TOKYO : Toyota will recall 300,000 Prius hybrid vehicles because of brake flaws, newspapers reported Sunday, in the latest blow to the Japanese car giant reeling from safety woes that have sullied its reputation.
The move will affect the latest model of the Prius, a car beloved of Hollywood stars and environmentalists, following scores of complaints about malfunctioning brake systems.
The Prius problems have dealt a new blow to Toyota, after it had to recall eight million cars around the world because of sticky accelerator pedals.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the Prius recall, to repair a software programme for the anti-lock braking system designed to prevent skidding, is expected to affect some 270,000 vehicles in Japan and the United States alone.
"The company has notified its dealers in Japan that it would recall all the (new model Prius) vehicles sold in the country," the mass-circulation paper said, without giving a source.
"The company will also repair the software free of charge in the United States and other countries in a similar manner," Yomiuri said, adding that the company would make an official announcement this week.
The Nikkei business daily said Toyota would also repair about 30,000 vehicles sold in Europe, China, Australia, Middle East and other areas.
"We've been told the automaker will soon give us an official instruction about Prius," said a Toyota dealer in Tokyo.
Company representatives were not available for comment.
Toyota, the world's largest car maker, has sold over 300,000 of the latest Prius in 60 countries and territories since the new model rolled out in May.
Toyota had originally considered a voluntary repair for the problem, which the company said is not a fundamental defect, but decided on a recall to try to regain customer trust, Yomiuri and Kyodo News reported.
Problems can be fixed at Toyota dealerships in less than an hour, media reports said, adding that units manufactured in January and later already have the updated software.
Toyota came under fire after it said it had fixed the Prius brake system last month without warning drivers who already own the model about the possibility of brake failure.
Japan's transport ministry reportedly received about 80 complaints this month about brake malfunctions and called for an investigation, while Toyota has separately received more than 100 complaints since the crisis broke.
Local media have said that five cases reported to the government relate to crashes, according to the drivers.
The Prius -- which combines a petrol combustion engine with a battery-powered electric motor -- is Toyota's flagship hybrid car and key to its efforts to stay in pole position in fuel-efficient vehicles.
Toyota, which in 2008 dethroned General Motors as the world's biggest car maker, produced 530,000 hybrids in 2009, spanning 15 models from sport utility vehicles to sedans, mini-vans and the luxury Lexus series.
The company has come under heavy fire for its handling of massive recalls affecting about eight million vehicles worldwide -- more than its entire 2009 global sales of 7.8 million vehicles -- due to accelerator trouble.
Toyota is facing a two-billion-dollar bill from the global recall but last week said it was on course to earn 80 billion yen (880 million dollars) in the fiscal year to March.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2010 |
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