Front wheels chatter on any sudden bumps

thx for the update. Was it on both front calipers? My driver side seems to be really bad compared to the passenger side.
I wonder if the noise will eventually come back... My was doing it since it was new

 

Yes, both sides for me. At least now I have it documented with Toyota so any continued problems will be covered.

 

Wow, that is one simple fix. I can do it myself when rotating tires.

So, what is the root cause? No/wrong grease applied at the factory?

 

After around 3500 miles, the brake noise started up again. Instead of pulling everything apart again, I put a little dab of brake grease on the spots I felt were the problem and sure enough, the noise went away again. Now that I know for sure what the problem is, I ordered up a product I used to use on Corvettes with noisy pads and see if it'll be a permanent solution.

 

i am having the same issue. 2011 with 31k. Took it in at 25k for the problem, said they lubed the caliper and pad and performed the TSB. The noise came back on the way home from the dealer and i can't take it back for another 2-3 hours so i may just put it on our lift at work and fix it myself. Anyone have a link to the TSB?

 

It's in a PDF file listed here, a couple posts from the top.
Listing of 3rd Gen TSBs | PriusChat

 

took it in this past weekend. They said they had a TSB on it and that they fixed it. Picked up my car right before closing time on saturday and sure enough i heard the noise on my way home... I do not know if they will be able to fix it if I take it in one more time? What a waste of time

 

Nope, as I mentioned before, the TSB doesn't fix the problem. The real problem is that the pads bounce up and down and the bottom edge hits the mounting bracket. That's where the clacking noise comes from.

 

so how can we fix this issue? The prius already feels kinda cheap, that sound makes it feel 10x cheaper lol

 

A tiny little dab of heavy grease in the contact spot worked for me for a few thousand miles. I'm working on what I think may be a permanent fix. I'm waiting for parts to show up to give it a try.

 

I got the parts in that I thought may work and put them in. I put about 5 miles on and so far, so good. I'll be putting a couple hundred miles on over the weekend, so I'll see how it goes. Ah, quiet.

 

What parts?

 

The parts I used are from a different car. If it keeps working over the next couple hundred miles, I'll post what I did. I don't want to get everyone all excited and then not have it work.

 

I just picked up my 2013 with 8 miles on it and it's doing thesame thing.

 

Here's what I used.

 

They're used in early Corvette calipers to keep the pads from rattling around. I cut them to fit the outside front pads and they're doing just fine after a few hundred miles. There's still a little rattle when I hit bigger bumps, but I figure that's because I only used them on the outside pads. After around 1000 miles, I'm going to take everything apart and check for wear. If all looks well, I'll do the inner pads too and see what happens.

 

The top pic is what they were originally used for.

 

I appreciate your experimenting with a possible fix for this issue. When I took my car to the dealer for a solution they said they all make the same noise, and offered to let me drive several other new Prius Plug-ins to confirm. Each one had the exact same rattle, so Toyota is not offering a solution at this point, and continues to manufacture new cars with the same brake pad issue.

 

Looks like this is the source, right?
Amazon.com: 1965-1982 Corvette Brake Pad Anti Squeak Kit Set of 8: Automotive

Do pins slide inside the plastic tubes?

 

Yep, that's what I used. I cut a piece off, spread it open and put it on the bottom end of the brake pad. If you remove the pad, you'll see the shiny part on the bottom. That's where I put the plastic.