can i call what i'm experiencing an SUA, and other issues

yardman 49 · Mar 21, 2010

qbee42 said: ↑

A minor correction: The self adjusting rear brakes on the Gen II Prius are not the normal adjust-when-backing type. Prius drum brakes adjust every time you use them. It's a very clever system that causes the adjuster to turn if there is excessive play in the system. It is not necessary or effective to back and brake to force adjustment.

Tom
Click to expand...

Thanks, Tom. I wasn't aware of that!

After my previous post, I started thinking "Hmm, maybe you would have to actually put the Prius in neutral to get the rear (friction) brakes to activate and auto-adjust when traveling in reverse". But even this assumption would not have been correct. So thanks for correcting this.

Those darn smart Toyota engineers.....they just about thought of everything when designing the G2!

Best wishes,

Frank

bruceha_2000 · Apr 2, 2010

uart said: ↑

Many guides to "mothballing" for example do tell you to avoid using the park brake if possible and to consider choking the wheels instead.
Click to expand...

Do they have a neck to grasp tightly? I think if I were mothballing, the car would be up on 4 jack stands.

I ALWAYS use my parking brake when I am done driving. NEVER had a cable freeze and I live in Vermont. :
1) Foot on brake to stop the car
2) Press in parking brake
3) Push and hold the Power button. This puts the car in Park and since the PB is already set, there is no 'roll' until the pawl and gear meet. If the PB is not engaged, the car WILL ROLL anywhere from a little to an amount that causes a noticeable jerk when the gear rolls against the pawl.
4) Foot off the brake.

richard schumacher · Apr 2, 2010

Ditto that. *Always* use the parking brake: that keeps it from sticking and keeps the car from moving. If you apply it correctly you will not be able to drive away with it on. Make it habit, make it happen.

Jolly English Gentleman · Apr 2, 2010

I have no prior experience of automatic cars before owning a Prius, but on a manual, if you want to be stationary without any risk of moving, you would put the handbrake on after putting the gearbox into nuetral.

The Prius is no different in my mind except that handbrake is on the floor. It nonetheless sounds like a handbrake and behaves like one. i.e when you want to stop permanently you put the car in nuetral, press P and put the parking brake on.

Just think of the Parking Brake as handbrake on the floor. You would not park a manual car without the handbrake on would you?

GasPort9 · Mar 15, 2011

nawlinsprius said: ↑

EDIT: for the poll above, if the answer is YES, click the corresponding box, don't click if NO. I can't figure how to edit the poll...

so here's the deal:
i have a 2008 gen2 prius, package 2, with 26k miles on it, original owner.
I have 3 issues, the first one I think can qualify as SUA, albeit a small A, dangerous nevertheless:

1.after about 20k miles, whenever the car is in park, with the system ON, when the gas engine starts (to recharge the battery after being stopped on the ferry which i take daily - and i sit inside with the a/c or heat on), the car lurches forward about 3-4"...
again, the car is ON, in P.
this is very dangerous... once my wife was squeezing in front of the car to get from one side to the other and i only had ~6" to the ferry's ramp, and her legs almost got crushed... (would have been a great loss since she has great legs another time i was parked 1" from the car in front, and got in the car, turned the car on, waited for a minute or so while fixing stuff inside the car, and the car bumped into the car in front of me.... it was an escalade with some scary guys waiting inside, needless to say it was not a good experience... wanted to blame toyota but the guys just thought i was an inept driver...
i noticed the movement is bigger when the engine is warm; counterintuitive.
this is reproducible all the time.
the dealer was shown the car's behaviour and said it is normal...

