2010 Prius Recall Software Update Experiences

As opposed to they plugged it in, my car began to smoke, flames erupted, the fire department arrived ... my insurance agent said my policy was out of date because of a technical glitch ... no more worries about the brakes. I certainly hope my experience is boring.

 

I brought my car to the dealer this morning (no appointment) and got it back this afternoon. Pretty painless. On the drive home I didn't notice any difference in brake feel, although the Corolla loaner's acceleration felt like a rocket ship in comparison!

 

I agree that the legal end of it could potentially be "bad" but I am comfortable with the way the car brakes , although I have experienced the momentary loss of brake power its not something that isnt solved by applying firmer pressure on the pedal.

I read the posts on the Prius software update and one of the answers just has me concerned;

Q6. Can Toyota provide in-depth technical details on the software update?
A6. The precise technical details are not available. The result of the software change is to shorten the ABS braking force delay and to lower the pedal pressure required to stop. The result is shorter stopping distance and a more positive braking feel.


to me this sounds like the pedal will become more sensitive when braking, I like how the brakes work now, its easy to have the car regen rather than slow down with the mechanical brakes.
my 2cents, thanks for listening

 

Has anyone noticed from all the reports in the forums whether the problem only occurs on models with one type of wheel or is it across the board?

 

I believe the problem is across the board. I have the 17" wheels and have experienced the braking issue. Thanks for your detailed reports, HTMLSpinnr. I just called my dealer (Parkway Toyota in Northern NJ) and they said they won't be able to do the update until next week at the earliest.

 

We have a Level V and have experienced this once. No big deal at all but I'm taking the car in Saturday for the A0B recall fix.

 

Does the use of the battery booster (GR8 Battery Station) require disconnecting the 12 volt battery prior to hooking up the booster? If so, do you lose anything in memory (such as preset radio stations, etc.)? Is it essential that the Service Technician do this or just recommended? I don't know if I should say something to be sure they follow the directions or if they'll just be insulted; I worry too much! :noidea:

 

2010 prius flas has been done.

I just returned from my dealership from having my 2010 prius flashed.I was there less than a half hour.
This is my twelfth toyota and have no thoughts about it being my last.this was my first recall.

 

Re: 2010 prius flas has been done.

Is this a permanent update (ie memory is flashed) or do I need to worry about losing the update if my 12V battery dies for some reason.

 

Re: 2010 prius flas has been done.

permanent. also the flash should not reset any of your settings (trip mileage, time, etc.) either.

 

There were some good points brought up. I was wondering if it was mandatory as well, and didn't even think about insurance! My insurance premium went down when I bought my Prius (previously had a Corolla).

Rick, it sounds like you have a great dealership there. Much of my family relocated to the Phoenix area. Would be tempted to move just for a good dealership

Off the topic a bit, when you get your tires aligned according to the maintenance schedule, it doesn't state if you need to get an alignment too. I haven't had service yet (just had it 2 months) but am shocked by the expense of an oil change. When researching before I purchased I got the impression it was less to maintain.

Thank you! BTW, it's been great in the snow!

Karen

 

It does require synthetic oil which is more expensive but shortly you'll be getting a notice in the mail that instead of doing your oil changes every 6 months / 5000 miles that you only have to do them every 12 months / 10,000 miles. And, Toyota will be sending you a coupon for a free oil change.

 

My experience here in Canada, area of Ottawa, is that I can't schedule an appointment for this recall work yet.

Toyota Canada officially announced this recall on Tuesday, 3 days ago. This morning I called my closest dealer and was told they knew nothing about it, didn't have the "parts" yet, etc.

I called Toyota Canada, was told that dealer was wrong, and was given a case # and a name to call at that dealership. I called two other local dealers and was given the same story as at the first, although the best dealer guessed they would have the needed info next Wednesday.

Toyota Canada rep incorrectly told me the loss of braking was about 1 millisecond. (It's 700-800 I believe.) She also said this affected 300 some odd cars in Canada. ( TOYOTA CANADA : News & Events > News says 3273).

My wife has had the car just over 6 months (among first in Canada) and only noticed this problem last week for the first time.

Update as I type: First dealer just called back and said they got the info this afternoon and made an appointment with me for Monday. I'd guess we'll be among the first in Canada to get this update. I presume the software is the same as in the US but who knows ?

 

Called up Caldwell Toyota (Conway Ark) at 2:30 this afternoon. Got the car in about 4. Took about 40 minutes and they also changed the annoying repeated reverse beep to a single beep.

Only negative--apparently the dealers aren't being given a software update to change the oil change reminder from 5K to 10 K miles. Oh, well.