Brake Pad wear

Tideland is right, 35% wear on the rear shoes seems quite high for only 5K miles

that being said, there is no car on earth which has all 4 pads wearing evenly.
also, your front braking system is disc brake which has pads & calipers, your rear brakes are the older-style drum brakes with shoes, so since the front and rears have different braking systems it shouldn't surprise you that they would wear at slightly different rates.

also, prius is equipped with regenerative braking which is a little friction generator that recharges the batteries when you are coasting and braking very lightly. so you really only use the brake pads when you are braking hard or during an emergency stop.

many people have reported their pads to last over 100,000 miles due to this great feature of the prius, so you really need to learn how to coast more when approaching a red light or when you are coming upon a green light that you know you can't beat at normal speed. Doing this will save you gas and extend the life of your brake pads and shoes.

 

What the heck is a "little friction generator"?... Is that like a do hekii, thinga mejig... or is it more like a mouse in a squirrel cage?

 

The squeaking you hear are the bearings of the squirrel cage as it is spun up like a flywheel to absorb the kinetic energy of the car. Occasionally it comes from the squirrel if it can't keep up. Refill the pellet reservoir.

 

That's the technical name for a motor-generator, which cleverly disguises the fact that no friction is involved, other than that with the road and a little bit of parasitic friction in the drive train and bearings.

Tom

 

All cars brake pads wear differently depending on how you are on brakes, but one thing that will never change is the fact that front pads always wear faster than rears. i dont know the factory settings for brake bias , but i am lucky enough that in the car i race i can adjust it manually from the drivers seat. When you step on the brake weight transfers to the front and the front brakes do 70-80% of the stopping. The only time i adjust the bias is in the rain. Then i want a more balanced 50/50 bias because of steering. (racecar is rear wheel drive.) Right now my 05 prius has 85k miles on it and i have never adjusted nor changed any of the pads or rotors on it. still 100% stock. Although i am getting some noise telling me the time is getting pretty close for a change.

 

Only if you make a lot of panic stops, you probably have another 85k left.

 

There is no "little friction generator" used in the Prius to slow the car. Sounds like you are thinking of the wheel generators of old used to power bicycle head lights. Regenerative braking happens in the Power split device - turning MG2 to produce electricity. Since the front axles are connected to to the PSD, they are slowed by the 'drag' of MG2 turning. The friction brakes engage only at/below 8 MPH or if you are braking hard (i.e. panic stop). I suppose it is possible to engage them without a 'hard slam' but it shouldn't be necessary. If russellmck's car REALLY has 90% front and 65% rear left at 5K miles I see 4 possibilities:

1. The service guy has no idea what he is talking about (and I wouldn't be surprised given my experiences at the local dealer)
2. The parking brake is on or the rear shoes are stuck (REALLY shouldn't be the case) for some other reason.
3. Braking is unnecessarily harsh AND #2.
4. All driving is VERY stop and go and stop and stop and stop... AND #2

You can't even 'ride the brakes', light pressure won't cause them to engage.

I'd bet on #1.

 

Brake wear is an estimate, don't worry about it. When the linings are 90% worn the tech is telling you it's time to replace them anything less says they are fine at least until the next service. The more worn your linings the faster they wear due to heat.