2012 Prius v Unicorns and rainbows

The car I was citing was a Prius v. The car with the expensive brakes and tires, a Porsche.

My 30k Prius v at 4 years has cost me a set of windshield wipers and a 30k dealer service. I consider that very cheap.

 

Your Prius is being driven far more than an adequate number of miles to keep it in good working order. Many car collectors drive their cars no more than a few hundred miles each per year to keep them in good working order. Even car museums, of which I have toured many, have their vehicles driven just a few miles each year to keep everything in order.

The probability that your Prius needed a rear brake job at 17,000 miles is infinitesimally small. If your mechanic has already done the work, you can either write it off as a mistake or surmise that he had a boat payment due.

Sometimes I think I would be better off if I didn't have the level of automotive knowledge I have. "Ignorance is bliss" but can be very expensive.

 

Reads like the OP doesn't have the time to "work" his Prius so he is "at the mercy" of others.

17K mileage for brakes is rare...even with a streeted sport car none the less a Prius.

Really need to remove rims and re-inspect. Sticky caliper piston, pads hanging on retainers, pads compound binding again failed, mis-read remaining pad thickness by mechanic, out of round rotor, computer traction control/ bounce jounce issue perhaps?

So, OP should get a second opinion.
Seems he is and has scheduled an Apl 26 dealership appointment.

OP please let us know the outcome!

Good luck.

 

And ask for any removed parts.

 

probably better of just to put her into something more fun to drive, and put this whole regrettable incident behind you.

 

we hear a lot of complaints about the seats. most can tolerate them, but some have pain like you. nobody loves them.

 

Those are amazing photos. The brake rotors on our 2012 Prius v are still shiny, bright and like new after a bit over 23,000 miles although, granted, not as much salt is used on roads on Kansas and Missouri where ours is driven and the last few winters here have been unusually mild.

I've always made it a practice to blast rotors and calipers with hot water at a car wash every week or two year round although I usually wimp out and don't do it when temperatures are below about 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Do you have other vehicles parked in the same garage that are driven at about the same rate and not having this problem? The reason I ask is that heated garages can accelerate corrosion dramatically if vehicles are driven on salted roads and not adequately cleaned.

Yes, the front seats are horrible for many of us including me. There are threads on this forum about that.

 

Classic 'YMMV' stuff. 30,200 miles on the original pads all around. Absolutely love the front seats and perfectly placed and raked head rests (for the 6'4" driver, at least).

 

are you in the 'rust belt'?

 

I hate to advise you to waste energy, but if you brake in N once in a while, all the braking will be friction braking, which can scrub rust off the rotors. Just an idea.

 

there's another thread here, about lubing the slide pins on the rear brakes. seems that the design is poor, and premature wear can occur if the calipers stick. they recumbend every 30k, but in your case, it might be a much shorter interval of inspection and lubrication as necessary.that's 1,000 miles per year?

 

gotcha. you really have a very unusual case there. i haven't seen anything like it. mine is 4 years and 40,000 miles, and my garage is very moist, collects rain and snow from the car. front and rear pads and discs look like new, except the heavy build up of rust on the very outside of the rotor where the pads don't touch. it will be interesting to hear updates if you decide to keep the car. all the best!

 

My 2012 Prius v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) has 107K and still have the same brake pads...

 

I just had rear pads put on my 2012 Prius v with 44k miles which I thought was a bit early, the rear were down to 4mm, the front were still at 6mm with the rear rotors a bit rusty. Although just sitting for a couple of days both the front and rear rotors tend to rust up pretty quickly around here.

The one caveat, I also had the annoying issue with the very loud brake noise/squeal with the rear brakes after sitting overnight within the first year. I took it in at least twice before it finally stopped, not sure what they actually ended up doing to 'fix' it.