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Stuck in B?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Purrius, Apr 25, 2020.

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  1. Purrius

    Purrius Junior Member

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    Hello! I have an issue that's becoming a serious problem. I really hope someone here can help me. :(

    Quick info:
    •Model: 2010 base Prius.
    •120+ miles.
    •Spent 9 years in the Southwest, moved to Northeast in August.
    •Had contactless wash at least once a week during winter to remove salt.
    •No major maintenance/issues, save for replacing struts

    Issue:
    I live in a very hilly region in the Northeast. Someone suggested I use B mode on the shifter for going down hills. At one point i on a larger hill,s the car making a grinding sound, so I stopped using B entirely.

    Recently I noticed that the car had started feeling like there was sand in the accelerator and brake pedals. It's hard to describe, but the handling on the car was compromised, and I couldn't get the it to accelerate well. It always sounds like it's trying really hard to move. (I think maybe it feels like it's stuck in 1st gear, if it were a manual?)

    When I would park, you could still move the car a tiny bit, even with the foot brake on. It would sound like it was grinding back and forth.

    I hadn't made the connection between the grinding and B mode, until yesterday. I started the car in D, shifted it into B, and then moved it over to D again a couple times. For some reason that solved it, and the car handled better and there was no more sand feeling.

    Unfortunately, I think it keeps putting itself back into what feels like B mode again. If I do the shifting trick I mentioned above, sometimes it seems to "dislodge" it, but it keeps coming back on when I turn the car on again. It doesn't show that B is on in the indicator, unless I put in in B, but it feels like it is. If that makes sense?

    Due to being furloughed from work, I really can't afford to go to a mechanic right now, so I'm really hoping this is something that I can fix myself with my rudimentary car knowledge.

    Thank you so much, I'm so happy that you're here, and if you can help me, that would be really really really appreciated.
     
  2. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    You have a brake problem. Sounds like the pins froze up a long time ago, causing premature wear on your pads and it has got down to scoring your rotors (thus the sand, grinding feeling). That is my first guess. Hope this helps. If it is the brakes, I would seek a mechanic who knows how to work on Prius brakes as it is a very special process!!
     
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  3. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    By the way, if you are handy with tools or mechanically inclind, you can do this yourself. The most important thing to do before you do anything is to disconnect the battery!! If you don't you could have the pads move while you are working on the car. There is a complete "how to" somewhere in Priuschat. Depending on what is actually damaged, your cost to do on your own would be a range of $200 to $500. It could be a lot less, but, until you see the problem, I don't know what your costs could be. Good thing to know is brake pads and rotors do not cost an arm and a leg. My quote is factoring replacing all four sets.
     
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  4. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    Why am I seeing an add at the bottom of this page for enrollment to a local college, with a picture of pregnant enrollee, written in Vietnamese?
     
  5. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    You’re computer may have been compromised with unwanted ads due to visiting adult rated websites.
     
  6. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Well the first sign of trouble, was the FIRST sign of trouble.
    If and when you had that grinding sound in B, that was the gremlin revealing itself. Unless you have coffee beans, a grinding sound is never good.
    What is happening right now, I'd be willing to bet IS connected with that very first grinding sound you heard. But it's too nebulous for me to even offer a speculative diagnosis.

    If I was guessing this is transmission related.
    The Prius transmission is an eCVT, actually a planetary gear configuration. I would speculate it isn't a rudimentary car knowledge project.

    Could it be brakes?
    Yes, it could be. But your total description of what is happening makes the diagnosis of transmission or brakes nebulous. I would think that if it was brakes related, your action of shifting back and forth from D to B, and B to D, wouldn't have any impact.
    And usually with Brakes, if it's rust or any materials stuck between the pads and rotors, it kind of rights itself with some heavy braking.

    Maybe my FIRST question should of been "Where was the grinding sound coming from?" Did it sound like it was coming from the Brakes? OR was it a grinding sound coming more from the center of the vehicle?

    In either case, the symptoms would suggest to me, that in light of an admitted only rudimentary knowledge of cars, unfortunately you probably do need a mechanic. And when I say that, I mean a hybrid trained technician. IMO both the Brakes and Transmission on a Prius are Hybrid integrated components best serviced by technicians familiar with this reality.
     
