On my 2005 Prius (98k miles), sometimes the brakes seem to skip and hesitate for a brief moment. I've noticed this issue most consistently when I'm going down one of several small neighborhood hills shortly after starting my car, from .25 miles to 1 mile into my commute. I'll tap on the brake pedal to slow down, but I don't feel the brakes take hold as I expect. No warning lights appear on the dash and I don't hear any noticeable sounds. I've read some of the other posts about brake issues, and I'm not sure if this is the same thing. I've maintained my car carefully. Recently (at 96k miles) the dealer replaced all four tires and the front brake pads, and resurfaced the rotors. I only began to notice this issue very recently, after the work at the dealer. The dealer replaced my 12V battery at 88k miles. What's causing this brake phenomenon? Is it the uneven transition from regenerative to friction braking? Is it likely to get worse? Is it a safety problem? What would you do?
normal. is this your first prius? are you saying that up until now, it seemed different to you? how fast are you going when it happens? it is the transition from regen to friction and usually an uneven road surface. has your commute or surface changed? could be the new pads and rotors and you have simply forgotten how they felt when new.
Yes, this is my first Prius, but I've owned it for 6 years. I've never noticed the break issue. Perhaps it's the new pads & resurfaced rotors that make the 'slippage' more noticeable. Thanks for the reply.
Just a thought but you might try the 'rust on rotors' technique even though you don't have rust on your newly turned rotors. Since the regen will do the braking unless your speed is below 17mph try getting a good head of steam, shift to neutral and then apply brakes with varying degrees of pressure and report what you feel. Maybe the pads and rotors just need some contact to become 'familiar'.
Since you only notice it after the brakes were serviced I would imagine somethings not right. I suspect the brakes were not fully bled to remove air in the system. Its easy to check. While your rolling down the street at a good clip just put the transmission shift lever in Neutra like above. Then try the brakes. In neutral there is no regen aassist and your on the cars brakes only. See how bad they are. They should stop ok but the Prius brakes are not that great without regen. But you have new brakes so should stop pretty good. Btw, if this is the first time you have ever done this make sure no one's in front of you. Get familiar with doing that shift to neutral as thats how you maintain the brakes. Shift to nuetral and apply firm braking as that's how you remove the rust film on the rotors. You can shift back into D at any speed with no problems. Its really a good idea to be familiar with going to neutral at an instant as thats the best way to stop a run away (stuck accelerator) car also.
