Prius 2010 - After Recall Fix - Brake Issue Tested

We took ours in to our local dealer on Monday (2/15/2010) and the ECU flash took almost exactly one hour.

On the way home I had my wife test the brakes just to verify that they were not adversly affected by the ECU flash, they did, however, work as advertised.

I asked my wife if she noticed any brake sensitivity or increase in feel, she said that having read the Thread on possible immprovements in brake feel due to the ECU upgrade, she wasn't sure if she could tell any difference or that it was just the knowledge that there should be, was making her think they felt better...Power of Suggestion.

A side note here, we had purchased a Camery back in 2000 from this same local dealer and found it to be the worst buying experience we'd ever had, they were HIGH pressure, unknowledgeable, bordered on rude and generally just typical car dealer types. Our dealings with the Service Department was even worse. People were herded through their Service Department like cattle and afforded NO personal attention and Customer Service was stricctly a formality. My wife vowed NEVER to purchase another vehicle from them...PERIOD!

Due to our desire to own the 2010 Prius, we justified the purchase by buying it out of state, and convincing ourselves that we'd only have to deal with our local dealer a couple of times a year...and surely we could tolerate it for the benefit we'd gain from the Prius.

Well, the recall experience was nothing short of INCREDIBLE, we were warmly greeted by a Service Tech, who introduced us to our own personal Service Writer, ;who apologized profusely about the recall and offered us coffee, tea or juice, and assured it would be taken care of within the next hour.

We walked to the showroom to see what vehicles they had available, and LITERALLY everyone we passed along the way (who was an employee) was syrupy nice! BTW the only vehicles on the showroom floor were either Trucks, SUV's or Vans NOT included in ANY recalls, there were NO Prius's or passenger cars of ANY type on the showroom floor, however, there were 13 Prius hidden on the back lot!

We began chatting with a salesman, asking how sales had been, all he offered was a snicker. The Assistant Sales Manager came over and joined the conversation, and after hearing about our bad experience with buying a Camery, and our defection to another dealer because of it, promised us that it wouldn't EVER happen again.

Upon being notified the car was ready, we were escorted to the car (which had been pulled next to the door) by no less than 3 service personel, who held doors open and gushingly apologized once again for the inconvenience.

It was perfectly obvious they'd all been through some sort of Toyota PR course, because they were NOTHIG like what they'd been like in the past or what their reputation was known to be. Hopefully ALL Toyota dealers have gone through this corse/seminar and will keep treating their customers in this fashion.

Kudos to Reliable Toyota in Springfield, Mo., I might even consider buying a car there again!

David (aka Blind Guy)

 

Cool!

Same experience here with my nearby dealer, who, five or ten years ago, were taking deposits ($500) on orders, and not returning them if the buyer decided they couldn't wait any longer. It made the news because it was newcomers to Canada whom they were ripping off.

When I dropped in to look at Pearl I was treated very well. No games. No come-ons. So I bought Pearl there. Later, when I took Pearl in to see if they would replace the coolant transfer pump (which squeals) I was again treated well (but Toyota Canada won't change the pump if it squeals).

Sorry for the thread hijack.

 

did mine today and since i was never "lucky" enough to experience the issue, i cant say whether its "fixed" or not. i cannot tell any difference as far as how the car brakes or anything like that and regen seems to work just as well as before despite my feelings that it would not, so all is well...

time to update; 45 minutes. not bad

 

Prior to the update I was able to replicate the brake loss issue at will when driving on slippery snow covered roads. After the update I can not feel any brake loss. Fix seems to have worked.

My question is, will this update affect the life of the brake pads / rotors? When I first purchased the car I was told that the brakes last up to 60-80K compared to 20-40K miles. What do others think?

 

My prius brakes should last the life of the car. But then my normal car brakes last 60-80, so it is all in how you drive. If every stop is an emergency, then prius=conventional brakes. If you brake within regen, then friction only used a little bit above 7 mph, and wear is minimal. Have seen photos of prius brakes over 100K where calipers were needed to measure any wear at all. YMMV.

