Burning smell from the wheel area

How many miles on your Prius? When was the last time a brake servicing was performed? Do you know which wheel or wheels it is coming from? How long have you noticed this?

 

Have you driven the car since braking hard or allowed the brakes to cool? Is the smell still there? When you say brake hard, can you describe this a little( 65 to 0 due to accident in a short distance, 30 to 0 due to stop light, etc.). Did you investigate the front brakes and see if you can visually spot anything?

 

Sounds normal if braking hard. I notice this too if descending a long hill or stopping suddenly.

Some things to keep in mind or check:

1) check the level of brake fluid in the reservoir and get an idea of the level. If low it might be an indication that the brake pads are getting low.
2) at 60 k miles you should have a servicing that should include brake inspection, which will include a pad thickness check. As part of this, you should pull the slide pins and ensure they are lubricated. Clean the pins off and apply some fresh lubricant. This should be done every 30 k miles.
3) Minimize as best as possible hard braking conditions (try to "Drive ahead " ) so as to reduce the need for friction braking. This will help make the pads last a long time.

Hope that helps

 

There is a good thread that is a sticky in the Gen 3 Maintenance forum. Has a lot of good videos on how to do many jobs, including the slide pin lubrication.

If you are a DIY, they come in handy.

One job to consider at the mileage you are at would be to change the trans fluid (drain and fill). It is not on the toyota recommended maintenance schedule as it is "lifetime" fluid,but best to change this out. A little more involved than an oil change, but something simple to do that will help extend the life of your Prius. There is a video in the sticky thread for that thanks to @NutzAboutBolts .

All the best

 

This is normal. With regenerative braking, friction brakes are used less, so you will see some oxidizing. As you get to know your Prius the more you drive it, the better you will get at minimizing the use of the friction brakes. Our 2010 Prius II has 146 k miles and going strong, when I did the pin lubrication at 142 k miles, here is what the pads looked like:

Fronts:

Rear:

These are original pads and should last to at least 250 k miles, maybe longer. We have owned the car since mile 14 and I have learned the benefits of regen braking and how to "drive ahead".

All the best

 

When we were in the market for a car in August 2009, it was between the Insight and the Prius. The Insight was less, but the Prius I felt more comfortable with. 7.5 years later and no regrets!!!

Prius Chat is a great resource for any Prius owner. There have been plenty of things asked in the past, so as you have questions, be sure to search and you'll usually find what you are looking for. If not, there are plenty of helpful folks here.

All the best.

 

Hard braking is expected to heat up the brakes. The bigger question is, do they heat up without hard braking? That is an indication of dragging pads or stuck calipers, something that should be remedied.

 

How do the rotors look, just looking through the spokes with a good light?

 

Without regenerative brakes I would guess that the brakes on the Prius would take a beating. The car is relatively heavy with very small brakes. Under a very heavy brake load I would expect the brakes would get hot very quickly. During hard braking the regen's give way to normal hydraulic brake forces. If the condition persists under normal driving conditions I would consider getting the brake system checked out.