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New Owner with Questions

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by Upandown, Apr 25, 2021.

  1. Upandown

    Upandown Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius
    Model:
    Three Touring
    I recently bought a 2018 with 6k miles on it. Basically perfect condition but was inspected at the Toyota dealership just to make sure. They found no issues. I’m really enjoying the car and great mpgs but I have a few questions.

    1. The brakes: When stopped and the brakes are fully applied for awhile (still in Drive), say in a parking lot, and then the brakes are released for a few feet, then reapplied, there is a clunk and the pedal feels quite soft. Definitely a different feeling then when driving which is generally firm. Is this normal?

    2. Air Conditioning: Sometimes I feel like the AC is not as cold as when I first bought the car. This is even with the temperature set to LOW. Ambient temps 50-70. Fluids in the engine bay are all at max. It could be in my head or does anyone notice some variance in the AC output from time to time or does the Prius have a weak AC system?

    I came from a BMW with an absolute frigid AC system so perhaps that’s it.

    Thanks for any information.
     
    #1 Upandown, Apr 25, 2021
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2021
  2. Upandown

    Upandown Junior Member

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  3. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    It sounds normal. Brake feel is vague because you've got the combination of regen braking and friction braking happening. Plus you've got an artificial vacuum booster happening also. Wait until you get the brakes releasing (ABS) when you hit a bump if you want to feel something weird.

    Compared to other cars, Prius probably does have a "weak" AC system because the objective is MPG efficiency over HVAC performance. There is also a variance due to vehicle speed. It won't cool as well when traveling slowly. It needs good airflow over the "radiator" to function well. Other factors could be the ECO setting and/or the Front/Rear Bias position of the HVAC. All that said, if you have it set to LO and can't get comfortable, there could be something wrong.
     
  4. Upandown

    Upandown Junior Member

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    Thank you very much. That’s what I suspected for both questions.

    Just to clarify however, do you also get a “clunk” with the parking lot scenario? When pressing back down on the brake, there’s more travel in the brake pedal and when it grabs I hear a clunk.
     
  5. PriusRocinante

    PriusRocinante New Member

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    This is normal when the ice is starting up to charge the battery. You’ll also hear 3 clicks when you first pull away as the system spools up. The Prius is a “drive by wire” car that includes the brakes the computer is controlling everything. at low speed it’s tricky for it to balance regen and pad brakes so it will feel a bit weird at first. Trail braking is definitely your friend in this car
     
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  6. TinyTim

    TinyTim Active Member

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    It takes some time to get used to the regen brakes. You will learn by feel over time.
     
  7. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    There is sometimes a "clunk" when changing directions. If you first stop the car going forward, and then back out and apply the brakes again, it will clunk when you apply the brakes in the opposite direction. This is believed to be some travel in the pads. Keep in mind, these are not BMW brakes!
     
  8. MIkeDr

    MIkeDr Active Member

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    Ok, we’ve had our Prius for more than a half year now. For the life of me, I don’t know what this clunking is that this thread is referring to. If my brakes clunked, I’d go to the dealer.

    I do find the brakes having a slight bit of play (very slight) before they grab, and then the grab quickly, necessitating a light touch, but every car we’ve ever own has been different in that respect. Some brakes are linear, others more touchy, etc.
     
  9. lech auto air conditionin

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    You may want to grab a flashlight get down and look through the grill at the condenser.
    You’re looking for some black shadow response collecting dust good indicator condenser is leaking and you’re low on refrigerant.

    Mileage does not have anything to do whether or not the refrigerant is leaking.
    If you go into my photo album on my profile you’ll see a bunch of pictures I have several pictures of Leaking condensers to see what they look like
     
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  10. Upandown

    Upandown Junior Member

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    Three Touring
    Thank you, I’ll take a look.