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Featured 2012 Toyota Prius C

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Patricia Morgan, Feb 27, 2019.

  1. Patricia Morgan

    Patricia Morgan New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2019
    5
    3
    0
    Location:
    sT. lOUIS
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    One
    I have had my car since 2016 (with 53,000 miles). Currently has 80,000 miles on this bad boy. Soon after buying it, I experienced vibration when on the highway and even at low speeds. The vibration is faster when I am driving faster, and slower when driving slower. Both the passengers and I feel it, and it doesn't occur when I am braking. this has been a 2 year long ordeal, trying to figure this out. Does anyone know if a bad caliper can cause something like this to occur? What makes it more of a challenge is it comes and goes; lately, since getting my car back (after someone hit the back and I had to get it fixed) and new brake pads, I notice it even more. It vibrates so much I sometimes do not feel safe. No light pop up on my dash; I have had 3 shops look at it.. The first shop said new rotors and calipers, but google says the vibration is felt when braking, which is not when the problem occurs. The second shop says it is a mechanical/computer or drive-train issue, and to not even try and get it fixed. The 3rd shop is going to take a better look at the front right caliper, to see if this is truly the problem. I am truly lost here!

    I have had it aligned, balanced, tires checked, all of these were ruled out as options.
     
  2. CoolPrius

    CoolPrius Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2016
    218
    290
    86
    Location:
    Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Did you stop by a Toyota dealer and have them inspect it? While not perfect, they are more familiar with the vehicle and might be able to troubelshoot things quicker. Vibrations are typically wheel or braking related. If a caliper is stuck it will heat up that rotor and eventually the wheel too. The rotor can then get warped which could cause vibrations. Maybe someone else here will have more mechanical insight but it's difficult to pinpoint over the internet.
     
    ztanos likes this.
  3. Patricia Morgan

    Patricia Morgan New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2019
    5
    3
    0
    Location:
    sT. lOUIS
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    One

    Thanks for the reply. Looks like it was indeed warped rotors and a stuck caliper. The brake pad I had replaced last week is already worn down halfway!

    When my car is out of the shop I'll update everyone on how it drives.

    Thanks for your input!
     
    CoolPrius and ztanos like this.
  4. Patricia Morgan

    Patricia Morgan New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2019
    5
    3
    0
    Location:
    sT. lOUIS
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    One
    Just letting you all know it is still in the shop. Apparently there were no calipers (for Prius Cs) in the St. Louis area, so they had to order from Indiana.