Hi guys, I got a 2017 Prius Prime Premium. It took me a yr but recently I start to adjust to this "eco" style driving and I found something weird. Let's say you break very very gently, and just before it comes to a complete stop, you can feel 2 clicks(very faint vibration) from your brake pedal. And similary, when it is in complete stop, if you release your brake pedal really really gently, you can feel the same 2 clicks from your brake pedal. I am talking about very very gentle actions here. If I brake a bit stronger, or I simply just release brake pedal at once, you wont feel anything. Since I only started experiencing it a few days ago. I am just wondering if it is normal, or something went wrong. I want to make sure everything is okay before I am out of warrenty (car is 14 month old with just 14k miles on it). And I don't think it makes any difference, but I felt it when I am out juice (battery level below bar). Thanks in advance.
iirc, this is normal for the prime, or at least, many are having the same problem. it could be defective though.
Most likely normal. The car is somewhat brake-by-wire: your pressure on the brake pedal instructs a computer, which generates a proportional pressure to the brakes by opening and closing small valves in the brake actuator, until its pressure sensors tell it the pressure it wants has been reached. If you are the sort of person who likes to make chauffeur stops and modulate your braking pressure very delicately, you can definitely notice (in any Prius generation) that you don't have perfectly smooth control in that range, and the computer is using very small valve twiddles to try to smoothly follow what you are doing.
At low speeds (under 7 mph), you'll be using friction brakes. While low mileage, have you inspected the brakes? I have a thermal gun that I check the wheel temps with on occasion, and that alerts me to issues. Or I bring it out if something doesn't seem right. But I'd have a closer look around the brakes to ensure it is t something abnormal.
