by wildcherry on Monday, February 8th, 2010 | Automotive, News | No Comments

The recall of the 2010 Prius and two other hybrids will affect 437,000 cars across the world, and around 8,500 in the UK.

Toyota’s president Akio Toyoda announced the recall at a news conference. He said customers should take their cars back to the dealer where a simple 40 minute process will make them safe.

He said: “We have decided to recall as we regard safety for our customers as our foremost priority.”
Also being recalled are two other hybrid models - the Lexus HS250h sedan, sold in the US and Japan, and the Sai, which is sold only in Japan.

The braking problem for the third-generation Prius is the latest safety concern for Toyota, which has already recalled millions of vehicles due to other defects, including a sticky accelerator pedal.
US safety officials have launched an investigation into problems with the brakes.

There have been nearly 200 complaints in Japan and the US of drivers experiencing a short delay before the brakes are effective. The problem can be fixed with a software programming change

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by wildcherry on Monday, February 8th, 2010 | Automotive, News | No Comments

Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) — Toyota Motor Corp. will recall its 2010 model Prius hybrid car in Japan this week to repair a problem with the vehicle’s braking system, two people familiar with the matter said, adding to global recalls of almost 8 million autos for separate defects.
The world’s largest automaker plans to recall at least 270,000 of the gasoline-electric hatchbacks in Japan and the U.S., one person said, declining to be identified as the information isn’t yet public. Juergen Stolze, a Toyota spokesman in Germany, said the carmaker will decide whether to recall Prius cars in Europe by Feb. 10.

A Prius recall may further tarnish Toyota’s reputation after the Toyota City, Japan-based company lost about $33 billion in market value amid expanding global recalls of other models to repair defects linked to unintended acceleration. Those recalls have yet to include any vehicles in Japan, where the Prius was last year’s top-selling model.

“It’s really shocking,” said Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. in Tokyo. “The damage to Toyota will be big.”

Ririko Takeuchi, a spokeswoman for Toyota in Tokyo, said the company hasn’t decided whether to recall the Prius. Stolze, speaking by phone from Cologne, Germany, declined to say what the carmaker’s decision will be regarding recalls in Europe. There haven’t been any proven cases of brake failures in the Prius in Europe, he said.

‘Kind of Scary’

Japan’s government ordered Toyota to investigate the Prius after receiving complaints from drivers. The company has been looking into reports that Prius owners driving at low speeds on bumpy or icy roads may experience moments where the car continues to coast for about a second after the brakes are applied, because of the anti-lock brake system.
“It sounds kind of scary,” said Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc., who drives a 2010 Prius. “You sure don’t want your car to continue on, on an icy road, when it’s supposed to be stopping.”
The New York Times reported that Toyota will recall at least 311,000 Priuses. Toyota has sold at least 332,000 units of the 2010 Prius, including 197,000 in Japan and 103,200 in the U.S., spokesman Takanori Yokoi said. The model is built in Japan.

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