Beginning to lose confidence in Toyota

LOL, you're Prius has a farting problem. :eyebrows:

Nice use of video to support your complaint. Imagine if you went to the dealership without the video. "I'm sorry sir, we couldn't replicate the problem so there's nothing we can do."

I'd be worried the unusual noise and slow returning pedal could cause a more serious braking problem in the future.

 

evpv you are not a Prius driver anymore (if you ever were) but you still fill up this forum with your attacks on Toyota. I've not seen a sole post from you to this forum in last few weeks that would contain anything meaningful. You either slander Toyota or other users that have a different opinion as you have.

 

Good Morning,

I usually try to read most of the threads as I get the time, but am glad I read this one...

I went to your website to watch your video's, and with the second video you have caught my interest... I have a 2010 Prius Trim Level II -

About 30-45 seconds after I shut down and park the car, I get the same honking noise... It sounds exactly like a duck quacking... I only ever noticed it becuase I will not smoke in my cars or the house, so when I get home from work, I will have a cigarette outside on the porch... This was how I even noticed the sound...

I just assumed it was something with the Hybrid system, and did not really pay any attention to it... The odd thing is that 3 out of 5 times it is a "honk/quack", and the other two it is a loud click, almost like a relay type of click... It never makes the noise while driving, only after parking the car, and only once after it is parked...

If it turns out that the Honk/Quack is not normal, please let us know what caused it so I can let the dealer know where to look...

Thanks,
Dan

 

Besides owning a Prius, I have a 2003 Tacoma Pickup which Toyota recently replaced the frame for rust issues. The truck had only 55,000 miles and ran fine. I asked for Toyota to buy back the truck for $10,000 which was a fair price, but they turned it down.
Instead they chose to pay the dealer $13,356.00 replace the frame and Enteprise $2,750 for a rental I had for 70 days. Total cost to Toyota $16,106 for a truck worth 10k. Go Figure

 

Triscb, after watching your informative videos (EVPV - maybe everyone should drive with a camera between their legs?), I have several questions come to mind; How does the pedal honking sound affect actual braking? Does the car slow down as expected? Does it feel like there is a delay in forward momemtum after you release the brake while the pedal slowly retracts? Is it possible that you're pressing the brake pedal hard enough to engage the momentary 2 sec delay that prevents the car from rolling backward at a stop on an incline while you transition from brake pedal to gas pedal?

What's puzzling is that all this seems to be about is strange noises, not how the car performs. I think that's why Toyota is finding it difficult to take your lemom-law claim seriously. Loss of value is subjective - I'm curious as to how this will be resolved. Good luck!

Sorry about the dig to EVPV - I couldn't help myself!

 

The "camera between the legs" solution would only work if you could get everybody to do it....otherwise the study would be as invalid as NASA's....

 

ANY misbehavior of a brake system should by default be considered to affect both value and safety, most importantly the latter.

 

Which way do we point the camera?

:eyebrows:

Tom

 

Who is your dealer? Bought my '10 in your area and might have some insight.

 

Sounds are not an indication of misbehavior. Just because a person is unhappy does not indicate a car is unsafe. The reason I had several questions is because the videos don't verify the allegations the OP states he has a lemon versus what I observed. In the videos, it appears the sound is coming from the brake pedal mechanism, not from the performance of the brakes themselves. In other words, all the videos prove is that the OP is unhappy with the way it sounds. Just a thought....

BTW, if the sound is that loud, it would dry me nuts when driving that car. Suggestion; Take a service tech with you and have him drive your car with you in the passenger seat. Then go out in a new Prius and drive the same route. The service tech should be able to compare the two to see if there is a problem or not.

 

+1

Sound or no sound, something is definitely wrong if the brake pedal doesn't return normally.

 

OK, I watched the vids. The sound IS symptomatic of misbehavior. In any case, it sounds to me like a rubber bushing or something that is being rubbed against perhaps where the pedal goes through the firewall. That would explain the sound and a lazy retraction. I could not tell any retraction problems; maybe with the camera planted down near the pedal from the side one could see that.

That said, this is a highly unusual problem. The noise is indicative of SOMETHING awry, absolutely and beyond question. Whether that something will ever manifest into a firey hell of death and mangled bodies on the highway, who knows. Probably not, since the problem is retracting so likely worse-case he'd just be stuck having to come to a stop when he doesn't want. But this is a problem I think any one of us would strive to have solved and clearly Toyota agrees, hence their spending all the money on it. I would continue to push for resolution. Expecting him to live with a honking/barky sound from the brakes is crazy and it absolutely would affect resale value.

 

What a good suggestion. This would sure help confirm lots of squeaks, rattles, bumps and thumps, but sadly I think most dealers resist the idea. Their new car inventory would end up with mileage that potential buyers will undoubtedly balk, bark and bite for additional discounts.

 

Granted, service dept's attitude to service will vary from one dealer to the next. My dealer will offer a tech to ride with me if they can't duplicate a rattle or problem on their own. If your dealer won't offer it, I would ask for it. Based on the OP's description, the "test" drive shouldn't be very long since the problem should occur at the first stop. If you need to drive 20 miles to duplicate a problem, then the problem may not be the car. I had a Mercedes that would produce a thump/snap sound whenever I turned right into a driveway going over the curb and sidewalk. The tech couldn't duplicate it, so I took him out and found the right situation and was able to duplicate the problem. They eventually tracked it down to a bad bushing component in the suspension.

 

I haven't any info on Faulkner, but I recommend trying Bobby Rahal. Dealing with them since '96, including an '07 and '10 Prius. They will go out of their way for you and bend over backwards to help out. Don't know how this applies to vehicles purchased elsewhere.