Sunday, after church, I hopped into my 2012 and began my 3 mile ride home. I rolled down the rear windows with fan blasting to get the hot air out of the cabin. But I heard that familiar sound of brake pad wear sensors, just screeching away to beat the band. The extreme screeching began so suddenly, it surprised me. Plus I only have 85K miles on the car. My first Prius, a 2008 has 120K and still doesn't need a brake job. I got home, but then avoided driving the car the rest of the day, because it was embarrassingly loud! I knew I would be headed to the Toyota dealer in the morning. Monday came and I headed toward the dealer. The sound was so extreme, I whipped it into the first driveway I came to with the intention of going back into my own drive and just take a gander at that front left brake -- the only one that was squealing. As soon as I began to back out of my neighbor's drive the sound instantly quit. I then determined that I surely had a pebble or the like stuck onto the brake shoe or shoe assembly. I was so glad that my car fixed itself! phil via Nokia
A pebble will not make the sound of a metal brake indicator. You better have it checked, could be something sticking....Or it was your indicator
Several years ago i had a similar experience with my pretty new 2011, i think i was still under warranty. I heard a Horrible screeching sound, i was either starting from an intersection or slowing down, i can't remember. There were several cars and a large truck near me, but i was positive the sound was coming from my car, as it seemed to change as my speed changed, and as i slowed down, the other cars went around me... I immediately took it to the dealer, but as i was going there, the sound never reappeared, and they 'looked it over carefully' but said they couldn't find anything. and it never happened again i think we have around 90k miles on that Prius now Who knew what that was all about, i hope your situation is 'gone' also!
