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Having rear brake issues...

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by sheltz32tt, Aug 12, 2014.

  1. sheltz32tt

    sheltz32tt New Member

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    About a month ago i replaced my rear pads due to them being low on the car. The car currently had 90k miles. Since the brake pad change, I have had issues with the rear driver side caliper seizing up intermittently. Today i decided to take the driver rear brakes apart again. The outer pad is wearing completely uneven. The outer pad had one side at 3/32 and the other at almost full life. I then decided to pull caliper pins and re-grease them. Put new pads on again, and a new rotor. The pads went into the caliper with ease, I greased the ears of the pads and all parts that touch the caliper. I went on a 15 mile test drive and half way through I could smell something hot, I pulled over and checked the temp of the rotor. The driver rear was at 350 F all other rotors were at about 110F. This problem seems to come and go with the caliper seizing, not all rides today it stuck. Could this just be a bad caliper? Did I forget to do something? Thanks
     
    #1 sheltz32tt, Aug 12, 2014
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome to priuschat! has anyone ever hit a curb with that tyre?
     
    #2 bisco, Aug 12, 2014
  3. sheltz32tt

    sheltz32tt New Member

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    Not that I am aware of. My wife and I are the only ones to drive the car and I havn't noticed any damage in the area.
     
    #3 sheltz32tt, Aug 12, 2014
  4. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    I've had/seen this issue before. Pull off the rear caliper and look at the slots on the piston. The piston must be perfectly lined up with the back of the inner pad.

    Unlike Hondas where the slots are HUGE on the piston, the slot on the piston of our cars is very small....so if the piston is not perfectly lined up, the pad WILL drag.

    I know that your issue is with the outer pad, but check this first.

    If this isn't the issue, make sure there isn't an air bubble inside the boot. It's easy to leave an air bubble while regressing the slide pins; you need to squeeze the boots at the edge to "burp out" any air.
     
    #4 The Critic, Aug 15, 2014
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    ^ +1

    Here's a pic of the rear pads. The inside (piston side) pad is on the left. Note the imprint of the piston's cross pattern. The piston might have rotated so that one of the cross arms is riding up on the pin. If that's happening you need to screw the piston in (clockwise) slightly. There's a tool to help with that, but in a pinch you can just use something like offset needlenose plier teeth, firmly pressed against the pattern.

    If that's happening the wheel will have bad drag, did you notice that?

    IMG_0495.JPG
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Aug 15, 2014
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  6. sheltz32tt

    sheltz32tt New Member

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    I will check into this later today, thanks for the advise.
     
    #6 sheltz32tt, Aug 18, 2014
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Minor drag is acceptable, the parking brake auto adjustment keeps it pretty tight. But if it's really fighting, not good.
     
    #7 Mendel Leisk, Aug 18, 2014
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Any update? You need to align the cross pattern with the pin in back of pad, AND depressed the brake pedal multiple times to make sure the piston is firmly locked on that pin, before using the parking brake. Also, after a very short drive, rais the rear end off the ground again and check for drag.

    I've been having problems of my own. I think I'm out of the woods now, though:

    Rear Brake Concerns | PriusChat
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Aug 28, 2014
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