Rubbing sound - Water Cause Problems?

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by tovli, Sep 12, 2025 at 5:03 PM.

  1. tovli

    tovli 2023 Prius Prime replaced 09 Prius

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2008
    351
    271
    1
    Location:
    Boynton Beach, FL
    Vehicle:
    2023 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XSE
    Just started hearing a fairly quiet rubbing or grinding sound once per one of the front wheels rev. (Perhaps best described like a brake pad scraping one spot on a disc when I roll very slow.)

    I cannot see or feel anything around an axle or between the tires and wheel wells.

    This is rainy season in Florida, and I did go through one nasty standing water spot recently, so I imagine some shmutz could have splashed onto the brake pads.

    Car is still in the warranty period, but I suspect something like "shmutzy pads" will be called "severe use".

    Anyone else had this?
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    113,053
    51,479
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    have you tried applying the brakes gently in neutral to scrape off any rust on the rotors?
     
    tovli likes this.
  3. tovli

    tovli 2023 Prius Prime replaced 09 Prius

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2008
    351
    271
    1
    Location:
    Boynton Beach, FL
    Vehicle:
    2023 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XSE
    Superb - I was wondering how to do it without regen braking.