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| By Manager Online | 7 February 2010 10:45 |
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February 7, 2010
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's crisis-hit Toyota Motor is set to announce a recall of the latest model of its top-selling Prius hybrid in Japan and the United States due to brake design flaws, a report said Sunday.
"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 Yomiuri Shimbun daily said without naming its sources.
The report also said the company would make an official announcement of the recall early this week.
The recall, which would 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.
Toyota has sold more than 300,000 of the latest Prius in 60 countries and territories since the new model rolled out in May last year.
Toyota, already reeling from massive worldwide recalls due to sticky accelerator pedals, has come under fresh fire after it said it had fixed the Prius brake system in January without warning drivers who already own the model about the possibility of brake failure.
The Japanese transport ministry has reportedly received about 80 complaints this month about malfunctions in the brake system, while Toyota has separately received more than 100 complaints since the crisis broke.
Five cases reported to the government relate to crashes in which, according to the drivers, the brakes malfunctioned, local media said.
The company was not immediately available to confirm the reports.
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