Brake Pad replacment?

under casual braking & coasting there is a recharge system that transfers the friction into electricity, this system is maintenance-free. (please watch "who killed the electric car" to see about electric car maintenance)

you only use your front brake pads during heaving braking.

however, you constantly use your rear brake drums.

under normal non-aggressive driving I would have the rear brake drums checked every 30K or 35K miles, i would check the fronts after 50 or 60K, but i seriously wouldn't be surprised if they lasted over 100K miles due to the fact that they are so rarely used.

Both the front & rear pads are supposed to have an early warning system like an annoying high-pitched noise when they are getting low.

look for coupons for free brake-inspections from reputable shops, never be afraid to replace pads and drums early as they are cheap and will save your drums, rotors & calipers, which are much more expensive to replace. those expensive components may last the entire life of the car if you replace your pads on time or a little early.

& there may even be online guides to help you change your own pads or you may have a mechanical friend to walk you through it. Never buy cheap semi-metallic brake pads as they can squeek loudly for months on end. Either buy aftermarket ceramic pads or genuine toyota brake pads.

Changing your struts on time can also save a lot of other costly repairs due to NVH (that's auto talk for noise, vibration & harshness).

I think the Prius uses a timing chain which lasts the life of the car, as opposed to a timing belt which needs to be replaced every 60K miles, this saves a lot of $$$. Timing chains were used in the '30s and '40s but they went to rubber belts to make engines quieter. A few years ago, toyota developed a way to revert back to the chain w/o making the engine too loud.

You can change your own oil, oil filters, air filters, and cabin hvac filters yourself.

the prius is a very reliable and low-maintenance vehicle, just remember that it's not "zero maintenance". hope this helps.

 

the front brake pads, rotors & calipers are just like a normal car, they just aren't used that often which is not like a normal car.

electric motors are highly efficient, highly reliable, and zero maintenance compared to internal combustion motors. In 10 or 12 years your battery will wear down & will eventually not be able to help you much. You'll lose fuel economy & have trouble going uphill. The battery pack is the only thing "prius-specific" that you'll probably ever replace. & in 10 or 12 years, who knows where battery technology will be?

lithium-ion will be perfected which means you can make your car into a plug-in hybrid very cheap.
there may be nano-tech batteries avail by then or even bacterial-built batteries (I saw those last 2 on discovery channel )
or you may just buy a hydrogen car, or a flying car that runs on garbage and possibly can even travel thru time

 

At 90,000 miles, my rear brakes were at 50% remaining and the front brakes at 70% remaining.

So, they may never need replacing.

In the event that they do need it, you'll discover that there is nothing "special" about them at all. Recharging comes from an entirely different source, independent from the oridinary brake shoes & pads Prius uses. So replacement can be done anywhere. They're just like non-hybrid vehicles... but used much less.
.

 

As John noted, Prius brakes last a long time due to lack of use. My 2004 Prius is at 105,000 miles and the brakes are still in good shape. The friction brakes only operate in a few situations:

1. Panic stops (as noted earlier)
2. Under 7 MPH (regenerative braking is ineffective at low speed)
3. Whenever you are in neutral (you can use this periodically to clean the rotors of rust build up )

Replacing pads, rotors, shoes, and drums in a Prius is just like in any other car, but doing anything with the hydraulic system requires special equipment (The Toyota "Hand-Held" Scanner to control computer operated hydraulic valves). Just remind your technician not to open the bleed ports to retract the calipers when installing new pads or you may have to go to the dealer to have the hydraulic system bled (~$80).

There is one more brake related item. The rear brakes are standard self-adjusting drum brakes (in the US). They only adjust when the friction brakes are used when rolling backwards. As this tends to happen less than needed in normal use, Prius rear brakes tend to be out of adjustment. They can either be periodically adjusted manually by any competent mechanic, or you can just let your Prius roll backwards in neutral and step on the brake. Doing this several times will move the rear shoes back into proper position for braking.

