I understand that under severe braking and at very low speeds the brakes are used to stop, reduce speed, or hold the vehicle stationary. Looking at the informational display when the brake pedal is depressed, is the point when the brake pads begin to make contact with the rotors when the maximum produced energy is indicated (when the vehicle is in motion above a certain speed)?
In the New Car Features Manual you can find a graph that illustrates how the car coordinates between friction and regenerative braking. The dance can be a bit more complex than you expect, because regen is most effective at moderate speeds; the amount of recoverable energy drops off at low speeds, but also can exceed capacity at high speeds, leading to a pattern where the car puts more friction in the mix when the brakes are first applied at speed, backs it out in favor of regen as the car slows, then brings the friction back in as it nears a stop. The "hybrid system indicator" dash display is a simplified, synthetic display of a lot of specific things going on in the car, and it may be too much to expect it to have a clear interpretation in terms of when friction is being applied. -Chap
i have heard that a scan gauge will show you when the friction brakes are being applied. someone said it is more often than you realize.
If I've washed the car, or driven in heavy rain, then it's sat idle a few days, built up some surface rust on the rotors, I can hear the brake pads applying, with every push, for the first few blocks till they smooth out. My take: it's not an either/or, there's often a sharing of the braking effort. The pad thickness is going down: at 43K km's when I last checked, they were around 7.5~8.0 (mm)remaining in the front, and rears around 7.0. New is 10.0 for front, 9.5 for rear.
Yes, i use that function daily, Yes, the friction brakes will be applied maybe when you don't think they might be, but generally, my goal is to never use the friction brakes, slow down in advance of lights/signs, etc. I live at the top of a rather long hill, so my morning commute fully charges the battery [well the 80%] before i'm halfway down the hill, but... the engine will be braking, assuming no idiots are in front of me going slower than necessary. I have noticed that during the summer, on our newer 2015 Prius, that even advanced, slow braking with mid battery will create a .02 friction usage [pretty low] not sure if that is new for this model over our 2011 or what....
