Brake-by-wire question...

[Deleted User 3359]

Did anyone else find the dynamic braking/brake by wire a bit of a surprise when they used it first? Love the car when picked it up yesterday, but the sort of two stage braking gave me a few shocks at junctions and roundabouts. The retardation of the dynamic braking when coming up to a stop is good, but when you press harder to go to the disc braking, it feels like it doesn't build on the dynamic but almost "starts again"... I'm sure I'll get used to it but it's a bit disconcerting at the moment...

[Terms Agreed]

Having had a T4 AWD RDesign for getting on for 2 years now I'm confused. Do I have 2 step braking in my version? I've no idea. My experience is the car's braking behaves just like any car I've had in the last 40 years or so.

What leads you to the conclusion that the car has braking-by-wire? Is it documented anywhere? Just interested that's all

Is it perhaps a hybrid thing with the B4 and my more conventional T4 just has normal brakes?

[Boxybutgood]

I suspect Cornishman is referring to the regenerative braking when the hybrid element of the B4 is charging after lifting off the accelerator pedal. This (I imagine) produces a slowing effect a bit like being in a low gear in a manual car. Many fully electric cars allow the driver to choose the level of regenerative braking but I don't know whether mild hybrids such as the B4 offer this.

[Terms Agreed]

I suspect Cornishman is referring to the regenerative braking when the hybrid element of the B4 is charging after lifting off the accelerator pedal. This (I imagine) produces a slowing effect a bit like being in a low gear in a manual car. Many fully electric cars allow the driver to choose the level of regenerative braking but I don't know whether mild hybrids such as the B4 offer this.

Thanks. Yes it looks like it's the hybrid/regen brake thing. Not applicable to my version.

[Felindre]

Like you I've just picked up my new B4, I'm not sure if we have this feature or not, but yes, at the moment braking to a dead stop feels odd, you seem to have to press extra hard at the end. I'd put it down to pads/disks being unused. I do love the silent take off from engine stopped!

In response to Boxybutgood, no there doesn't seem to be any setting to adjust the level of regenerative braking.

[Deleted User 3359]

I suspect Cornishman is referring to the regenerative braking when the hybrid element of the B4 is charging after lifting off the accelerator pedal. This (I imagine) produces a slowing effect a bit like being in a low gear in a manual car. Many fully electric cars allow the driver to choose the level of regenerative braking but I don't know whether mild hybrids such as the B4 offer this.

The regen doesn't happen with foot of the gas, you have to touch the brake pedal. This gives as much braking as a gentle touch on the pedal in a normal car, so it feels as if the car is braking normally, but when you press the pedal beyond that braking seems to reduce, which surprised me a lot... Getting better day 2 but still feels odd.

[Raymondo111]

I suspect Cornishman is referring to the regenerative braking when the hybrid element of the B4 is charging after lifting off the accelerator pedal. This (I imagine) produces a slowing effect a bit like being in a low gear in a manual car. Many fully electric cars allow the driver to choose the level of regenerative braking but I don't know whether mild hybrids such as the B4 offer this.

The regen doesn't happen with foot of the gas, you have to touch the brake pedal. This gives as much braking as a gentle touch on the pedal in a normal car, so it feels as if the car is braking normally, but when you press the pedal beyond that braking seems to reduce, which surprised me a lot... Getting better day 2 but still feels odd.

I am with you on this, I felt the same it felt totally different to my previous XC60 which seemed to have very progressive brakes with a softer feel but when you hit them they really stopped well, I just put it down to the re-gen braking system but am slowly getting more used to it.

[Deleted User 3359]

I suspect Cornishman is referring to the regenerative braking when the hybrid element of the B4 is charging after lifting off the accelerator pedal. This (I imagine) produces a slowing effect a bit like being in a low gear in a manual car. Many fully electric cars allow the driver to choose the level of regenerative braking but I don't know whether mild hybrids such as the B4 offer this.

The regen doesn't happen with foot of the gas, you have to touch the brake pedal. This gives as much braking as a gentle touch on the pedal in a normal car, so it feels as if the car is braking normally, but when you press the pedal beyond that braking seems to reduce, which surprised me a lot... Getting better day 2 but still feels odd.

I am with you on this, I felt the same it felt totally different to my previous XC60 which seemed to have very progressive brakes with a softer feel but when you hit them they really stopped well, I just put it down to the re-gen braking system but am slowly getting more used to it.

Two days in I'm much happier...

[TrevG]

Just changed my T4 R Design AWD for a B4 and was warned by the garage that the braking by wire was different to what I was used to . At first I thought the brakes were poor compared to the T4 but have now started to get used to them It’s like any new car after awhile things seam normal only covered 104 miles so far but pleased with the difference in sound insulation and smoothness of the stop start system fuel consumption around 30 but as with the T4 expecting it to get better with more miles.

[Deleted User 3359]

See my comment about MPG in another thread... Wait until you calculate brim-to-brim consumption....

I have got used to the braking now, didn't take long, but I haven't yet noticed the electric motor kicking in at take away or creeping through traffic...