Annoying brake noise Prius Plug In Excel

[16_Auris_HSD]

On 11/24/2017 at 4:36 AM, thecaretaker said:

That noise happens with my current Gen4 and has been present on all previous cars I have owned since the removal of asbestos brake linings. It is known as brake binding. It is perfectly normal and only happens when the disc and pads are cold. It is more noticeable with cars with regenerative brakes (Hybrids) as the disc brakes don't get used as much and don't get as hot. If like me you are a gentle smooth driver, the disc brakes only come into play at very slow speeds (under 5mph when coming to a stop) the rest of the time the regen brakes are used.

Nothing personal but I must say I'm not sure I'd agree. Based on Alan's video the noise he experiences is way too loud to be normal. I'm happy to record a couple of vids of me driving in my Auris, the noise is nothing like that. In fact there's almost no noise of that nature and if it is it's masked by the sound insulation. And all cars I've had before, except the Beemer, were fine too. Beemer sounded like Alan's car and that was caused by, as BMW confirmed, issue with disc corrosion.

If I was you Alan I'd take another similar car for a test drive and compare. If it sounds the same you'll have an answer if these are like it or not.

[bigals55]

Thanks for your comments 16_AURIS_HSD. I was beginning to think , from some of the comments received, that people thought I was becoming upset over nothing. Taking another Prius Plugin for a test drive is a good idea as it may well be that all cars of this model have the same noise. If that is the case then my next car will most certainly not be a Toyota.  I'll try to organise a test drive this week. Thanks again.

[YarisHybrid2016]

The creaking sound you hear when you're creeping, I get on mine in the same situation (Yaris Hybrid). I avoid that by leaving enough of a gap so I can just release the brake pedal fully.

The loud "thud" that you get though when reaching 0 MPH is very strange. I'd liken it to as if you slammed on the brakes when stationary. Perhaps this is what is happening? The computer does control the brakes - maybe it is being over-zealous and causing the thumping noise?

Getting a test drive in another plug-in would certainly be a good idea. I don't recall hearing this sound in other videos of the 4th gen. PiP.

[16_Auris_HSD]

Alan, are your brakes as bad from the outside? Freaking heck.

https://youtu.be/vBVnxowGJsI?t=7m6s

[bigals55]

Gosh. Sounds like the Kia is worse than my Prius. I've not listened to mine from the outside as I'm the only driver. I'm beginning to think that perhaps the noise is just something to  put up with from a hybrid car. looks like I'll be going back to polluting the atmosphere when I change the car. I'm still waiting to hear what the Toyota man says when i meet with him early in January. Thanks for your interest 16_Auris

[bigals55]

I met Toyota rep at Vantage Wakefield today. He took my car out with the master technician and returned to tell me he could find no fault on my car. The technician then took me out in the company's demo plug in Prius and, lo and behold, the brakes made exactly the same noise as mine. I was told that these noises were normal for the car and were probably more noticeable due to the extreme quietness of the vehicle. They were unable, or unwilling, to tell me if plug in cars from other manufacturers made the same noises. I shall no doubt find out when I come to change the car next which will probably be later this year. It will not be another Toyota!

Many thanks for all of the interest and suggestions. 

[Heidfirst]

17 minutes ago, bigals55 said:

They were unable, or unwilling, to tell me if plug in cars from other manufacturers made the same noises. I shall no doubt find out when I come to change the car next which will probably be later this year. It will not be another Toyota!

what if the other manufacturers' cars are as noisy or even noisier?

[MEP's Yaris GS]

3 hours ago, bigals55 said:

I met Toyota rep at Vantage Wakefield today. He took my car out with the master technician and returned to tell me he could find no fault on my car. The technician then took me out in the company's demo plug in Prius and, lo and behold, the brakes made exactly the same noise as mine. I was told that these noises were normal for the car and were probably more noticeable due to the extreme quietness of the vehicle. They were unable, or unwilling, to tell me if plug in cars from other manufacturers made the same noises. I shall no doubt find out when I come to change the car next which will probably be later this year. It will not be another Toyota!

Many thanks for all of the interest and suggestions. 

So they've confirmed there is nothing wrong with the car and you're still not happy....

I can't see the issue here myself but each to their own.

