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Thoughts? Loose Calipers

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by jon_lin, Jul 24, 2011.

  1. jon_lin

    jon_lin New Member

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    Hey all, looking for some advice.

    Brought in my car to a Toyota Calgary dealership for the scheduled maintenance and Brake Service on Wednesday (i.e. 4 days ago). After driving about 3 hours from Calgary to Edmonton today, I just noticed a metal clanking noise coming from both driver side front and rear wheels when going over bumps at 30 km/h (20 mph). The sound was not there before today, and only started after I got off the highway.

    Upon closer inspection, its fairly obvious that the brake calipers are loose, especially when comparing the driver side to the passenger side:



    While I'm upset that the brake service was done extremely poorly, I'm more concerned about the safety of driving the vehicle, and damage that this loose caliper may cause. I'm looking for advice on the risk and impact of this before I go have a chat with the dealership.

    Thoughts?

    Jon
     
  2. eadams44

    eadams44 New Member

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    Now that is some scary stuff right there. The guy that did that job should be fired on the spot when you return. No excuse.
     
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  3. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    I would not drive it, I would call the dealer and tell them to send a tow truck. I agree whoever did that job should be fired immediately.
     
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  4. rrolff

    rrolff Prius Surgeon

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    Read or search on brake noise...

    There's nothing scary - and nobody serviced your brakes. Front brakes should go 100K miles before wearing...

    This is apparently a design 'feature'... I am surprised that more people don't complain about it though... I hate driving in a parking lot, and driving over those bots dots - you get the same crazy rattle... Press the brakes a bit, it magically goes away...

    The fix would be some type of spring to hold the pads in place - but I haven't heard of this being implemented yet... I did take mine in for service - just to document the rattle.
     
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    A typical brake caliper has 2 bolts: one top and bottom. You can usually just remove the lower one and rotate the caliper up to remove the pads for inspection/replacement. Looks like they removed both and forgot to re-install them. I agree with Tumbleweed: shouldn't be driven, especially considering the circumstances, it being their error. Maybe they should come to you?

    BTW: Regarding the post above:

    1. If you went in for a brake service, you got a brake service.

    2. The calipers should not be loose.
     
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  6. rrolff

    rrolff Prius Surgeon

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    The issue is not loose calipers - it's loose brake pads.

    I've driven in 4 Prius', and all have the noise - most don't notice it because they drive with their windows up... Drive through a crosswalk at with dots, at 20mph - roll down the passenger window, and listen to the beautiful clacking sound reflecting from the curb...

    There is no danger here - only misinformation...

    BTW - who in the world would remove the brake pads (calipers) to "inspect the brakes"??? Just FYI - you can inspect the pads by using your eyes and looking at them - while they are on the car...
     
  7. jon_lin

    jon_lin New Member

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    To clarify, I did get the Front/Rear Brake Service - $100 too. I just hit the 50,000 km (32,000 mile), and the brake service was on the schedule.

    The advisor told me that it entailed taking the brakes apart, cleaning and reassembling them. I'm not the most fluent in car tech talk, but when one side of the car's calipers can be moved around but the other can't, something has to be wrong. The clanking can be heard even with music on - thats how loud it is.
     
  8. eadams44

    eadams44 New Member

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    Did you look at the video he provided? It's not just noise. The brakes are falling apart!
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    US schedule shows brake "service", as opposed to brake "inspection", at 30000 miles. I've posted my spreadsheet compilation of the US schedule here:

    http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...93946-2010-prius-maintenance-schedule-us.html

    (I'm trying to stay civil: figure you're doing a fine job, all by yourself ;))
     
  10. LulzChicken

    LulzChicken Prius Enthusiast

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    Call the dealership, have them tow it back to the dealer, and fix it free of charge. Not to mention, as others have said, the tech should be FIRED for working on your vehicle. You should also receive lifetime free oil changes and tire rotations. This is absolutely ridiculous.
     
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  11. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    That's not normal. I would not drive it. The dealer should have it towed to their shop.
     
  12. xpcman

    xpcman Senior Member

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    You got ripped-off and then they didn't do the job correctly. Maint schedule calls for inspection of the brakes. It says nothing about disassembling.

    I would not drive the car ande find a new dealer.
     
  13. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    This is a pretty clear case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Calipers should not have the kind of radial movement shown in the video.
     
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Just realized you're in Calgary (Canada). Here's the Canadian schedule in spreadsheet form, fwiw:

    http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...2010-prius-maintenance-schedule-canadian.html

    The US schedule is similar, actually seems more logical. Both are a bit of a jumble. Anyway, my 2 cents:

    A cursory check of brakes is ok, just a look through the caliper at pad thickness, and assesment of general condition, hoses, look for leaks, etc. That's an inspection. Say yearly at the longest. But at least bi-yearly, the caliper should be swung up and the pads pulled out and thickness checked, shims checked for corrosion, re-lubed and reassembled.

    Looking through the caliper at the pads, vs having them out and in your hands, is a night-and-day difference. It's not even possible to properly assess remaining thickness, just looking through the caliper openings, escecially for the inner pad. And shims can and do deteriorate, rust, lose tabs. Anti-Sieze applied on their faying surfaces loses effectiveness over time as well. And with the caliper swung up you can judge the performance of the sliding pins, see if they're sticking.

    And especially if there's any symptom of pulsation: disc parallelism, thickness, and runout should be checked, with micrometer and dial gauge.
     
  15. direstraits71

    direstraits71 Member

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    I assume they "serviced" all 4 brakes. If so, then you are correct its very obvious that something isn't right just by comparing side to side. Could be that two different techs worked on the car one on each side and only one did the work correctly. I wouldn't drive it and I'd have them send a tow truck to return it to their facility and correct their improper reassembly. If you can take pictures when they take the wheels off and see what's not right.
     
  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Here's a pic of the step to re-install the bolts. The pins are already in place:

    [​IMG]

    If sliding pins are in, but not the bolts (top and bottom), I think it would be able to move around per the video.
     
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  17. firemechanic

    firemechanic Junior Member

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    Looks like the caliper slide pin bolts are missing. I agree 100%.....do not drive it. If something happened on the way home from the dealership and somebody was hurt then its all on the dealer. Now that "You" and all of "Us" know about the problem you carry some liability if you continue to drive it and an accident occurs. Definately have them tow it. If they will not then you need to have it towed to them, inspected, repaired and then reimbursed.
     
  18. Teakwood

    Teakwood Member

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    Seem obvious that it ain't correct.
    Take it back and have the dealer correct the problem.
     
  19. jon_lin

    jon_lin New Member

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    Thanks all, especially Mendel, for the advice and education. I'll be going to the dealership tomorrow (in a separate car) and we will see how it goes. I will keep you posted!
     
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  20. jon_lin

    jon_lin New Member

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    Quick update: Went in early this morning and showed the Service Manager the video. The guy was very sympathetic and noted that it was a careless job. They towed in the car to the Edmonton dealership, and are flying the bolt parts in from California to install on Wednesday (uncommon part to replace).

    In regards to the the tech who installed the part - today was already his pre-planned departure date from Toyota.

    I'm not ecstatic yet, but at least its progressing.