New Prius driver

So after riding in a mid 2000's Prius (brand new at the time) I swore that I would never own or drive one. I'm 6'2" and had no room in this car at all. I now drive a cab in PA and was offered quite a discount if I would drive the companies new 2016 Prius Two. I love this car. It's roomy enough for me to even have someone sit behind me while I'm driving. I do have a few questions though.

Braking under EV seems extremely sensitive, is this normal? I can't seem to adjust for it and I would like to offer a smoother city driving experience.

I tend to sit sometimes for up to a couple hours, is there a way to "force" the Prius to charge the battery? I've heard (haven't really checked) that this model uses either NiMH or Li-Ion and iirc charging from 2 to 3 bars and discharging back down to 2 isn't really good for these types of batteries.

And a final question. Back to braking, the company changed the brakes when they first got the car but I'm noticing this grinding almost metal on file type sound even at highway speeds (on the occasion I have to slow down quickly). Is this normal? If it is I'm guessing it's the regenerative braking but why would it make that noise?

Thanks in advance for all the answers.

 

The cab company is the one who buys the cars, after the cars are bought the shop inspects them thoroughly and replaces oil/filter, tires and brakes as a way to be safety conscious. And being that it's the cab companies i have no access to the warranty or anything that would allow me to take it to the dealership and have them look it over without paying an ungodly amount out of pocket.

 

The car started with 19k in miles. Their reasoning for changing the brakes is because two cars they bought brand new had issues off the delivery truck. They weren't Prius' but one had a loose bleeder nut and the other had twisted brake line on three of the wheels. Both cars were in crashes so they feel the need to clean up the rotors. But that's neither here or there, I walked the car during the last oil change and they removed the wheels just to show me that there's no issues with the brakes. My only annoyance now is with the TPMS. It's saying the tire pressures low though I check the pressure everyday and it's fine. And even if I reset it it takes no time coming back on. Is there something I can check or should I leave it till warmer weather?

 

Lol after the second time resetting it i jumped on the interstate and it went out. At any rate I'm loving this little Prius and seriously considering buying one for myself. Thanks everyone for your input.