Toyota Considers A Recall of the 2010 Prius

Toyota Motor Corp. may soon announce a recall of the 2010 Prius hybrid in the US and Japan to address complaints about slipping brakes.

This would well be what’s to come next after transportation authorities in these two countries have ordered investigations. Junji Ogata, Toyota’s general manager in charge of recalls, confirmed that the company is considering a recall and is in talks with the Transportation Ministry about it. Ogata said however, that a final decision has yet to be made. This contradicts a report by Japan’s Nikkei business that Toyota had already decided to recall the 2010 third-generation Prius and that it will file the recall with agencies in the US and Japan shortly.

The Nikkei said that about 270,000 cars would be affected. Toyota currently faces new complaints that the Prius gets from momentary lapses of braking capability, especially on slippery or bumpy surfaces.

Toyota has announced that it will conduct a software fix to resolve the complaints on slipping brakes. However, Toyota had failed to notify consumers at the time of the change. It remains unclear how Toyota will handle the thousands of Prius vehicles sold before the fix.

The complaints come from owners of the third-generation Prius, which went on sale in the US, Japan and Europe last year. Dozens of complaints have been received by transportation agencies in the US and Japan about the car’s brakes giving way under certain conditions.

Meanwhile, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a formal investigation due to the 124 consumer complaints it had received. Included in this figure are four reports of crashes and two of minor injuries.

[Via: Autonews]