[FROSTYBALLS]

5 hours ago, bigals55 said:

 They were unable, or unwilling, to tell me if plug in cars from other manufacturers made the same noises.

That is plainly an unrealistic expectation. No sales staff nor a manufacturer's master technician is going to know that level of detail about another marque's vehicles. Its the same as expecting an assistant on Asda's pizza counter to know how much cheese is on a Tesco freshly made pizza. 

[Cyker]

From the video, I'm inclined to think it's mostly-normal. It's one thing I've always disliked about automatics as every one I've driven made noises like this to a greater or lessor degree when I was controlling the speed of the car with the brakes. I guess it's the brakes vibrating or resonating at slower speeds - They have anti squeal shims for a reason, but I guess they are less effective at low speeds.

But even my new Yaris makes audible (Well, to me) brake grindy sounds when I brake, and my old ossom Yaris D4D also did when I had the Toyota Optimax pads on, although it was less prominent because of the diesel clatter and way louder road noise that had masking it.

You could try different pads; The EBD GreenStuffs I had were a lot less grindy once I'd worn them in on my old Yaris (They were very very grindy at first tho'!! I'm not sure if that was just because of the special break-in layer they have on their pads, or just the pads being scored by pre-existing grooves in the discs)

Supposedly HSDs are prone to rusty discs because most of the braking is done by the regen system, so you could also try clearing the discs by getting some good speed up and then braking quite firmly and progressively a few times (Don't just slam on the brakes as that might trigger the ABS which makes this less effective).

There are also specialists who can skim-cut the discs on the car if you don't want to do that (The on-car skim-cut also has the advantage that it can also cure any disc wobble present which can make for smoother braking!)

[Harters]

Watching the video from 16_AURIS_HSD confirms the noise is just the same in my Prius and all other automatics from different manufacturers I have had before it.  My previous car was an Audi Q5 and the noise I had when manoeuvring into my garage was just the same as now, if not a tad noisier.

It just something I accept as being the norm for having non asbestos pads.

[16_Auris_HSD]

I must stress that my post facelift Auris HSD, although the brakes aren't silent, is nowhere near as bad as what Alan posted in his video. I keep paying attention to the noise since this thread came about (and I'm very sensitive to noises like that, hence why I got rid of my last BMW) and there is clearly a bit of grinding noise which is normal as what you guys say but it is close to inaudible 95% of the time. The only time the brakes get as bad is when the car sits parked for a week and the discs get some rust build up, but even then this clears up quickly (and I'm not braking extra hard to get rid of the rust).

So there are two options:
- post facelift Auris HSD has amazing sound dampening
- Toyota cut corners when designing current gen PIP and decided to save weight by not using enough sound dampening.

Also let's not forget that Alan mentioned that his previous Prius was much quieter than his current get PIP.

[kithmo]

The mark 1 Auris HSD was designed with more sound deadening materials than the Petrol/Diesel variants and even had a different, quieter, wiper motor. 

[Phil T]

Just noticed this thread and I used to be able to get most of my cars to sing while applying the brakes while creeping. The Gen4 is particularly bad and it is mentioned on some road reviews. Not only cars my motorbike will also do it while creeping. The C-HR I tested was better in this respect but my PHV is just as bad as the Gen4. Slowing to a stop it grabs at the last moment, making gentle stopping impossible, very annoying. I think it is the modern kevlar mix in the brake pads that is the problem. When I have changed the previous bikes brake pads to a high copper mix there have performed much better. Perhaps aftermarket pads on the Prius might help. I know when I changed my Honda Accord pads to Ferodo there was a world of difference.

[Ten Ninety]

Nice resurrection Phil! 

I've worked out that I now own the OP's car. The noise is indeed just the usual hybrid brake creaking. To be fair, when it's having a bad day it's probably louder than the other hybrids I've owned, but there's nothing 'wrong' with it. It's also worth noting that my wife successfully cured this braking noise on my GS after a few hundred miles of her driving it, just like she did on our Auris. Late, heavy braking is definitely the key! 

[Phil T]

Just before I sold the Prius gen4 I did some braking runs/stops from 60mpg, on a slightly undulating road. It bottomed out hitting somewhere underneath. I thought it may have been a problem but there was no obvious damage. Did nothing for the brakes. Stink of hot pads and rubber though.