch of lost breaking power. Like for you, it's instinctive for me to press down on the breaks harder, which "saves the day", but that one time it happened it was pretty scary, coasting an extra 10 feet os so than I'd intended.

I could be wrong though... maybe I'm just more easily spooked - I do not know.

Dave

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

In an emergency panic stop, ABS will prevent the wheels from locking up and continue to roll and this is separate from any "braking problem" that the Prius may have.

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

Then don't update to the new firmware, why, it would only decrease your MPG. Obviously the new firmware is just there to make the others happy.

ABS is not invented to make you lose control. It is made to give you more control and we who had the sensation didn't feel like we were in control of a simple slow speed braking.

In traffic how far do you stay away from the other cars bumper? Be honest.

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

You are not alone in your observation on how US media handle the recall. It seems some parties (inc media) cannot wait to get their hands on Toyota when it is at its weakest.

There might be a political dimension to this involving folks in DC.

Why?
Hint:US gov is now THE majority shareholder (aka owner) of two of the Big-3. No wander the some Japanese official smell something in this on-going saga.

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

Yes the recall started in Japan. GM is really good and getting Japnaese to damage toyota's reputation. I think the japanese government owns the chinese that own the us government that owns gm that wants to hurt toyota.

Its just the simplist explanation. There is no way that there could be hundreds of real reports. These people must be working for the chinese, or koreans, or Gm. They don't own the cars. The investigators never check anyway.

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

I too have a Prius 2010 and had a Prius 2005. I thought the braking was the same and don't quite understand the recall. I have gotten used to the braking also and wonder what it will be like with the "fix". I did notice that my traction control light didn't come on in the 2010 as it did in the 2005, which I miss, but not sure if that will change after the recall fix.

 

Re: I've had the "braking problem" since my 06 Prius! Never thought it was a problem! Question thoug

No traction control light when it happened on my 2010. It appears some people have the issue some don't. I can guarantee that The "media" did not cause me to feel it was unsafe. It was losing my brakes for half a second (not total failure) in a situation that should not have called for anti-lock.

I hope the fix makes it so the abs do not go off when they shouldn't. Toyota says the fix only applies for anitlock braking so it is spreading FUD to claim this will decrease milage by any measurable amount. During antilock conditions your stoping distance is reduce (toyota). The trac light does come on in other peoples cars when traction control kicks in, and it does this later in the gen3.

Summery
Shorter Stopping with abs
Better transition from regen to abs
no significant change in abs

 

"Apologizing" is just Japanese politeness. Trouble is, "apologizing" in America is a sign of weakness.

You never apologize for anything--especially in politics. The media kills you for it. So do the voters, who like to vote "macho."

So, Toyota may have miscalculated in its response. Even so, the media is criticizing them for being "slow to react." Obviously they can't win in the media no matter what they do.

Toyotas have the best reliability record in Consumers Reports for many years, based on feedback from thousands of owners.And the Prius tops the list--year after year. Never a hint of these kinds of problems. I would stick to this kind of data, rather than the recent rantings of a few.

Frankly, I don't believe any of this crap. I think Toyota is doing the recalls with superficial changes to save their American image, and satisfy the American pols and the media.

Some people seem to be concerned about a fraction of a second loss in "braking power"
going over a pothole.

I went over a pothole going 30 mph in my BMW years ago, and I had absolutely no control over anything for a split second.