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Won't start unless brake pedal all the way to the floor

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by tls1, Jun 10, 2014.

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  1. tls1

    tls1 Junior Member

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    When I go to start and depress the brake pedal it goes all the way to the floor. The brake fluid is at the full mark and my 2011 has only 25k miles. Where should I look since it did not go all the way to the floor when I forst got it with 6K miles.
     
    #1 tls1, Jun 10, 2014
  2. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Do you hear the brake booster energizing when you open the door? That is supposed to pressurize the system.

    If you don't have pressure in your brake system, that would explain why your pedal can be pressed to the floor. Take it in to have it looked at Stat.

    SCH-I535
     
    #2 xliderider, Jun 10, 2014
  3. tls1

    tls1 Junior Member

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    No, I do not hear any noise upon opening the door. Thanks for your input.
     
    #3 tls1, Jun 10, 2014
  4. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Does the brake pedal feel "normal" after you get the car in Ready mode? If no, then it should not be driven.

    SCH-I535
     
    #4 xliderider, Jun 10, 2014
  5. tls1

    tls1 Junior Member

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    After starting the car I can still put the pedal all the way to the floor even after repeated "pumping" of it. It does stop normally though when driving.
     
    #5 tls1, Jun 10, 2014
  6. macman408

    macman408 Electron Guidance Counselor

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    Because most of the braking is handled by regen, the feel of the brake pedal is handled by a stroke simulator. Maybe there's a problem with that - as has been said already, get thee to a dealer!
     
    #6 macman408, Jun 11, 2014
  7. KennyGS

    KennyGS Senior Member

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    I would not drive it around, and possibly consider having it towed to the dealer.

    I'm a "better safe than sorry" kind of guy. :unsure:
     
    #7 KennyGS, Jun 11, 2014
  8. Feri

    Feri Active Member

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    The dealer.
     
    #8 Feri, Jun 11, 2014
  9. Easy Rider

    Easy Rider Active Member

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    The reason for saying that is: Just because it feels right doesn't mean that it is working right.
    If you need to make a sudden stop to avoid hitting something you might be in for a nasty shock.

    And all of that really has nothing to do with starting or not starting.
     
    #9 Easy Rider, Jun 11, 2014
  10. Feri

    Feri Active Member

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    Is this the problem that the recall was for?
     
    #10 Feri, Jun 12, 2014
  11. KennyGS

    KennyGS Senior Member

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    #11 KennyGS, Jun 12, 2014
  12. KennyGS

    KennyGS Senior Member

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    #12 KennyGS, Jun 12, 2014
  13. tls1

    tls1 Junior Member

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    OK, this morning I took it to the Toyota Dealer. They said the battery was low, (although I never had a problem starting the car), and that low voltage would cause the computer to go goofy and that could affect the brake pedal, etc. The Dealer wanted $365 to replace the 12 volt battery since I am just out of warranty. My local Auto Parts store had a battery with 5 year warranty for $157 so I bought it and installed it. My brake pedal still goes to the floor when I am stopped but brakes normally when driving. The dealer did a flash recall but I do not notice any difference in driving or starting. There were no codes set after I left the dealer although he said there were some codes set when the car arrived.
     
    #13 tls1, Jun 12, 2014
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it's possible the new battery needs to be charged. once you have tested it and/or charged it, if you still have a brake problem, you'll have to go back to the dealer and tell them they were wrong.
     
    #14 bisco, Jun 12, 2014
  15. tls1

    tls1 Junior Member

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    The new battery starts the car with no problems, as did the original battery.. I do not have much faith in the Toyota Dealers service manager since he told me that it is normal for the brake pedal to go all the way to the floor
     
    #15 tls1, Jun 13, 2014
  16. Easy Rider

    Easy Rider Active Member

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    The 12 V. battery does not really "start the car" like a conventional car does.
    It "allows" all the computers to come to life so that the main battery can do the starting.

    I don't think it is normal for the brake pedal to go "all the way to the floor".......except maybe when the car is off and you push it several times in a row. Even then I don't think it should.

    This condition could be dangerous. I would not wait to take it back in again.
    If they try to give you the same BS story again, ask them to show you another car on the lot that acts the same.
     
    #16 Easy Rider, Jun 13, 2014
    tls1 and ftl like this.
  17. GregP507

    GregP507 Senior Member

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    Dangerous situation to have brakes not functioning properly, and dangerous advice to say this is normal. The battery has nothing to do with the functioning of the brakes. Batteries in automobiles don't run down over time and need to be charged periodically like a cellphone battery. The car does all the charging once the engine is running.
     
    #17 GregP507, Jun 13, 2014
  18. adamace1

    adamace1 Senior Member

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    The dealer should give you your money back when they just guess at whats wrong and it doesn't fix the problem. Maybe next trip they will try painting your car a different color? Maybe that will help?
     
    #18 adamace1, Jun 13, 2014
  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    try another dealer.
     
    #19 bisco, Jun 13, 2014
    NR427 likes this.
  20. GregP507

    GregP507 Senior Member

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    If that doesn't make the customer feel better, they can start replacing components. Eventually, they may get to the one which has failed, and they can tell the customer, coincidentally all the other parts they replaced, happened to be shot as well.

    I'm no licensed mechanic, but I've always been skeptical of the claim that several components can all fail at once.
     
    #20 GregP507, Jun 14, 2014
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