When regenerative braking with the Gen III Prius, do the rear brakes do any braking?

Only if you brake hard enough to engage friction braking. Sadly, there are no Motor/Generators hooked to the back wheels. (AWD hybrid!)

 

Yup, only the Highlander Hybrid can do that. THREE MGs! Read it and weep.

 

Maybe the rear pads are going to wear faster? I think braking would be proportionately greater on the front, but still...

 

I watched the video I received with my new Prius Level 3. Initially light breaking is done by regeneration and does not use the breaks. It is only when you break firm/hard and/or when the "CHG" graph shows full that the actual breaks are used.
I hope this helps

 

Nope, the regenerative braking doesn't cause loss of control on ice. The vehicle stability and anti-lock systems take care of that. The Prius is very capable in winter. There is just a ground clearance issue.

 

you have to push the car really far before you end up with a traction deficit on the front wheels. by that point, you've already engaged the friction brakes at all 4 wheels.

 

Has anyone noticed the amount of brake dust on the rear wheels? I do not have the wheel covers installed and noticed that when washing my Prius, most of the brake dust is on the rear wheels, not the front. This will result in my rear brakes needing to be replaced before my front brakes.

 

Most of my brake dust is on the front wheels. If you are seeing a lot on your back brakes it may be from rust and lack of use and not more use. Under normal driving the only time the friction brakes are used is under about 7 mph and then most of the car's weight will be on the front wheels. Most that have measured their brake pads will show slightly more wear on the front brakes. Replacing brake pads is the least of your worries as a Prius owner. You will be able to go many, many miles before having to do this.

To eliminate the rust on the rotors, put the car in neutral while coasting to a stop a few times. Neutral disconnects the HV battery and thus the regen braking and engages the friction braking.

 

There is no rust on any of the rotors. I drive the Prius daily. Since regen is probably doing a lot of my braking, the rear pads will probably need replacement before the front. This is not a issue, just an observation.

 

I'm pretty sure there are friction brakes working on all wheels at the same time when they are on. So they should all wear somewhat evenly. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

 

True. But more weight is on the front of the car, especially during braking, so the fronts normally wear at a slightly faster rate than the rears.

 

For a hypermiler that does about as little friction braking as possible how long could you expect brakes to last?

 

There are many on here that have gone well beyond 100k miles and their brakes are still fine. That is another advantage of the Prius.

 

So is 150k or even 200k doable?

 

I think so. Some of those that have this kind of mileage would need to respond to verify.

 

Just replaced my front pads at about 100K miles mostly highway commuting in northern new england.

 

My 2004 Prius is at 228k miles with the original brakes.

JeffD