Hey all - my wife's 2010 started "making a funny noise" recently. After taking a ride with her I'm fairly confident it's a brake wear indicator. Less confident that it's the rear. (the sound goes away when brakes are applied, which is a classic sign). As I understand it, 90k is pretty early for a Prius to need brakes, but this one lived it's first 45k as a Zipcar (carshare), so who knows what kind of abuse it's seen. Fairly average suburban braking for the remaining 45k. So: is it true that Priii follow the typical pattern of wearing out the front brakes first, or do they have some kind of rear-bias like my old VW (which ate 3 sets of rear pads while the fronts were still original)? Also, given the above, is it reasonable to assume the worn-out rear is probably due to some aberration like a stuck caliper rather than normal wear? Thanks!
yes, the rear brakes usually only need replacing when the caliper slide pins haven't been properly lubed at the recommended 30k intervals. but even then, heavy moisture and road salt call for 5k inspections for proper operation.
yes, see @Mendel Leisk threads for great pics and explanation. also, check youtube for an @NutzAboutBolts video to see if he covered this.
Thanks for the replies all. Ended up paying to have the work done, I just couldn't be arsed. Rear pads were gone so had to replace the rotors. Ended up having the brakes flushed while it was there(should have done the trans too). A little over $400 all told. Clearly I've slacked on the maintenance. Thanks for the tips!