I don't think I can handle anymore!

never heard of it, but glad you got your Pri working right.

have to say, they may have been locked out, but had to have worked a little. no front brakes at all should have been very noticeable especially if braking on turns

 

Dude, you are having waaay to much fun in the car.

It's possible that he calipers were seized in place, which would prevent them from clamping on the rotors. I had that issue on one of my cars - caliper needed replacement.

 

It dose seem strange that the brake would seize at only 10K miles, especially brake inspection should have been done twice per scheduled maintenance.

 

I saw an Alfred Hitchcock show where a wife killed her husband by disengaging the brakes on his car.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but wan't it only on the Gen III that it got disc brakes all round (albight unventilated on the rears)? You'd have just been on the drums at the back if your front brakes were 'locked out' No wonder you had extended braking distances.

 

This sounds completely bogus to me...
.
_H*

 

There seems to be a general misunderstanding about the effectiveness of drum brakes. In a panic stop situation, good drum brakes will stop a car just as fast as good disc brakes. Disc brakes have several advantages, but the chief advantage in effectiveness comes with extended braking, such as going down a long hill. With extended braking, drum brakes will retain more heat, leading to fade, but fade isn't an issue for a one-time panic stop.

In the situation described by the OP, the fact that only rear brakes were functioning makes a big difference, not the difference between discs and drums. Front brakes are much more effective at stopping a forward moving vehicle.

Tom

 

Thanks Tom - my understanding previously had been that drums, while being cheaper and longer lasting than discs, were not as effective.

 

nope drums work just fine. disc brakes are only around because they last longer, cheaper to make, lighter, easier to control. drums actually stop much better in intense use situations like a one time panic stop, etc.

problems with any brakes in the back is that when slowing down, the weight of the car is shifted to the front tires. less weight in the back means much less traction so back tires lock up and skid too easily. in an equal situation, the average cars rear wheel braking force is usually only around 15-20%... keep in mind that at the first moment braking force is applied before the weight of the car shifts, it should be 50-50 assuming tires are equal. (rotation recommendation here)

now many "expert" recommend not rotating tires or making sure the better tires are in the back due to the lack of friction that happens in a stop. personally (having a brother who managed in the tire business backing me up) this is one of the worst pieces of advice out there.

front tires naturally wear much faster because they tend to have the most weight (due to engines, granted the battery pack in the Pri does play a part, but not nearly enough) and they turn. back wheels get pulled along reducing wear, even in rear wheel drive cars assuming burnouts are verboten.

not rotating tires (every 5,000 miles is recomended) can reduce tire life A LOT... i could point out one of the dozen threads whining about how bad the OEM tires are (in snow they are!!) and how they dont last, etc. but i had 30,000+ mile on my Tidelands with plenty of tread, 42,000 on the SPM. just now thinking of getting them changed. they will probably go say, 45,000 miles. all my cars, i rotate every 5,000 miles.

rotate or not, its up to you. but i find it one of the easiest DIY'er projects there is. make it easy on yourself. get yourself a cheap air hammer (i have one that plugs into the cigarette lighter and two small rollaway jacks ($40 each...didnt have to buy them, already had them) i just did rotation on the 2010. took a total of 20 minutes and had my 2½ YO "helping" me (trust me his help is not very helpful!!)

 

Glad to hear you made it and tracked down the issue. Was there any explanation as to how the front brakes got locked out? Was it a defect in the brake system or something that could happen to anyone like gravel or caked mud or something?

I'm sure you're referring to the dealer's explanation and not Smartalec's close call.

 

front brakes locked out?

something is rotten in the state of Denmark

lawyer time ... get the maintenance records and work orders, get access to the technicians, get Toyota involved