Has anyone else experienced unusual braking issues in their Prius? I'm finding a thread about the Gen III issue, but not Gen II. My yellow skid light goes on when I initiate braking (usually about 30 feet from the stop zone). It feels like the car is floating along when all of a sudden the brakes grip. This happens in the spring, summer, fall, and winter, so it's not a weather related concern. Any ideas?
I think you need to have it looked at, if your stoping at a normal speed and the light is coming on. Sounds like there is something wrong.
I would agree, you need to have it looked at. I almost never have the yellow skid light come on unless it is in the snow or on ice. For me, it does not come on ever on dry pavement and rarely if ever on wet pavement.
What type of tires do you have? If you still have the OEM Goodyear Integrity tires, that could explain it. They are bad tires when new, terrible tires when old. Tom
The last month or so that I had the original Integrity tires on the front, I was able to break the tires free steering straight ahead on dry pavement. That was at approx 29k miles. They are really terrible tires.
Check your tyre pressures. If they're uneven, VSC may incorrectly assume that one of the wheels is slipping. The TPMS system is not good enough for this, it permits way too much leeway between the different tyres. Use a proper pressure gauge.
Well, they are crap tires - but they are not THAT bad. It really sounds like something really is wrong with the braking system - and the OP should not simply blame it on crappy tires.
It sounds to me like traction control initiated transition to ABS braking. We need to know how often this happens, and under what circumstances. If the OP doesn't offer more information, we can't help. Tom
They all do it. I had a 2002 and now have a 2007. If you hit a bump while applying the brakes, they will slip for a moment and the abs light comes on. They both did it.
I think there's a lack of detail from the OP and most posters: The OP implies that this happens very often if not all the time. If your skid light comes on all the time you brake, as you imply, it is stunning and peculiar that you are still driving the car and have not had it looked. Anyway the following might be worth looking at: Even tire pressure: The Prius has a monitoring system that -in my experience- will indicate a tire that wildly underinflated compared to the others (22 psi for example). It's easy to look at however. Tire wear: If your tires have been underinflated or if for some reason there is considerable tire wear that may explain frequent loss of traction. I have 35000 mi on the original tires and because I run them at 46/44 psi they are still ok and likely won't need replacement for a while. One of the best pieces of advice I picked up on this forum. Now if the skid light comes on over uneven surfaces and this only happens occasionally then join the queue of people who are satisfied with their Prius, but hope Toyota will look at ABS response time and the traction control system.
The OP also posted once and then never came back. Crap, now I have to unsub from this thread. ;-) - D
I am very much appreciating everyone's input. I am going in to have my car checked next week. The problem I see is that I CANNOT replicate the concern every time I initiate slowing down or stopping. It happens with some regularity on certain roads, but there are times I simply am not expecting that floating sensation to happen. I think it will make sense to buy new tires; this will be, at the very least, a place to start. If the concern continues over the coming spring and summer, I will continue to ask questions. I have been very busy with work, hence, I haven't checked this thread since Dec. 27th. Again, I appreciate all feedback.
Sorry about not checking back. I actually couldn't remember my login name!!!! I kept typing in "ecolady" and not "eco lady". Please check out the post below...
I have an '05 and this happens to me as well. (The yellow skiddy light comes on the dash and I detect a loss of traction) It seems like it happens if I run over a pot hole, or the wheels lose some traction on ice or sand on dry roadways. It's annoying at worst, and I figured it was an artifact of the vsc system (or whatever it's called) that comes standard. I have the basest of the base models (It's one step below package 1, but with dealer add-ons), so I know it's not the other stability or traction option or whatever it is.
It really only happens to me when it's wet, and I hit one of those painted white patches at the stoplight, or when I'm stopping/starting off a wet railroad track (steel). I do agree that the OEM tires are not the best. Really not the best.
Ain't the tires - I was lead to believe the same, so replaced OEM (only 22K on them) on '07 Touring with Nokians, and the issue still occurs when I'm braking downhill, and come across a manhole cover (on nightly commute). Happens every time I come to this intersection. Now I just make sure I slow down sooner, and go a lot slower. But it ain't the tires.
