drivetrain resistance (not coasting)

All,

Yesterday while approaching my turn at an intersection I lifted my foot off the accelerator pedal and my car felt like it switched to regenerative braking without using the brake pedal. Now the car feels like it's stuck in regenerative brake mode. The only way to describe it is by the seat of my pants. The car doesn't seem like it's freely rolling like it's previous 43,000 miles. It feels heavy after that incident yesterday and doesn't seem to coast or glide, like a dragging brake or something.

I am going to call the dealership from work today to see if they can scan it for any issues.

I did a quick search but could not find a similar case. Has anyone here read about this or experienced it for yourselves?

Thanks,
Andy

 

All,

I took it to the dealer expecting to have it scanned but they said since there are no codes (maintenance required dash light) they would test drive it and look at the brakes. They said my brakes are 85% all around and not dragging.

The inverter TSB was done shortly after it came out. I pumped the brakes and parking brake and don't think its dragging brakes.

The sensation I feel in the seat of my pants is ever so slight but my car feels different.

If anything changes, I'll be sure to update this post but maybe it's just me and my 2012 Prius v 5 is fine. Time will tell.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Andy

 

So I'm back with an update. The problem was real. My mileage had dropped from 40 down to 34mpg according to the dash gauge.

I was driving home one day and could feel the car dragging its feet. I could feel it in the seat of my pants that the car was artificially slowing down when I let off the gas and was heavy when pressing the gas.

I jammed on the brake and floored the gas pedal. The engine tried to rev and the car tried to go but the brakes stopped the car and it felt like there was an override kicking in because the car didn't rev to the moon.

That fixed it. It took a couple of minutes to feel the new sensation but the car was rolling freely again. I believe it was stuck in transition between regenerative braking and free rolling.

I hope this helps anyone with the problem I was having. All is good now.

Andy

 

The problem lasted for at least a month when I jammed the brakes and fixed it. Yes the fix has lasted for a few months and my mileage shot back up to 40mpg. It coasts great again and doesn't nose dive when I let off the gas. It was a crazy stunt to fix it but I'm glad I tried it (out of frustration).
Andy

 

I was rolling about 5-10 mph when I floored it and jammed on the brakes with both pedals down. I alternated and the car lurched and bucked and detuned the throttle and that was it. It was risky but worth it.

 

It did it again this weekend! I could feel it in the seat of my pants again. The car would not pick up any speed coasting down a hill, in fact it slowed down coasting down hills. I did the same trick as I described above and the car is working again.

I need to ask Toyota today about any TSBs concerning this problem. I wonder what kind of part handles the transition between regenerative braking and free coasting?

Andy

 

I'm taking it to the local dealer tonight for an oil change and will have them scan for codes and report back.