Originally Posted By: Jonny Z
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May have more to do with the pad formulation than regenerative braking. My 02 never left any dust, front or back.
But remember what "regenerative braking" actually is. All "normal" braking above 7 mph is performed by the motor-generators in generator mode. In this mode, the brake pads NEVER touch the rotors (EDIT: yes, I understand that the "rest" postion of the pads has them in "slight" contact with the rotors). The work the MGs do converting the car's kinetic energy into electrical energy (which can then be stored in the traction battery) IS what slows/stops the car, for the most part.
The exceptions are two: 1) once the car's speed decays below 7 mph, the old-style friction brakes take over to finish the stop; and 2) if you jab the brake pedal hard enough to convince the ECU that you intend to perform an EMERGENCY STOP, it will command an old-school, friction-based deceleration to full stop.
As a side note, some folks find the brakes on the HSD cars "grabby". I just read a magazine review that said as much. But what most folks don't understand is that in an HSD car, when you hit ~7 mph, you're switching from one braking mechanism to a totally different one. I can feel it in both the Prius and the Camry. I don't find it objectionable. Once you adjust to it, it disappears in to the noise. No big deal -- once you know the car, you instinctively ease off the pedal a tad as you decel through 10 mph or so. Once understood, these cars can be driven as smoothly as any Lexus.