JeffD

 

A small correction: While the rear brakes in the U.S. version are self-adjusting, they don't work in the fashion you describe. Most self-adjusting drum brakes do work as you describe, but the ones on the Prius adjust with normal operation. Each time they are activated, an adjustment lever reaches for a catch. If there is enough play, the lever catches and tightens the brakes. It's very clever, and requires no backing to work.

Tom

 

at 20,000 miles i have
5mm left on the front pads
3mm left on the rear pads

toyota reccomends replacing the pads at 1mm

 

Between 60K & 70K miles here, on our '04. No discernable wear, even on the front pads. If you're an anticipatory driver, this will be expected. Similarly, you're more likely to find rust on your rotors, than wear on your pads. So it's likely it'll be a while until you need to worry about them ... unless you're one of those who races to the next red light. But yea, they come on & off like any other pads.

 

I was searching for a brake noise thread and was pointed to this recent thread so I hope you all don't mind that I ask a somewhat related question to the topic.

Yesterday, while driving our short commute home from work, my wife and I heard some noise when braking but I wouldn't say it happened every time or even nearly every time that I was forced to brake for stop and start traffic. Our '06 only has about 23,500 miles on it (brought it home exactly two years ago today). I'm wondering whether the noise could have been moisture induced. We had a MAJOR snow melt-down over the weekend with an inch or so of rain besides so lots of pot holes and rather deep puddles that you can't always see in time to avoid. Yesterday, it was cooler but still much above normal (probably around 34 degrees driving home). My wife thought she felt something when we heard the noise while braking yesterday too. This a.m, I didn't have to brake much and only lightly when I did; I didn't notice any noise.

I jump to the moisture conclusion because our old beater (and rarely used) backup mini-van that sits outside (the Prius is garaged at night) has been known to make a similar noise after I've thought the brakes got wet (such as when backing the boat trailer slightly into Lake Mendota to load and unload a boat) and then the vehicle sat for a day or more without being moved.

From what I've read here and elsewhere about the Prius' braking system, I would highly doubt that I could need pads or anything else brake-related replaced at only 23,500 miles. Mind you, I do live in an area where sand and salt are used extensively on main thoroughfares in a winter like we've had so far (35 inches of snow in December and plenty of ice too!).

Thanks for any thoughts/suggestions that any of you may have. Unless, I continue to notice any noise over the couple of days (prior to a road trip next weekend), I will likely wait to have the dealer check it out since I will soon be in for the 25K service anyway (foolishly got the tires for life promo when we bought the car which means even minor service like oil changes need to be done by the dealer).

Jim

 

The noise was pretty quiet, "maybe" a like a grinding noise but I can't really say I heard it enough to be sure. While my wife thought she felt it too, I was a little less certain but thought I "might" have felt ever so slight of a vibration in the brake peddle. Like I said though, it didn't do every time on the short trip home yesterday (like 5 miles) and I don't think it did it at all this a.m. on the return trip into the office. For now, that's about all I can offer. Thanks for your help.

Jim

 

If the pads on the discs and drums are used so infrequently for breaking, what then stops the car? I guess I don't understand the whole breaking system.

 

Mine will make a light Bark / Chirp noise (sort of sounds like a faint car horn) on some occasions while waiting at a stop light. It seems to only happen when the temps are in the 30's. I've come to the conclusion that it is the brake actuator, I had found that there is a TSB about it and Toyota says that it isn't a problem and their first remedy is to change the brake fluid so I have decided not to mess with it at least for the time being.

 

Stop using your left foot on the brake pedal. Rest your left foot on the left foot rest provided.

 

Morpheus,

This is a known problem and is covered in a TSB as you noted (attached PDF). My "Chirp" noise at 105,000 miles was corrected by bleeding the right front brake (only $39 - the brake inspection fee at the dealer). It has not yet returned .

JeffD

 

Back to how the brakes work on Prius, so if when I break at say 30 mph, am I not using the pads, discs, and rotors?