Re: OT-brakes fail

Posted by Jon Hagen on February 04, 2010 at 11:34:19 from (69.26.23.125):

In Reply to: OT-brakes fail posted by JMOR on February 04, 2010 at 06:14:40:

I wonder who does more damage to an American products reputation, one who points out problems that need to be fixed to regain our status, or one who refuses to admit there are any problems while our jobs,reputation, exports continue to fall because of high price and poor quality ?

As with Toyota, the first part of fixing a problem is admitting it exists.

As to the Prius brake problem, in 8 months of Prius ownership I have not seen it. There is no delay in applying the brakes unless the tires have no traction.
I have heard this problem on any ABS equipped car refered to as "ABS stupidity", IE The owner Thinking that he can now jam on the brakes on a slick wet / icy /sandy / washboard road and the car will stop instantly.
Not so Icabod, all the ABS will do is keep you from locking up the wheels so you can maintain directional control.
An experienced Toyota Tec who also works with performance mods to the Prius, says the low rolling resistance tires that Prius and most other hybrids use is the problem, not the ABS brake system.
The Prius uses these low rolling resistance tires that have a hard rubber compound, high pressure and are on a very light car.
Under poor conditions, this type of tire has less traction than most tires. When the driver over drives these tires in poor road conditions and locks up the wheels, the ABS brakes do exactly what they are designed to do, unlock until the wheels start turning so the car can maintain steering and directional control.

This Toyota tec said that for drivers that insist on overdriving the traction capability of the original Prius tires, he replaces them with a softer compound tire that hurts MPG a bit but has more traction. He claims that all the "brake" problems go away with the change to a tire with a little more grip.
Time will tell, but it appears right now that the problem is as likely between the drivers ears, as in the ABS brake system. If it is in the brakes, they will fix it.
If it is the drivers, well you can't fix stupid.

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