Warning: My 2010 Prius brakes failed while driving!

Thanks for asking. I am just fine. I await a call in the morning from the service folks . Minor update. I am pretty sure now the small puddle under my car was rain water and not brake fluid. The fluid level was at the minimum mark though braking action was fine, despite the pedal slowly fading under light pressure at lights. The ABS or traction light would come on at the pedal hitting bottom or being released.

When I got to the dealer I checked brake fluid levels on two undelivered cars on the lot. They were at the midpoint or at the max level. We could not spot any fluid trails on the undercarriage. Everyone was saying "we've not seen this before". Given that I'm a somewhat grayhaired sort in a suit who wrote them a check for the car, or the nature of the problem -- real or perceived -- they were quick to give me a prius C as a loaner. It. Seemed to have the same pedal fade at lights with light pressure and the ABS symbol illuminated. I am getting a gnawing feeling this may be a case of "operator error" and seeing a brake boogie man!

I will report back on what I learn tomorrow. Thanks to all.

Eliot

 

If you had your AC on, it's normal to have a puddle of water under the car from the evaporator.

SCH-I535

 

Maybe you are just pressing the brake pedal too hard and triggering hill assist?

You had me scared about that puddle of brake fluid, LOL!

 

"Seemed to have the same pedal fade at lights with light pressure and the ABS symbol illuminated."


This is NOT normal operation.
Can you elaborate what you are experiencing?
Why is the ABS illuminated?
I know about 'hill hold', tested it a few times, but I don't remember any light. It only holds for 2-3 seconds.

 

There is a beep, or a series of beeps when Hill Hold is activated as well.


SCH-I535

 

I can hear it really clearly every time.

 

This is the wave sound coming from the current switching ON and OFF. They may not have an easy solution. Personally I like to hear components in my car, this way there is more chance of catching a failing component, like the brake.

Edit: Oh the sound in the video when the OP presses first on the pedal is not the high pitch noise I'm talking about. Is your sound really the same as the video?

 

Yes it is. I've been told different responses by 2 different Toyota technicians, so I've given up on trying to find out what it is exactly. I'm just gonna assume its the inverter. 5k miles on the odometer with no problems---31k more miles to go before my warranty runs out

 

Two fun stories.

1. Had a car which really did blow a brake line. Hold down the brake and the pedal would sllooowwllly go to the floor. Small puddle. Did not actually set off any idiot lights. Brake line actually was split, was fun for the dealership to fix. Difference between that car and yours: Manual (non-power) brakes vs. Power brakes with electric pressurizer. I guess that a runaway pressurizer and a brake reservoir leak could empty the brake fluid onto the floor. There are puddles of water that one gets under the car when the A/C runs, but it's usually pretty clear which is which with a dab of the fingers.
2. The other time there was a puddle under the car was when the puddle was Gas. Honda minivan, new: The dealer replaced the sender in the tank in an unsuccessful attempt at fixing the gas gauge, but managed to thoroughly screw the gaskets that held the fuel injection gas pump inside the tank. The fun part is that I was 200 miles from Dealership #1; a very careful drive to Dealership #2 was then performed. It's amazing how excited the service people get when you tell them you've got an active gas leak; you'd have thought I was bringing the plague into the building. (Not too far off if somebody had walked by with a cigarette, I guess.) Very helpful types, they wanted me and that gas leak the heck out of there. It was only bad karma that the nearest working gasket available was a mere 100 miles away.

KBeck.

 

OK: First, thanks to those who have offered advice or expressed concern.

This appears to be operator error which might have been prevented by a more thorough reading of the manual. It seems that I was unknowingly triggering the hill-hold system, and the puddle was either AC condensate or rain water off the car. The tech's went over the car and could find no leak or evidence of same. Ran diagnostics on the flight data recorder (forgive me, I am a pilot too) and came up with no evidence anything untoward electric was going on that the computer might pick up. They tested the brakes and reported they were performing to spec, and topped off the fluid to the MAX level so I can monitor it in case they are wrong. So, after reading the manual online today while awaiting a conversation with the "service advisor," I came to a better understanding of how this hill-hold device/program works.

I am slightly embarrassed in that I will not hesitate to dive into the brakes on my 16-year-old Jag, but I made an automatic assumption I knew everything there was to know about brakes on a hybrid with this particular feature. I wear hearing aids and did not hear any kind of beep, but I have pretty heavy frequency lost in the higher ranges. I will repeat this experiment in a quiet environment and see if I can hear anything.

Good news was the dealer was quick to offer a free loaner (and the Prius C is sort of a fun little econo-bug). Bad news was I found some minor but noticeable scratches on my otherwise pristine 6-week-old car when I picked it up. I'll have a chat with the service adviser and service manager tomorrow about the importance of getting off on the right foot with new maintenance customers (who can vote with their gas pedals by going elsewhere) and not nicking up cars in their shop ... after thanking them in person for the quick attention to my "problem."

Again, thanks to all, and I do enjoy reading this forum.

Eliot