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2016 prius 4 brake button question help

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by cdoming4, Jan 18, 2018.

  1. cdoming4

    cdoming4 Junior Member

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    hello i recently bought a new 2016 prius 4 approx. 3 weeks ago, the brake button collapsed inside. i took to dealer and they fixed it. it collapsed again today, and concerned! i was surprised how hollow the inside of the parking brake button was. i'm guessing this has to do why it collapses the way it does. any suggestions or questions i should ask when i take it to the dealer. thanks.
     
  2. krmcg

    krmcg Lowered Blizzard Pearl Beauty

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    Brake Button? Do you mean Park Button? I don't have a brake button in my Four.
     
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  3. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    There are only 2 brakes on a Gen 4 PRIUS - the footbrake, and the parking brake which is activated by your foot too. Which are you talking about?
     
  4. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    Yes, logic suggests he means the Park button and I've never heard of this before. If there is no assembly defect at the switch, the only thing is to be very careful when pressing it until the dealer and Toyota USA find an acceptable solution - which might be another car!
     
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome!

    you'll have to go back to the dealer, and request a more thorough investigation of the cause. i don't recall seeing anyone else with this problem.
     
  6. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    I have never used my parking brake. The manual says you release it by pressing it again, no button.
     
  7. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    I think it's referring to the Parking Mode button.
     
  8. pilotgrrl

    pilotgrrl Senior Member

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    The only thing I can think of is that the plastic tabs - or whatever hold the P(ark) button - have broken. Definitely should be a warranty repair & report to NHTSA, that is unsafe.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  9. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

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    Presumably the parking pawl, or equivalent, will still be activated when the engine is switched off. (n)
     
  10. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    True - I don't recall pressing the "P" Button more than a few times. I haven't really seen a need for it - unlike a conventional auto which you put into PARK when you park, PRIUS engages the parking pawl when you press POWER (off).
     
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  11. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Active Member

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    Just make sure the car is completely stopped before you hit the power button. If its still in motion, it won't happen or if the motion is very slow, it will slam to a stop and possibly damage the pawl.
     
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  12. Zardoz

    Zardoz Member

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    I thought the pressing of the Power Button was a form of "Emergency Stop" when all else fails. I did not think it was supposed to cause harm. It was my understanding that a sensor kept the pawl from activating at speed.
     
  13. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    From USA Manual 2016

    upload_2018-1-21_21-37-6.png
    upload_2018-1-21_21-37-35.png
     
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  14. PeZa

    PeZa New Member

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    I looked at a 2016 Prius with the exact same problem; it is the "Park" button that collapsed. Used car dealer said they would fix it, but haven't yet.
     
  15. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    I would return to the dealer and ask them to replace the button with a new one, not "fix" it. Unless you're being very heavy handed, it's obviously broken internally and needs a new one.
     
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  16. Owll

    Owll Junior Member

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    This has been an ongoing problem for me. I know how to remove the bezel, that holds the button in place. The problem is that the wire leads to the button are "very" short, so re-seating the button is a pain. I was hoping that by now Prius would have an extension made, to alleviate the problem.

    A simple fix for the situation would be to apply tape around the button base / wire lead plug or perhaps a zip-tie to keep the button from collapsing. However, since the wire is much too short, there's no way to do this. I think I'm just going to have to splice 3" of wire or so into the circuit. Very poor design by Toyota.
     
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  17. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    splicing in wire sounds good, and concur about design shortcoming.
     
  18. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    The OP never returned - that was 3ΒΌ years ago.