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I have also experienced the Prius Brake Problem

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by nylion, Jun 2, 2010.

  1. nylion

    nylion New Member

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    Thanks Bob. I may take you up on the accelerometer. Meanwhile, this is a one-time event. If you are right about this being a connection issue, I should be able to reproduce thei issue over the next few weeks. I am certain this is not a regeneration/friction transition. I have way too much experience with the car to make that mistake. Despite what our strident friend 32k says, the transition from regen to friction is virtually seamless. It was good in the gen II. It is nearly perfect now.
     
  2. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    How do you know it wasn't a one-time glitch in the low speed regen to friction transition that took longer than usual?
     
  3. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Good plan.

    If (when) it comes back, let's follow-up over in a Technical forum.

    Bob Wilson
     
  4. Downrange

    Downrange Active Member

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    Well, I'm not going to discount other's experience - if I had a situation where I lost braking ability I would be most upset, even if an accident did not happen.
    The thing about this is that it could be seen as a "get out of jail free card." Say, maybe I'm tailgating a bit too closely, or not paying attention coming up to a stoplight, and I rear end someone. Instant alibi: it was the phantom brake MIA problem.
    Just sounds a bit too convenient, doesn't it? I'm just sayin'

    If I ever feel this, you can bet I'll be on here reporting it, but my brakes have been flawless and very easy to control. I am actively seeking rough terrain to try to cause the "problem."
     
  5. Texas911

    Texas911 Member

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    Over inflate your tires and you might be able to replicate it.
     
  6. Downrange

    Downrange Active Member

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    Over-inflated tires are a bad idea...
    For many reasons, including handling. I can easily get 55-60 MPG with 40/38 F/R.
     
  7. nylion

    nylion New Member

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    You do have a point. I have been through a long, painful, and ultimately pointless exercise with Toyota over my last car (a Gen II 2006) and unintended acceleration. Toyota's position (and thanks to Doug's help, our friend from marketing) which I heard from a member of Toyota US Corporate management team, "We don't accept unrequested engineering information." Basically, blowing me off.

    I do agree that a failure like mine (the brakes, not unintended acceleration) could result in an accident. However, so far it is a one-time occurance. I wouldn't have even posted except that I have seen others, many with less time in the forum or driving experience than me, reporting it. I want to lend my credibility to the fact that the problem is real, it occurs to cars after the recall, and it is definately NOT regen phasing over to friiction braking.

    Since most of the posts lately (maybe forever) are from people who either don't own a Prius or just got one, it is easy to dismiss complaints based on their lack of knowledge. I wish that we had a section of the forum restricted to senior members so that we could make it easier to decide what to read. I am pretty tired of the same old topics about back up beeps, and "Should I buy a red one", or "what do you do for a living?" posts. But I digress.

    My point is that when I first posted about my Gen II acceleration problem, all sorts of posts came out of the woodwork accusing me of endless acts of maliciousness or stupidity. I am neither. I really experienced a failure as I described it.

    The lesson to be learned from this is that it is a really good idea to leave extra space for braking. Aside from common sense and courteous driving, the extra space can literally be a life-saver if a momentary brake failure occurs.

    As for me, I will follow Bob Wilson's advice and wait to see if the issue repeats. If it does, I will take him up on his offer of an accelerometer to document the problem.