Hybrid Brakes And Braking Worries On New Yaris Hsd

[absolutebeginner]

Hi, I just bought new Yaris HSD (redesigned version from this year) and since I'm new to hybrid system as well as that kind of gear shift I need help. Please bear with me and my (probably silly) worries..

Strange brakes questions:

1. Does anyone else have the feeling that the brakes have two positions, sort of degrees? It is hard to describe the feeling, but when I slowly push the brakes the car starts to slow down, and as I push it further the car STOPS (''1st degree'') BUT the brake pedal IS NOT PUSHED TO THE END - it's pushed half way to the end (''2nd degree''). Is that normal?

2. When I start the car I push the brake HARD to the end (as instructed by dealer), but do I have to push the brakes that hard when I want to stop the car or do I push it just untill the car has stopped ('1st degree'')?

3. When I change from D to R do I have to push the brakes to the end (flooring it to ''2nd degree'') or just untill car stops (''1st degree'')?

4. What about changing from D to B when descending a hill, do I have to pull my foot of the gas and hit the brakes to slow down first or just shift to B in full speed to start braking with engine?

5. After parking and reparking the car from the dealers lot, when I was braking downhill I heard a strange squeaking noise from the brakes. That happened on two occasions that first day and didn't happen again and the dealer said that is normal. Any thoughts?

Hill assist question:

6. On a hill at the traffic light I stopped the car and then tried pressing the brake harder to engage Hill Assist. Nothing happened - no sound described by manual. I tried again as stated in manual, again with no result. However, the car did not move to reverse while I was moving my foot from the brakes to the gas pedal (it lasted a second or two). Does that mean that I have Hill Assist on but without sounds or warnings? What can I do to make sure?

Thank you very much in advance for any insights, experiences and advices :)

[RunningInPleasePass]

Hello and welcome to the forum, I've owned a hybrid for just over a year, and I'll have a go at answering your questions.

1. The brakes do have 2 states.

The first one employs electronics to recharge your Battery, this is a load so the car will start to slow down.

The second is normal braking using brake pads and disks.

2. Just brake normally until you stop, light braking is always best, you save fuel and recharge your Battery, but of course in an emergency brake hard.

3. Like any car, when you change from forward to reverse you need to be stopped.

4. You only need B for very steep long hills, when you are going down such a hill you will have already started to brake when you engage B.

5. The car had probably been stood for some time and the disks had started to tarnish, this will rub off after a couple of brake operations.

6. Hill Assist will only employ if you have selected D, did you have it in D when you tested it?

As I say, I'm a beginner with hybrids, I'm sure some of the more experienced members will be able to help you out some more.

[absolutebeginner]

Thank you for your answers,

do you ''floor'' the brake when shifting from D to R and vice versa or just aplly enough pressure to brakes so the car stops (half way down)?

Do you also ''floor'' the brake when starting the car?

I was in D mode when I stopped at the traffic light and tried to employ Hill Assist and didn't hear a sound.

And off brake and braking topic, do you know if there is a possibility to turn the sound of front parking sensors a bit (other option is to turn them off completely) - they are awfully loud?

[RunningInPleasePass]

Just brake like you would in any other car, Toyota have gone to a lot of trouble to make hybrids behave like normal cars.

When you switch from D to R just be stood, gentle braking is best though.

When you start the car, you have to make a switch on the brake pedal levers, you have to press fairly hard to make this switch.

As to Hill Assist, I would visit you local Toyota Dealer and they will demonstrate it for you, and also answer your other questions as well!

The parking sensors can be turned off.

[CPN]

As far as I am aware, there is no kind of light or warning sound associated with hill assist. It just works as long as you are still in D and with your foot on the brake. If you are on an upward slope as you lift your foot off the brake, it gives you about 5 Seconds to move to the accelerator pedal and move away as normal. During this short period, the brakes are held on and slowly released as you increase pressure on the accelerator pedal...

[CPN]

If you leave it too long before actually moving off, the brakes will release anyway so beware of that...

[kithmo]

Ivanka, no need to "floor" the brake pedal when putting it into D or R the gearbox takes the signal from the brake light switch to tell it when you have your foot on the brake, but do make sure you have enough pressure on the pedal to hold the car stationary when engaging gear.

Not sure about the Yaris but the hill start assist on the Prius & Pruis+ beeps once, to let you know it has engaged, and the hill start assist indicator lights on the dash, you do have to press the brake pedal hard to engage it. Take a look in your manual and familiarise yourself with the dash indicator lights and look for the hill start assist one, you should at least get the light showing, if not the beep.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

If it's a 2014 car I'd take it back to the dealers and get them to check it.

There should be no transition between normal and regen braking as they're blended.

B mode is for use going down hill.

All the other queries are answered in your owners manual.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

As far as I am aware, there is no kind of light or warning sound associated with hill assist. It just works as long as you are still in D and with your foot on the brake. If you are on an upward slope as you lift your foot off the brake, it gives you about 5 Seconds to move to the accelerator pedal and move away as normal. During this short period, the brakes are held on and slowly released as you increase pressure on the accelerator pedal...

