Before I drove my new TCH, I drove my mom's old Camry LE. I never felt the sensation that the car would jump forward slightly when I braked. But in my TCH, I feel it all the time. Is this normal? It is actually moving forward or is it just some strange sensation due to the technology? Now I try to brake earlier than I would.

It is caused by the system switching from regenerative braking to actual applying the brakes near the end of the braking cycle. You will eventually learn to brake in a way that reduces the slight lurching at the end.

Resurrecting this thread since this is something I've been troubled with. It happens to me when I first start to brake, not when switching between regenerative and standard braking. I gently apply the brake and I feel as if there is a momentary additional push forward before the braking takes affect. It really freaked me out the first it happened.

mjc49 — If you hit a small (or large) bump while braking, it seems to momentarily disable the regenerative component of the braking. This is probably due to the wheel sensors reporting a sudden change in the rotational velocity of one or more wheels, as if a wheel had started slipping. The surge you feel (occasionally, I trust?) may be this sudden momentary reduction in braking effort.

Stan

Thanks Stan. I haven't noticed if bumps are in teh equation, but I'll watch for that.

In my experience this tends to be a lot more noticeable in the winter even on dry roads when tires and road are cold and road is sometimes covered with debris from winter salting or deteriorating pavement. It seems even minor bumps under these conditions will cause the regen to kick off whereas on a warm summer day it takes a lot worse road conditions to trigger the same...

Two climate control systems, one inside and the other at the tailpipe.

2007 Camry Hybrid (in service June 2006)
2004 Sienna (in service May 2003)

I find this lurch most notiable when I am braking to disengage cruise control. First of all you have to actually press the brake more than I ever have in any other car, usually a tap should work. But I can feel a slight acceleration. It's irritating enough to start using the disengage cruise lever instead of the brake.

Yes. I agree. I stopped using the brake pedal to disengage the cruise control. I know "cancel" it....(unless I am braking for a reason).

Since I read this post I am trying to be aware if this happens on my car as well. So far I have not noticed any lurching during braking. Perhaps I might have the right road conditions or it may have been something Toyota was aware of and tweaked for the 09 year.

I have a 2007 TCH and I have never noticed this.