Hi guys, 99% sure it's time for brakes. Sounds like the wear indicators are squeeling. I'll pop the tires off tomorrow and take a close look. Found a thread on here about doing brakes. Sounds pretty easy.
Prius brake linings and rotors last a long time due to regenerative braking. But with a username like Dale Ernhardt lol you might not be using regenerative braking much? A common cause of squealing is an accumulation of rust on the surface of the brake rotors.
Nah, I'm a pretty mellow driver, but I just bought the car last year and I think it had 113k on it. It's at 116k right now. So maybe the person who owned it before me was a heavy braker. The brakes just suddenly started squealing and it does not go away after a few miles, like rust once it gets worn off the rotor. I read some posts of guys that have 150k on their original brakes.
Maybe your brakes are binding on the slide pins: Brake Caliper Slide Pin Cleaning and Lubrication | PriusChat
That's a lot of distance, I'll bet the pads are low. And could be uneven wear, seizing caliper pins, if they've been neglected. They're Prius brakes, but not miracle brakes.
Took it to the local toyota dealer today and it was the rear brakes making the noise. Said the fronts had 6mm left but the rears had to be changed right away. He recommended new rotors. Cost: about $500. I found a place online that sells slotted and drilled rear rotors and brake pads for $80 delivered. I might go that route. Rock Auto wanted about $260 delivered. I would have ordered but the shipping was $60 so I searched online and found this place: Toyota Prius 2010 - Rear Drilled & Slotted Rotors, Ceramic Pads Don't know about the quality. You get what you pay for and $80 delivered seems really cheap.
IF there is no damage to the rotors they should NOT need to be changed. Moderator P.S. - Start a conversation with the person if you want to discuss such things that have been removed, leave it out of the thread
I'm on second set of rear pads. I suspect it was due to incorrect install when we had the rear axle replaced (due to a collision). There's a pin on the back of the inside rear pads that MUST be aligned to fall between the caliper piston spokes, or they drag badly, and wear unevenly, and mess up the rotors. My 2 cents: any design that requires this degree of attention, and can be easily messed up, is a poor design. (Your famous namesake was a race car driver, hard on brakes?)
Before doing anything, disconnect the 12 volt battery negative lead. Prior to reassemble of the rear, put one of these on a 3/8" extension on a ratchet wrench: (In a pinch you can use something like a offset needle nose plier, but this gizmo makes it a lot easier. They're readily available, about $5~10. And turn the piston clockwise (screws it in) just enough to position the piston like this: (It may just be that way to begin with. But in my experience I found it was shifted a bit.) That'll put the pad pin in the gap between spokes. Then reassemble everything, and before applying the parking brake, press the brake pedal multiple times, to build up pressure, seat the piston firmly against the pad, locked on the pin. Then cross your fingers and reconnect the 12 volt battery. Take it for a test drive, then apply and release the parking brake a few times, this will tighten it up somewhat, there's an automatic adjustment mechanism, inside the piston. Then maybe raise the rear end again, and try turning the wheels. In my experience there was a little drag once the parking brake had been applied, due to the adjuster mechanism, but minor. It should not be really stiff to turn.