There is a beep and warning light that come on on the Prius Plug-in and Rav4 when hill hold is activated.

To activate it you really have to push hard on the brake pedal to get it almost to the floor.

[CPN]

I'll have to make a point of trying it on a particular hill I know that we pass a lot (it has a steep uphill traffic light junction on it) but so far, the transmission has always just "held it" while I transfer from the brake to the accelerator pedals... Apparently (according to the manual) it is only 2 secs so I was wrong about that at least... ...and there should be a beep and the VSC light starts flashing while its on...

[johalareewi]

In the gen3 prius, you need to be in D, B or R with your foot on the brake (which stops the car rolling). Then push down harder on the brake pedal and it will move further (something that shouldn't happen in a normal car). Keep pushing the pedal further down until hill start assist engages - there is a beep and the TRAC/VSC light starts flashing. Keep your foot on the brake.

When it is time to drive off, take your foot off the brake pedal, across to the accelerator, then accelerate. The prius keeps the brakes on until you drive off so you won't roll back. The user manual says hill start assist will hold the brakes on for up to 2 seconds after you take your foot off the brake pedal. (I haven't tested this).

It is a real bonus when maneovering in tight spaces on a steep slope.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

I've found I need to ease my foot back ever so slightly before pressing it harder to engage HSA. If I don't do that it doesn't engage sometimes.

[Ethanedwards]

HSA tried it a couple if times but I prefer to use the hand brake and the old fashioned methods. Guess I'm a renaissance kinda guy. I think it's a skill set you should keep for when your driving a car without HSA..

[Cyker]

Good man :)

Things like that just encourage idiots to sit on their foot brake all day in traffic, blinding the driver behind them, when they should be using the handbrake when stopped for longer than a few seconds anyway!

If they are going to implement such a system, it would be much better as an electronic handbrake that automatically releases when you move off (Although I still prefer a mechanical handbrake personally.)

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to returning to cork clutches, manual windows, no power steering, perhaps a lever on the steering wheel to adjust the ignition timing. Keeps you involved in the driving process, unlike these modern cars. ;)

[Parts-King]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to returning to cork clutches, manual windows, no power steering, perhaps a lever on the steering wheel to adjust the ignition timing. Keeps you involved in the driving process, unlike these modern cars. ;)

LOL and don't forget to grease your nipples

[FROSTYBALLS]

The only modern convenience Bert Entwhistle missed with his new car was a steering wheel ...

[Dapple]

I too prefer a good old handbrake to any of this new fangled fiddly nonsense.

With the aid of an oxy-acetylene set, a few nails and a bit of bluetac I have cut out a proper hole and fitted a proper handbrake lever made of mahogany that swivels and sticks into the Tarmac.

This fantastic device holds my Prius almost at a standstill on most level surfaces.

[johalareewi]

My Prius doesn't have a handbrake. ;)

[Sagitar]

Foot operated parking brakes are now fairly common. I've had them on my last three cars (Including a Lexus IS250).

I have always assumed that they represent the transfer to the UK of the American concept of "automatic" driving where you press the "gas" pedal to go and the brake to stop and only use the parking brake when you have finished the journey and parked the car. Many American drivers don't use it even then, depending upon selecting "neutral" to lock the transmission.

[CPN]

Neutral (even in an American car) does not lock the transmission. "P" is what most Americans put it in when finished (which does lock the transmission). I have to own up to having got into the same habit myself having driven a lot over there. They don't even call the handbrake by that name either; usually referring to it as the "emergency" brake. Why, I have no idea...

[Sagitar]

Sorry Colin you are absolutely right, it was a senior moment.

[CPN]

Sorry Colin you are absolutely right, it was a senior moment.

Hey no worries! I have those too!! lol!

[CPN]

By the way Chris, those are pretty amazing fuel figures for "Katie"!!

[Sagitar]

By the way Chris, those are pretty amazing fuel figures for "Katie"!!

Most of my mileage is made up of short local journeys, many of which fall entirely within the electric range and use very little petrol.

The recent cold weather has played havoc with consumption. I topped up today and consumption for the tank was only 116 mpg. My best summer figure, in August, was 212 mpg. The good figures that were achieved in the summer pull up the overall average. It's all a bit meaningless really without knowing the details of the electricity that I have used.

The figures that I find of most interest are those that reveal the variable cost per mile - it's under 6p for fuel of which electricity is just less than 2p and petrol under 4p. These figures are well below what I ever achieved with the standard Prius (just over 10p a mile for petrol).

It's not possible to generalise from these figures, they are specific to a particular pattern of use. The relatively few long journeys that I have done and the few periods when I have used the car without access to a charger do seem to indicate that the PiP is more fuel efficient than the standard Prius even when used as a standard hybrid, but I haven't collected enough data to speak with certainty.