I brought my 2010 Prius to get its annual check-up, oil change, etc, about a month ago to a local dealership. Everything checked out fine, brakes were good..... Now it's time to get the annual inspection. For the past couple of weeks, I've been hearing a scraping sound when I brake. So of course, I bring it to a local shop for the inspection, and the guy shows me the rear brakes are completely worn down. Scraping the metal. He tells me I shouldn't be driving this car and I told him I just had my car serviced at a dealership and they told me everything was good to go. He told me I should call and complain, and that he will repair the rear brakes for me. He tried to price out the parts but since it's a weekend they weren't able to get through on the phone. He told me to come back tomorrow morning. My question is this: Since this is the Prius regenerative braking system, does/should it be serviced by the dealership or can any shop do it? I'm pretty frustrated and I don't think I want to bring the car back to the place that they dropped the ball at a month ago... Thanks in advance.
how many miles on her? it is unusual for the rear to wear before the front, but not unheard of. the brakes have a special warning feature that makes noise before you shouldn't drive the car. are you savvy enough to see what he was talking about? anyone can do the brakes, but they should have some prius experience, or be careful and follow the service manual.
Around 90k. So there's no need to bring the car to the dealer if I don't want to? I'm not too savvy w/car repairs so I may just end up bringing it to a regular repair shop.
no need. but the mech must be aware that prius brakes are electric. for instance, opening the drivers door after removing the old pads while the 12v is still connected will blow the pistons out and cost someone a lot of money.
Or something might do that. Opening the driver's door causes a pump to run, forcing fluid into a bottle under the hood, not into any brake cylinders. At least in Gen 3, where this thread is. Maybe Gen 2 was different? The Gen 3 automated self test would probably force pistons out, but it runs a couple minutes after shutdown—not when the door is opened.
Have the rear calipers been pulled off (say for inspection) in the past? Was the pad wear even/uniform, or severely beveled? It is very easy, especially for a shade tree mechanic not in the know, to reassemble incorrectly, creating a situation where the brakes are constantly dragging.
Any mechanic can do the brakes on a Prius, it's nothing different when replacing the brake pads (or rotors). I'm wondering if you complain to Toyota dealer that did the service, would they need to see the car to confirm? If they do, then you have to decide if you want them to see it. They'll identify the problem and tell you they can change the brakes for $400. Did they give you a report on how thick the pads were measuring? I get that from my dealer It's quite unusual for the brakes to have a lot of wear at 90k miles, usually people change them after 120k miles and it's just because they feel it's time, not that it's really worn down.
Prius brakes wear, albeit slower. Our fronts are around 6 mm (new is 10 IIRC) remaining at 87K kms. Still, worn out rears always makes me suspicious: put back together wrong they drag, wear fast, and wear bevelled/uneven. The rotor inside face will also be about 50 percent untouched, rusty. It would be good to see the old pads and rotors for yourself, see if it's something like that.