 

I fixed my Prius 2010 last Saturday. But after then, Gas Mileage is going down.
I can hear louder engine sound when I push brake pedal than before.
Is there any one who has same experience?
I think previous status is better.

Waht I should do?

 

Since the flash was done, brakes seem to be fine (in all truth, I never experienced the problem prior) and the car is still getting 55+ mpg around town :high5:.

If you don't think the louder engine sound is a spurious finding, take it back to the dealer and have it checked out.

 

I had my flash upgrade this afternoon. In and out in 30 minutes.

I had not been able to duplicate the brake transition delay before the upgrade so am not able to comment on that. I did notice driving home that the friction brakes definitely seemed to engage sooner than before. I was trying to determine at what speed this seemed to happen. Trying to drive in heavy traffic and watch the speedometer was tricky. It did seem to me that the friction brakes engaged around 15 to 20 mph.

Later tonight I was watching the regen on the HSI screen and noticed that when I first began light braking, I would get full regen on the Charge bar to the left. Right at 20 mph the regen began to decrease without me changing pressure on the pedal. I seem to remember that the regen did not change before until I was almost at a stop.

 

not always true. if pedal pressure on brakes is constant, regen level will drop as speed drops although there could a difference in regen levels.

i am watching it but to be honest with ya, i have no real base to compare with. i had not paid that much attention on it other than to notice that the regen happens at all speeds including below the 8 mph level that the regen on gen 2's stopped.

i think close monitoring on gas mileage is key here. as always, i will continue to report my mileage. thus far i am at 55 mpg MFD reading which will equate to around 50 mpg real mileage... pretty much same as before

 

I got my ABS ECU flashed yesterday afternoon. On the drive home and to work today, about 25 miles, the overall braking experience seems improved to my liking. Previously, I complained about the non-linear feel during braking but adapted and was coping. Now, the feel is much more linear and I can modulate the braking force more softly as I glide to a gentle stop.

I only experienced the braking cut out twice in 6500 miles of driving so I cannot comment if that condition is solved or not with the flash.

The bone I need to pick is with the dealer who performed the flash. They were courteous as stated in previous threads but the work the "service technician" did was sloppy. I discovered the cover to the fuse box was left to one side after my inspection of the work at home. The cover is there to protect the fuse system from debris and I'm glad I found the cover after only a few miles travelled.

Warning, inspect the work cause these guys are pumping through the cars at a high rate!

 

I have found much more progressive brake feel since the update and the brakes do seem to 'bite' more.

However, and it is early days, but I think my mileage is down by about 2mpg. Have only driven the car for a couple days since the update and will be keeping an eye on the fuel economy.

Anyone else noticed a reduction in mpg?

 

I had the update yesterday morning.

The brakes *definitely* feel more responsive -- they "catch" with a lot less force. Previously, the brakes felt mushy when fully depressed, especially when stopping short.

So, it's an improvement!


One oddity, though -- the suspension on the car feels a lot more bumpy after the update. I realize this is probably completely unrelated -- I can't see how the brakes would affect the smoothness of the suspension -- but.... anyone else notice this? (probably just me being paranoid...)

 

Had the update today. I never experienced the reported problem so I cannot say it fixed it. The brakes do feel different but again, it is hard to describe it, more firm maybe or even smoother would be a better description. I was looking for a difference in the "charge" display but that looked normal. I will say that before I drove into the dealership, other drivers gave me a wide berth. Afterwards they were brave enough to pull out in front of me. Must have thought I got the brakes fixed.

 

did anybody notice if the high pitch noise (not brake squeal) is gone after the reflash?

 

You mean the one from the front seat passenger when the brakes skipped for a couple of seconds?

 

it's when you press on the brake pedal, either stopped or slowing down, it emits a high pitch sound. it's not the brake pads and it's not abs pump. others notice it also.

 

You might want to check your tire pressure; it sounds like the dealer may have added air to your tires while the car was in for service.