  7. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I don't know.
    For a long time I got repeated banner ads exclaiming that I was 1 click away from Asian women in my area that "Wanted to meet me."

    I can't even bring myself to use Grub Hub or Uber Eats for Asian food, let alone click on a very questionable "dating site".
    I suggest 1st ignoring, 2nd, a good vetted Ad Blocker.
     
  8. Purrius

    Purrius Junior Member

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    Thanks for your input everyone! Sincerely!


    I'm not sure there are any Prius techs in my area, I'm pretty rural. I'll still look, but I'm not hopeful.

    EDIT: The closest big city to me is Syracuse (zip 13204), and it looks like there's only dealerships. I'm afraid to go to them. :(
     
  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    any mechanic can look at your brakes. just remind them that if they need to do any work, they should follow the service manual if they haven't done prius brakes before, because they are electric. but no big deal.
    if you plan to diy, just jack up each corner and spin the wheels to see if anything is binding
     
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  10. Montgomery

    Montgomery Senior Member

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    That would make sense, except the add wasn't "adult" oriented. Just a legit add for local college enrollment online. Thought it was funny that the person holding the laptop in her lap was pregnant and all the writing was asian. Only thing that was in english was the name of the College.
     
  11. Purrius

    Purrius Junior Member

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    I took it to my usual mechanic today. He admits he's not too familiar with the hybrid system, but said he couldn't figure out what was wrong even after driving it. At least it's not the calipers, he said?
     
  12. Maarten28

    Maarten28 Active Member

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    But the grinding is still there? My bet would also have been the brakes. Maybe a stone got stuck between the rotor and the caliper?
    When was the last time you had your brakes checked or serviced?

    It is unlikely that the B-mode is the culprit. The only thing B-mode does is tell the computer to run the engine to generate brake force. No gears are shifted or any mechanical stuff is going on.
     
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  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    are there any trouble lights on the dash?
     
  14. Purrius

    Purrius Junior Member

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    My usual mechanic said he checked the brakes, but didn't find anything. I had inquired specifically about the calipers, as well. No dice.

    Not a single thing was out of place, no warnings or anything.



    Right now it's still at the dealership. I hope I hear something back today. I love that car so much. :(
     
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  15. Purrius

    Purrius Junior Member

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    I am sorry sorry that I didn't to follow up on this post!!!

    we have the dealership look at it and they couldn't find out what was wrong either. But the problem persisted. A

    couple weeks later my roommate offhanded pointed out that I was putting the foot brake on before hitting the park button and turning the car off. He said he usually does it in the opposite order and so I tried that.

    I'm embarrassed to admit it worked, and the problem hasn't happened again since!
     
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  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    no idea how that affects anything...
     
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  17. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Parking brakes must have not been disengaged completely. America’s tires Didn’t disengaged the parking brakes on my car when they drove it to the lift and back to me outside waiting. At first, I heard sand like grinding sound incredibly loud coming in the direction where I parked when they were pulling it out to the lift as engine reved loudly. As they drove it to where I was standing to pick up, same sound. I got in the car and saw parking brakes still on with the “brake” lit in red. The parking brake wasn’t fully disengaged. Perhaps basic car training is only a suggestion for those tire companies.
     
  18. Purrius

    Purrius Junior Member

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    I believe that's the case, yeah. Once they "broke loose" and I started doing things in the corrected order, everything went back to functioning perfectly. It's been a few months without any issues now, so I'm just going going to assume it was the problem, haha.
     
  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Toyota's foot pedal implementation of a parking brake on a regular passenger vehicle is odd too (one of several oddities). These oddities make the Prius and valet drivers a poor mix.
     
  20. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    1. Consider not using "B" mode...or at least not much.
    You live east of the Rockies, and you used to live west of the Rockies, so it ought to be pretty easy to figure out why.
    There's no real efficiency advantage in compression braking (squirrel topic!) and if you know how to use regenerative braking you're already using your traction battery as a waste receptacle.

    2. You're closing in on 10 years and 120,000 miles.
    If you KNOW you're going to keep your car for 5 more years then it's time to make some important maintenance decisions with your car.
    Review some of the threads on trans-axle fluid flush, throttle body cleaning, and EGR cleaning.

    3. If you decide to ignore (2) above, do a keyword search search for "head gasket"

    Good Luck!