2. second issue, that i've been having since i bought the car, and posted about it in 2008, is that my steering wheel is not straight when the wheels are straight. about 2" on the circumference difference.
The dealer refused to fix it for free, although i have asked him a few days after i bought the car. the priuschat replies i got said it's an alignment issue. although doubtful (imagining there is a simple screw somewhere on the steering column that needs to be adjusted) i went to sears auto care and had the alignment checked ($39.99 instead of the 90 or so asked by the dealer). they found it to be perfect and was told alignment only checks the geometry of the wheels relative to the body, and that the steering column needs to be adjusted by the dealer. 2 years later, steering wheel still misaligned (after 4 5000k miles services and tire rotations)

3. I do get on my gen2 prius the exact same ABS braking issue for which the gen3 are being recalled for the software fix. it is reproducible every time in a couple particular spots during my commute where there is cobblestone or bad asphalt before a stoplight. it is annoying but was told is by design. no other car i had performs this way, and they all have ABS (volvo 740t, 850t, seat leon and citroen c2 while i am in europe, acura tls, or any number of rentals i've had from toyota, honda, kia, ford etc...) my car being a package 2 has traction control too, but it cannot be disabled like in other cars. why not??? any hack where i can add a switch? would that void the extended warranty i am planning to get from troy/warrantyschack?
(btw, i am holding on until almost the end of the factory one, since if i get into a wreck by then it would be $1k out the window so that answers my position on buying extended warranty)

4. this is more a question than problem: i have been pulse-and-gliding, and i sometimes put it in N for the glide part, until i need to slow down when i go back to D, and I also use B when going downhill say from the big mississippi river bridge. questions: does B allow more regeneration or just lets the gas engine turn and create more drag to slow down (and more wear on the cylinders)? and 2: after reading a lot of the current runaway prius controversy, i noticed toyota recommends going to N only in emergencies. would me putting it into N on a regular basis for coasting have any adverse effects (i can switch it very fast back to D with a flick of a finger if i need to accelerate all of a sudden)?

that's about it. i would appreciate any input. I am in new orleans, and really have to fight with my wife over who gets to drive the prius (i get 50-55mpg calculated average, she gets 45-50
Do you guys think #1 is a safety issue that i need to report to the NHTSA? the dealer says it's normal so that tells me not to waste my time trying to contact toyota higher.
I did report #3 on the NHTSA website when i saw i have the same problem as gen3 and there was no recall. I think it's a minor safety issue, but would hate to get a software fix that reduces gas mileage or introduces another unknown parameter.

also, my 2 cents about the whole SUA/Sikes incident: I think the only way it would be possible for mr. sikes account to be true is if there was a complete software malfunction in which the throttle and gas pedal inputs were ignored, AND mr. sikes did not push hard enough on the brakes.
Open Source black box / ECU monitoring anybody?

thanks, I welcome your replies!
Click to expand...

Issue 1 - The problem is you refusing to use the 'parking' brake.
Issue 2 - Toe-in...have the toe-in adjusted with the steering wheel in the correct position....a simple tie rod adjustment.
Issue 3 - Learn to adapt to the car you're driving.
Issue 4 - Coasting in neutral....a bad habit in any vehicle.

bisco · Mar 15, 2011

you realize this post is a year old.

qbee42 · Mar 15, 2011

bisco said: ↑

you realize this post is a year old.
Click to expand...

...and it's off for another year!

Tom

can i call what i'm experiencing an SUA, and other issues

Do you have the same 3 issues?

issue 1 - stationary SUA

issue 2 - misaligned steering wheel

issue 3 - gen2 ABS Brake weirdness

yardman 49 Active Member

bruceha_2000 Senior Member

richard schumacher shortbus driver

Jolly English Gentleman Junior Member

GasPort9 New Member

bisco cookie crumbler

qbee42 My other car is a boat

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can i call what i'm experiencing an SUA, and other issues

Do you have the same 3 issues?

issue 1 - stationary SUA

issue 2 - misaligned steering wheel

issue 3 - gen2 ABS Brake weirdness

yardman 49 Active Member

bruceha_2000 Senior Member

richard schumacher shortbus driver

Jolly English Gentleman Junior Member

GasPort9 New Member

bisco cookie crumbler

qbee42 My other car is a boat