Rubbish. This statement isn't even remotely close to the truth. The Gen II switches between systems in a very similar manner. Tom
Beats me, I'm no expert. Somebody at Fox reported it. (foxnews.com/story/0,2933,585331,00.html) I'm definitely curious what the before and after was if you know.
There were a lot of changes from the Gen II brakes to the Gen III brakes, but the basic issues of regenerative vs friction braking remain the same. The fundamental changes are that the Gen III has more powerful regenerative braking, and a lot of tweaks were made to improve fuel mileage. It is my assumption that these two issues exacerbated the brake drop-out during transition. As for Fox News, what do you expect. Tom
Getting back on topic, I am hoping to hear from anyone who has had the update done. I contacted my dealer late yesterday, but they said they had no information about when they would be able to do the update. Will call them back again today, but I am hoping to read some firsthand reports on the update before having it done.
I personally would not slam Fox News on this story. I have seen all of the big networks incl cable report this pretty much the same. Have you watched Leno or Letterman the last couple weeks - every monologue has 3 or 4 Toyota crash jokes. I think you're allowing your Leftie hat to cover your eyes.
Fox News, CNN, it doesn't matter. Most of the "news" is nothing but sensationalism. The news networks are now in the entertainment industry. If it isn't sensational, they don't bother to report it. Fox News was one of the first to pander in this fashion, catering to the conservative point of view. Unfortunately the rest of them now do the same, each to their own specialized market segment. Maybe BBC is an exception, but they are funded by the government. As for Leno and Letterman, they are comedians. They get paid to make people laugh. I would be suspicious if they weren't telling jokes about Toyota. Tom
All things being equal, it would be very interesting to see if Leno "joked" as much if the subject company was GM, Ford, or Chrysler. He has a bias towards Domestics and European, both new and old - and dislikes Asian cars. Mind you, nothing wrong with that point of view, but if Toyota's current issues were Ford's (and they have some major recalls under their belt) would he make people laugh about THEM? Another mind you - I really like Jay Leno.
So, speaking of jokes, what are some of the good ones you have been ribbed by your buddies with during lunch hour excursions in the Prius ?
I think the biggest is "So is your car going to crash?" or "How's that Prius working out for you now... (sneer)". I think most know better with me
I saw your post on that thread after inventing it myself on this thread ... at least I thought I invented it. Did you file the appropriate forms to copyright that joke before I thought of it? As far as I'm concerned, the author of that joke is nothing short of a genus and it apears that your post was before mine. Perhaps it is so good that it'll be on Leno tonight. OMG, maybe it was on Leno last night and we both only think that we invented it! Now, I've done it again. I'm sure I've seen that happy face somewhere before.
Too late for Leno - his last show at 10:00 was last night - moving to 11:35 Tonight Show in two weeks. One of his Toyota jokes a few days ago was - Do you know how Toyota is fixing the Prius problem? They're cutting two holes in the floor so the driver can stop it like Fred Flintstone. The audience howled with laughter. I didn't...
Moving back on topic - I'm going to go out on a limb and state that braking feel has changed just slightly. Pedal is slightly more sensitive, and my butt dyno suggests that there's some friction braking happening at lighter pedal efforts along-side regenerative braking (less than full charge meter). Did perform some low speed (<30mph) ABS tests - that feels "same", though I was unable to find a situation where I could reproduce the "loss of braking" sensation due to traffic conditions. On the plus side - with the change, the transition between regen and friction only seems entirely transparent as the car slows to a stop, more than it used to be. More conventional is the term that comes to mind. On the down side, pedal modulation as you approach a stop seemed a bit touchier. My concerns about adding a bit more friction braking into a normal stop: Increased brake wear - will we get 120,000 miles out of the original brakes now? Reduced recapture - slight overall fuel economy hit? Again, this is just the butt dyno talking - and the change does seem subtle. More driving will prove or disprove, and someone w/ the proper electronics could completely prove or disprove. Edit, did more driving tonight as described here - http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...oftware-update-experiences-2.html#post1060861 - I'm still not certain on regen balance, but the feel has changed.
I'm getting the fix right now. I'm trying to spy into the service bays to see what they are doing ...
My service advisor saw me doing that later on yesterday, and actually walked me out to see where the car was - though not all the way to the car. It was being aligned at the time, not flashed though, and was hidden in an L portion of the building not visible from the bay entrance.