Brakes make a wailing noise in the cold

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by javachick78, Dec 20, 2014.

  1. javachick78

    javachick78 New Member

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    I have a 2013 Prius v Three (lowercase v for Prius v not an uppercase and Three not III as Roman numerals were used for the 2010 Prius) model. Around 5k miles into owning my Prius, the brakes make a strange wailing noise in the cold. It doesn't last long and only occurs when it's really cold. Does anyone else have this issue? Does this mean I'm going to have brake problems in the future? I'm going to insist that the dealership keeps my car overnight and test it early in the morning. A new car shouldn't be doing this!
     
    #1 javachick78, Dec 20, 2014
  2. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Do a search around here for "brake groan". They almost all do it when the brakes are damp. There's nothing wrong with your brakes, its just an annoyance. Disc brakes have been making strange noises for 40 years. You can harass the dealer until they do something, but they will resist because the brakes are functionally fine.
     
    #2 rdgrimes, Dec 20, 2014
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    might be inverter whine.
     
    #3 bisco, Dec 20, 2014
  4. javachick78

    javachick78 New Member

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    Thanks. Just sounds bad. Kind of embarrassing to drive a brand new $30k car that sounds like an old pinto!
     
    #4 javachick78, Dec 20, 2014
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  5. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Think of it as a groan of pleasure, your car is glad to see you. :cool:
     
    #5 rdgrimes, Dec 20, 2014
    kithmo and bisco like this.
  6. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    or it's complaining cos' you left it out in the cold :cry:
     
    #6 kithmo, Dec 28, 2014
  7. lo_aus

    lo_aus Junior Member

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    Toyota USA has issued a service bulletin that describes this issue. It is T-SB-0081-13 June 28, 2013 "Rear Brake Groan or Squeak Noise when Cold" but there is now a Rev 2 of this published in Jan 2014. You can look for it using google search.
    You should be able to direct your Toyota service provider to this and have it remedied under warranty.
     
    #7 lo_aus, Mar 18, 2015
    Last edited: Mar 18, 2015
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