Could this be the new braking vibration?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by MrPete, Oct 26, 2025 at 10:38 PM.

  1. MrPete

    MrPete Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2011
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    Location:
    Colorado, USA
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I just noticed that when braking on a very smooth road, I feel a rapid vibration, I think in the brake pedal.

    Been a couple of years since I replaced pads. Never touched nor measured rotors... And never worried about runout.

    Time to break out the shiny new toys my kids got me! Micrometer and magnetic base+nice dial indicator.

    A) I need a base with a longer arm and stronger magnet. Mounting is a pain!

    B) Here is what I found:

    * Front rotors are at 23.1 mm (min 22)
    * Rear rotors are at 7.8 mm (min 7.5)
    * Runout is approx 0.1 mm (max 0.05) on all four wheels... Within a few hundredths.

    What I see on runout is two high spots about a third to halfway around the rotor, the the rest is mostly low (ie high at 0 to -0.01 mm, rest -0.07 to -0.10)

    My questions:

    * could runout like that cause the vibration?
    * would you just replace rotors?
    * since I never measured this when pulling/replacing rotors in the past (and didn't have vibration issues),is it possible this is a new issue, or would it have shown up long ago?

    And finally, just had a (dumb?) thought: If the caliper pins are not sliding properly, would that, combine with runout,cause vibration (maybe the whole thing fixable by greasing pins and trying the five-position runout test LOL?)
     
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
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    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Great to see you're getting back under your car this Fall! :) I've never experienced these symptoms on a Prius. What about the classic Prius problem of brakes grabbing too hard on a light push? Has that come up at all?