Should Toyota acknowlege that the braking issue applies to the gen II Priuses?

Do they need to fix the brakes or the pothole?

Tom

 

I think the post quoted above summarizes the problem very well. Toyota is not responsible for the pothole but should be responsible if the brake does quit working on solid ground after passing the pothole.

 

I think what we have is an issue with severity. For example, if you drive -any- vehicle over "washboard" on a gravel road you will have trouble keeping control and stopping. Is that a fault?
I submit that if the wheel is not on the road the fact the brakes are released has no effect. In fact, it may -improve- the control when the wheel does regain contact.
So perhaps Toyota may just have to find a better fine tune of this. Or perhaps they did find the best solution on the GII and the GIII is off a bit.

 

This should have been a poll. But, to answer the question, of course they should fix the faulty brakes on my 2006.

 

I have experienced the intermittant braking on washboard roads, or while hitting potholes. I think it is an inherant flaw in the concept of anti-lock braking and not necessarily a Prius only problem. I have felt it on my Dodge Ram. Kind of like the pulsations of the anti lock brakes do not match up with the roughness of the road........how could it?

 

My speculation is that is exactly why the public and official response concerning the 2010 Prius Brake software update is coming so slow.

Once Toyota officially recognizes and implements an update to 2010's the simple follow up question becomes what is the difference between 2010's and Generation 2 braking systems and is the difference great enough to defend NOT making any changes to Generation 2?

In Pre-Software update debates concerning the issue, I was told by many owners that they felt it was the exact same issue and sensation between Gen 2 and Gen 3. I honestly can't and won't speak to that as I haven't long term, driven either. I guess it boils down to how you feel. If you own "only" a Generation 2 and have never felt it was a problem...I guess it still isn't a problem.

But Toyota will have to explain the differences between Gen 2 and Gen 3 that would warrant reacting to reported problems in Gen 3 with a software update, and NOT reacting to reported problems in Gen 2.

If you own a Generation 2 and do think it's a problem, I'm afraid it might be a long, long battle to get Toyota to admit and recognize. Seems to me they don't really want to recall, service bulletin, the already sold 2010's let alone face the another Tsunami sized recall and all the publicity that would be created by recalling BOTH Generation 3 and Generation 2.

 

Because it's NOT an issue.

Prius "acts" differently than what you're used to, period. Get over it, or don't, but quit feeding the fire.

Yes, I have experienced this braking conundrum numerous times in my 2006. Yes, the first time it happened it scared the crap out of me. So I evaluated the conditions, consulted my owners manual, read other accounts of it here, and then I went out to duplicate the conditions to make sure this was normal operation I was experiencing. It was, and it still is.

I feel quite safe in my Prius, and I'm seriously tired of all the freakin whiners who are driving down the market value of my car.

 

Dave -- I am sorry, but this does not quite describe the issue. 40 years driving, a dozen different owned cars [not to mention many dozens more rentals] -- the last three with my personal 07 Prius -- and the problem I experience in my Prius is in no way similar to any other 'trouble keeping control and stopping' I have ever experienced with any other car, regardless of the road conditions -- save if I were driving with all four wheels on ice.

With four tires on the ground and all four braking, I don't care how bad the washboard or pothole or manhole cover is, with no other car I have driven do I totally loose braking the way I do in my Prius.

That's not a difference in 'severity' -- it's a difference in 'kind'.

 

+1. But I am less optimistic that Toyota will actually deliver a fix. Perhaps we should start a poll - Do you think that Toyota will deliver a fix to the Gen II Brake Issues? (2 options - Yes or No)

I would love to be proven wrong about Toyota delivering a fix to the Gen II Brake Issues.

 

Agreed. Felt it in the Prius (both of them). Felt it in my Jeep Grand Cherokee. Felt it in my Plymouth Grand Voyager.

When the ABS system engages, things feel very funny indeed. I think it's the nature of the beast.

So far, I've never had a problem where I didn't stop in time to avoid a crash (and I have had one or two panic stops in the Prius when the ABS engaged; one recent one was about as close as I ever hope to come!)

 

If it feels the same, then it is not what the people reporting the issue are talking about in the first place. In no way has any abs car I have ever driven feel like it is 'freewheeling' when the abs engages. If anything, abs in those cars wants to pitch me forward in the seat. With the Prius, I slide backward in the seat. The Prius freewheels.

[yeah, I still love my Prius too -- but it does what people complain about in a way no other car does.]

 

I agree, however, there are other factors to consider:

1) Toyota has its plate full
2) Charges applicable with out of warranty Gen II cars
3) Publicity nightmare for the Prius brand

What Toyota COULD do is offer a fix for a small cost to all of us. Kind of like a software improvement.

If so many people are bothered by this then they should keep update their vehicles' software.

I would pay $50 to have this done, despite being under warranty.

 

Are you predicting that Toyota will acknowledge a problem with Gen II Prius? I have my doubts.

 

So, Toyota should get a pass for something that they knew about but chose to do nothing about? At what point should they be held accountable for their failures? 1 death? Or????

 

In what way is this a failure? It's certainly not a feature, but I don't know of any accidents or deaths that can be attributed to the Gen II brake issue.

I didn't like the headlights on my Ford van, but there wasn't anything wrong with them. I think they could have been brighter. On dark nights you could even claim it was a safety issue, but they weren't bad enough to qualify as a real safety issue. Likewise with the Gen II brakes.

Tom

 

LOL that was a good one!:yo: