Another red light for Toyota

8 Feb 2010, 12:30 pm   -   Source: AFP and agencies
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Toyota may be forced to recall 300,000 Prius cars in Japan and the US because of brake flaws, in the latest blow to the Japanese car giant reeling from safety concerns.

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Toyota may be forced to recall 300,000 Prius cars in Japan and the US because of brake flaws, Jpaanese media reported, in the latest blow to the Japanese car giant reeling from safety concerns.

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 program for the anti-lock braking system designed to prevent skidding, is expected to affect about 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.

Worldwide recall

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 more than 300,000 of the latest Prius in 60 countries and territories since the new model rolled out in May.

"It's a very huge number (of recalls) and it's a very real problem for them, which means they are going to lose market share... especially in the US, but also in Europe," said Frank Schwope, an auto analyst at German bank NordLB.

"The other mass producers will profit from it, for example VW, for example Nissan or Honda...but also Ford and also GM will profit from it," he said.

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 made 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.

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 four-wheel drives to sedans, mini-vans and the luxury Lexus series.

Toyota 'deeply sorry'

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, which suspended output of eight models including the Corolla due to the defective accelerator pedals, will restart operations at five factories in North America on Monday, Japan's Jiji Press reported.

The accelerator problems have been blamed for several accidents, including one in California in August in which four family members were killed.

Company president Akio Toyoda said on Friday he was "deeply sorry" for the string of quality issues and would head a new task
force to raise standards and investigate the cause of the problems.

Toyota is facing a $2.31 billion bill from the global recall but last week said it was on course to earn $1.02 billion in the fiscal year to March.

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