NEW strange brake noise

interesting... tell me more

 

i have never heard anything remotely like what you are describing.

my brakes do make whirring and ticking sounds but nothing that is loud enough as to be mistaken for another vehicle.

is there anything you are doing that will cause this. iow, can you predict when it will make this sound and how often has it happened?

 

The first couple of mornings while on vaction in Longmont, CO, a chirping sound was produced when applying the brakes. The temperature was in the low 40's and the altitude in Longmont is 5450'. By noontime the noise had disappeared. After a couple of days the system acclimated itself and did not hear it again. The sound was like high pressure fluid being let thru a small orifice.

 

I've had this same oddity occur as well.

1: At a full stop.

2: Press brake pedal in deeply, and release a little

Result: Loud chirp/squeak (had to describe).

Context: Canadian winter. : ) Could be a result of this, as I seem to be reading above.

I'll be taking into the dealer soon for a 32K servicing, and well let you know what comes of it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mstar @ Mar 4 2007, 07:10 PM) [snapback]400043[/snapback]</div>

Do so before 36k when the warranty expires. Check here for the TSB. http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=3...amp;hl=br001-07

My car makes the same sound. I scheduled an appointment to diagnose if they'll need to replace the Brake Actuator or not.

 

My '07 does it too, but only on the coldest of winter days it sees here in Georgia. I notice it especially when I first turn the car on and put my foot on the brake pedal to select D or R. I can also induce it while sitting at a stop such as a red light by pushing extra-hard on the brake pedal, then going back to normal pressure.

 

Bringing this back to life - my 16k mi 2007 just started doing it this weekend. At the very first initial tap on the brakes, like as soon as your foot starts to press the pedal, you hear a loud "CHIRP". I agree with another poster - it sounds like some sort of release valve releasing some pressure.

I drove up into higher elevation (6500') from sea-level this weekend, so my initial thought is that it was related to the higher elevation change. I was going to wait until I came down to sea-level again to see if it continued, but wanted to see if any fellow forum members experienced this - never saw any final resolution - any updates to the thread?

 

My 2008 just started making the same noise. I keep trying to reproduce it on demand, but I have not been able too. Just like some other posters, I thought someone was honking at me, but it's just my little Prius. I only have 6k miles, so as soon as I can reproduce I will bring in in to the dealer.

 

Took our 2006 Prius in today with the odd brief "honk" (we feel badly because the first time it happened we gave the lady behind us a dirty look because we thought she was honking at us for no reason.). Anyway, they could not find anything wrong with it car and they said they put the car through the "full cycle" of tests. The car did not make the noise on the way home. We will see. The weather has been very cold the last couple of days...maybe that's it.

 

Check out this thread, lots more info, and THE ANSWER which involves a TSB,
and a FREE repair/fix:

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-technical-discussion/19051-my-brakes-barking-me.html

Hope this helps.

 

I experienced the same issue with one of my priuses when i went to the snow big bear 2 weeks ago. The squeaking went away when the outside temp rose to 45 degrees. The problem is, I have an '08. I called toyota here in Los Angeles and they said they wont be able to do anything unless they can replicate the problem to justify warranty work. Wth!! Los Angeles does not have freezing weather and if so, it would be at 2am one day a year and would rise up to 60 degrees in the morning. Maybe i should take the prius to a snowy state and have it repaired over there. LOL!! I hope its nothing serious though because i dont want to drive off a cliff.

 

I just took my 2007, which I have owned for about 3 months, to the dealer, in Santa Fe, NM, to check out the chirping noise from the brakes. Here's what they said. First, since I have 39,000 miles on it, the defect is not covered by warranty. Their printed invoice says: Noticed TSB 0307-08 to replace actuator assy. and perform brake bleed procedure. Only covered to 36 mo 36,000 mi.
So, Toyota does admit to a defective actuator, but if it doesn't start chirping before the 36,000mi/3yr warranty date, too bad for you.
The service manager did tell me it was not a dangerous situation and that his Prius does the same thing. He seems to think it has something to do with the altitude here. He says it is common for people who come from near sea level to high altitude, 6,000 ft here, to experience this. I had just taked a trip to CA, and this started when I returned. He also said he replaced his actuator and the noise soon came back. I guess I can live with a little noise, but it kind of sucks that Toyota admits they have a defective part and won't fix it. Still love the car.

 

This is not a safety or usability issue, so it is reasonable that Toyota limits the time/distance for free repair.

The dealer is also correct that altitude plays a part. My 2006 started chirping when I was out west climbing in the mountains. As soon as I got back to our 700 foot altitude the problem went away.

Tom

 

I agree with this. My 2004 makes that noise at 7,000 ft elevation, but not at lower altitudes. There's no safety impact, it just makes you think there's a mouse in the car...

 

I have a 2016 Prius c with the same issue. What did end up happening? My car sounds like a clown horn and the dealer heard it and cleaned my front and rear brakes and lubed it but the sound came back. The dealer said that my brakes looked fine but the noise is so annoying!