Brake lights light up late

Yes. For the same reason(I believe), the cruise control doesn't cut out immediately (same switch). A previous vehicle I had allowed adjustment and this summer I might take a look at this one too.

 

Natedogg,

:welcome: to PRIUSchat. :cheer2:

Unfortunately, dealers, or perhaps more correctly Service Writers/
Techs, are not always the best source for highly technical info about
the Prius. So, maybe, maybe not on a possible switch adjustment.

Your's is the first posting I've seen on a possible brake light switch
adjustment issue in the Gen III.

The matter has come up from time to time on the Gen II. I don't know
if it will be any help, but here FWIW is a post on adjusting the switch
on the Gen II:

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...-i-m-being-tailgated-so-often.html#post414978

 

noticed this with my 2008 too. I always thought that's how the prius works... although I cant help but feel its a little dangerous.

 

Quire a few of us have noticed this problem with the Gen3. Brake lights and cruise control do use the same switch and it is adjustable. Here is one topic on the subject: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/69870-releasing-cruise-control-brake.html

It is also listed on our Summary of Problems thread: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...2-summary-problems-reported-prius-2010-a.html

Mine has the problem and I took it to the dealer, they drove it around the block and said "well we don't see anything wrong" so I just left and when I got home I stuck my head under the dash and found the switch activated by the brake pedal arm. I haven't adjusted mine yet, it's a real pain to get at which is probably why the dealer didn't want to do it. I'll get to it pretty soon though and post the results.

 

Was reading your post, and noticed you had a IV with Advanced Tech package...Hummmmm!

David (aka Blind Guy)

 

Noticed it on ours too but never thought of trying to get it adjusted (it's one of several things I'll bring up at it's 10K mile service). Seems to be most problematic when in very slow traffic, as the gentle braking isn't always enough to light the brake lights. I love the Prius but I'm starting to have some concerns about its safety!

 

Warning lights would be better than break lights. I'd rather know before it becomes a problem.

 

If the lights are broken they will never light up. Oh, you mean -BRAKE LIGHTS-.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

I have the same problem, and have almost been rear-ended 20+ times. The dealer response was that Toyota only gives them one way to test the brake lights so there is nothing they can do as long as the brake lights come on. On the interesting side, set your cruise, press the brake and you can actually watch the battery start charging (regen) before the cruise control disengages. You can also feel the engine tugging against the brakes to maintain speed. Yes, I told the dealer this, and he said the cruise control only disengages when the brake lights turn on, so this is also "normal". I'm beginning to think that Toyota has established a great partnership to ignore customer safety with their dealerships and NHTSA (search for news article about NHTSA siding with the manufacturers too easily).

Who knows, maybe the upcoming brake fix will also fix the brake light problem.

 

They (CC cancel and brake lights) are the same switch. It is under the dash board activated by the brake pedal. Appears to be adjustable but kind of hard to get to, I'm going to give it a try as soon as the weather gets a little better.

My dealer checked mine also, drove it around the block at 20 MPH and said "looks fine to us". So far everything that has needed to be fixed or adjusted on this car, headlight aiming, replace missing bolts in front engine cover, fix numerous rattles, has been done by me. Customer service is pretty dismal at times but I am learning how to do a few things on the Gen3.

 

I'll probably take a look at my switch also when we finish shoveling out this weekend. Hopefully, it's not too much of a contortionist excercise, but I wish Toyota would at least reimburse us for fixing these things the warranty is supposed to cover.

 

If you are successful how about posting a short "DIY" on it, sounds like you may get to it before I do. Good luck.

 

I'll need more than luck. We just shoveled 12 inches this morning and have another 12+ on the ground with snow still coming down. I thought I had left real snow behind when I left northern Japan, but at least this is just an occasional event. I'll definitely post info when I can get in there to do it.

 

I have the same problem, and we have the european version.

Actually, when parked, and you gently press the pedal, at first nothing happens, then you hear a solenoid or a valve noise, and after additional pressure the braking lights are turned on.
The service shop manager said this cannot be true, so i pareked the car with the rear against a wall.
Told him to sit on the driver seat, gently press the braking pedal, and look in the mirror for the braking lights.
After he saw this he said it is complicated to adjust the sensor position, and it may be interfering with other saftey mechanisms, like ABS.
So he refused to readjust the sensor position.

 

Sounds to me like he doesn't have a clue how it works and is just telling you something so he won't have to adjust it.

I crawled under the dash of my car and had my friend hold a mirror to see the brake lights. If I pull the brake pedal down out of the way I can turn the brake lights off and on by pushing the little switch in and out. I have been told that this is the same switch that disengages the CC which makes sense to me because my brake lights and CC are both out of adjustment. i.e. I need to push the pedal down to far for either one of them.

I'm not sure why there is so much reluctance by Toyota dealers to adjust this switch, unless it's just because it's hard to get to. I can't imagine how this would have anything to do with ABS?

As I said I'll try to adjust mine, if you guys never hear from me again you might assume I disabled my brakes but I think I'll be OK. Actually some of the vehicles I learned to drive in didn't even have brakes, so I learned to plan ahead.

 

Sounds like you have just as bad service as we do over here. It should be adjustable but nobody that I know of on here has done it YET.