It will be interesting to see what becomes of the Prius brake problem. Owning the 2006 Prius, I can honestly say that it is the most trouble free Toyota we’ve owned over the last 26 years. The 2005 Sienna is a very close second. My glowing praise is not nearly the intensity of the anti-Toyota crowd though. It’s hard to see how a vehicle (reliable as these have been), could bring out the level of Toyota hatred I’m seeing in this thread. C’mon guys, it’s just a car (though I can see that it represents a great deal more than that to some of you). Fair enough, as in women, so it is in cars. There’s no accounting for taste.
Re. the Toyota braking system, the regenerative braking system that this vehicle uses is far more complex than that of a normal vehicle. But normal vehicles don’t approach 50 mpg either. It is rather like the fly-by-wire system on the A-320. Pressing the brake pedal does not give you conventional braking as it’s not really using the brake pads for most of the deceleration by my reckoning. For the mechanically minded, it is an interesting study in complexity. For others....well, perhaps that research is best left undone. Suffice to say that the brake system is “sophisticated”, so there’s more potential for problems. It may lend itself to a software fix (if it comes to that) vs. the hardware replacement necessary in the accelerator pedal.
As long as the vehicle is reliable, stays at or around 50 mpg, and doesn’t kill me I’m happy with it. I’m not optimistic enough to buy any vehicle without the extra airbag package though. Winter lasts six months up here, and most folks don’t (or can’t)stop at stop signs in this neck of the woods. Side impacts are killers in any vehicle.
I haven’t had a problem with my 08 Camry Hybrid (which isn’t on the recall list) that is made in Kentucky. I get over 40 mpg on the highway.
This is all about the UAW.
BTW, If my next car isn’t another Toyota, it will be a Ford.
Utter BS!
Volkswagen diesel pickups get 60-65 MPG, Jeep diesel gets 45-60 MPG, and in safe, reliable vehicles with braking systems that can't fail.
Hi Gerald! What happened to your show?