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Braking Question?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by tah, Jun 29, 2012.

  1. tah

    tah Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2012
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    Location:
    Richmond, VA
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
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    N/A
    You know how when braking to a complete stop if you "let off" the brakes slightly at the very end the stop is smoother. This is an old habit which is deeply ingrained in my driving.

    But on my 07 Prius if I "let off" the brakes at the very end of the stop I get some noise. Kind of hard to describe but it's kind of a grunting noise as the pads lose and reestablish their hold on the discs.

    Anyone else know what I'm talking about? Is this normal?
     
    #1 tah, Jun 29, 2012
  2. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
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    Two
    Yes we know exactly what your talking about. Its rust on the brake rotor caused by very litle use of the hydraulic brakes.

    Braking force is mostly regen so calipers/pads don't get alot of workout so rust is never completely worn off the rotor. This is confirmed by glancing at the rotor surfuce through the wheel and you'll notice there pretty rusted. A non hybrid car's rotor will be shiny.

    Easy fix. Get it up to speed and put the car in neutral ( this turns off regen brake assistance) and apply firm pressure on the brakes. Nothing crazy just a few firm pushes on the brake. This helps remove rotor surface rust.

    Be aware the first time you do this make sure no one's in front of you because you'll be surprised how poor the brakes really are without regen assist.

    After you apply the brakes a few times put the car back in D. This can be done while your traveling 60 miles an hour with no problem. You'll get so used to doing it it will become natural. I do it alot when my Hybrid battery is all green and I know a stop is coming and I don't want to invoke regen and charging anymore. In neutral no regen to the Hybrid. It's easier on the Hybrid battery to not spend alot of time in the green.
     
    #2 edthefox5, Jun 29, 2012
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