Toyota Motor Corp. is set to file recalls over brake problems with its latest Prius hybrid in the United States and Japan, in a move that will affect more than 270,000 vehicles, people familiar with the matter said Monday, Kyodo News reported.
The Japanese automaker reported the recall to Japan’s Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry early today and was expected to promptly file similar proceedings in the U.S., the sources said.
Toyota is also considering recalls of other hybrid models, such as the luxury Lexus HS250h sedan and the hybrid-only Sai compact sedan, which have a brake system similar to that of the Prius gas-electric hybrid, the sources said.
The world’s biggest automaker has apparently decided it needs to act promptly to address growing complaints over its best-selling hybrid model with criticism already mounting about its response to a recent spate of quality issues, including a massive global recall over faulty gas pedals in some of its other vehicles.
The planned recalls would affect about 100,000 units in the U.S. and around 170,000 units in Japan. The model was released last May in Japan and in June in the U.S.
The automaker has sold more than 300,000 units of the Prius in about 60 countries and regions, and plans to gradually implement recalls outside of Japan and the U.S. as well.
Once the recalls are official, Prius owners will be able to take their vehicles to nearby dealers, where the problems will be fixed by improving the software for the anti-lock brake system. The procedure itself is expected to take from less than half an hour up to around two hours.
The software for the repair has already arrived at some Toyota dealers in Japan.
“We are prepared to open on our regular holidays to respond (to our customers),” a manager of a dealership in Fukushima Prefecture said.
Regarding the other hybrid models, Toyota has sold about 18,000 units of the Lexus HS250h worldwide and about 7,000 units of the Sai in Japan.
The plug-in Prius hybrid, which was leased to government and corporate clients on a limited basis starting late last year, is also expected to be subject to the recall, the sources said.
