Cobra4B

Less parts, no brake lines, no brake fluid. Sure there's more computer crap, but when looking at the overall picture it simplifies the car. You allready have a computer in the car... so let it handle braking too.

I wouldn't want it for a performance car becuase pedal feel is a very hard thing to calibrate, but for a street/commuter I'm all for advancement.

Drake69

Because Toyota hasn't made one good decision since the MKIV design. Once they chucked the Supra line, they lost whatever business sense and integrity they had. The Celica and MR2 lines? They let those go compared to what they once were. TRD? They pissed all over that as well. The current Toyota/Subaru rumors? Really worried about that as well...

At least I still have my MKIII.

jeremy

But yeah, it didn't work. So , there's that.

ClassicJDMCars

How many times has your personal computer crashed, or had an issue? How long have computers been around? Hell, how many ecu's have gone bad on a whim? It's less common but still happen frequently.

How many times has your hydraulic brakes had a FAILURE issue?

That's why.

rtcarlin

?????? How the F are they making brakes without brake fluid, lines, etc...etc...??? Magnets? I'm pretty sure it's still got all that, just no mechanical connect between the pedal and the rest of the components.... I really don't know.... must...google.......

Google complete. Courtesy of Toyoland.com, regarding Prius braking system:

"The braking system is a "brake-by-wire" design. When the brake pedal is depressed, a computer sends a signal to the regenerative system to begin to slow the vehicle. If the pedal is pressed further, the standard hydraulic brakes are operated. Front disc brakes are teamed with rear drums, and an anti-lock system (ABS) is standard."

JDM74

Hydraulics is much more simple than electronics. Think of what it takes to apply equal pressure to both front calipers. Hydraulics does this naturally with a simple "T" and the fundamental properties of fluids under pressure. Electronics will have to have a complex algorithm to make sure that it happens. Hydraulics do certain things very well, braking is one of them. The braking system on a car should have zero tolerance failure rate. Electronics is not there yet.

Fabrik8

It's a hybrid. The energy wasted during braking is HUGE, so recovering it through the motor drive system is pretty useful. It's pretty difficult to do regenerative braking without software, because the (electric) motor creates a pretty good sized load that varies with RPM. I think most of the systems do active control of the amount of energy passed to the motor.

When people say "software" in this context it's embedded software, as in microcontroller code. Same type of software that's in an ECU or ABS system, nothing out of the ordinary.

In the few articles I've read on this topic in the past few days, it almost sounds like the media thinks the Prius runs Windows 7 for braking or something equally ignorant.


I'm not saying this isn't a problem on Toyota's part, I just think people should read up on hybrid technology to get a better understanding of the considerations involved. A hybrid without regen braking isn't a very efficient hybrid.

Fabrik8

When was the last time you saw a new car for sale without ABS?

Reloaded

Would the failure of an ABS module prevent the car from stopping?

Keep in mind I already know the answer to that question and merely pointing out the foolishness of your analogy.

JDM74

.