Close Call

[exces6]

Today I was driving home and sitting in a traffic line. I was looking the other way when I sped up and had to emergency brake. This caused a loud grinding sound, which I thought was me hitting the car in front of me. They stuck their head out of the sunroof and mouthed "Did you just hit my car?" I don't think I did because there was no damage whatsoever to either car, and when I tried the emergency braking again later, the same grinding noise occurred. Has anyone else had this grinding noise? Do you think there could have been a loud smashing noise if I had hit them at 2-3 miles per hour and no damage occurred? I'm just trying to figure out whether our cars actually touched. It seemed like the people in front of me didn't feel anything but mearly heard the noise and thought something happened. Any thoughts?

[dontcheff]

I think you just enabled the ABS :-) It produces such a sound and that is perfetcly normal. Most people get scared when they hit ABS for the first time.

[heliotropehead]

I've never had to use the emergency brake in any car so I'm not familiar with the procedure, if you will. I've only used it when parking my Prius. If I were in such a situation and had to brake suddenly, what would warrant my using the "emergency brake"? Couldn't I just brake normally? If I used the emergency brake, wouldn't that damage both my car and neck?? Also, does ABS only kick in when the emergency brake is enabled?

Just curious.
Thanks!

[dontcheff]

Have a look at this:

http://www.csu.edu.au/division/healsafe/we.../guides/ABS.htm

[heliotropehead]

Thank you. It reads as though ABS is the emergency brake. All I would need to do in an emergency is keep my foot hard on the brake pedal and steer around whatever I was trying to avoid. What about the emergency brake pedal to the left of the brake pedal... would I ever use it in an emergency situation?

[efusco]

Ok, the problem here is the term "Emergency Brake"....I think it's being used as a verb in the original post---as in "I had to emergently brake". You still use the same old brake pedal...there isn't a separate "emergency brake".

The lever brake is the "Parking brake"...NOT an emergency brake and it should not be used as such unless and in case of complete failure of the normal braking system.

[dontcheff]

The pedal next to the left of the brake pedal is *not* an "emergency brake". It is more like a hand break :-) Actually, a parking break. I would never use it in a now-you-must-break-at-once situations.

What is still unclear to me in the Prius is: does it matter if I press the parking break before or after pressing the power button. Who knows?

[kidtwist]

What is still unclear to me in the Prius is: does it matter if I press the parking break before or after pressing the power button. Who knows?

It doesn't matter.

[exces6]

When I tested it later on to find out what the noise was, a little light came on that looked like a car skidding across a road. Is this the ABS light?

[dstrout]

yes, that would be the indicator light

I can't say in the prius, but in most of my other cars, I have managed to kick ABS on pretty regularly. Braking hard on very rough pavement for example, and very often in the snow or rain. Now I guess a prius tends to make one drive more gently, so it shouldn't be coming on in normal driving, but it will happen from time to time -- nothing to be afraid of.

dave.