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Toyota to recall 300,000 Priuses worldwide

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-02-09 02:30

The reports follow others in Japanese media recently that the world's largest automaker has decided to announce a recall early this week as a way of regaining damaged consumer trust. Toyota has already recalled more than 7 million other cars for repairs in the US and other countries over a sticky accelerator and floor mats that can get caught in the gas pedal.

The company has consistently only said it will soon announce plans to deal with the braking problem in the Prius.

At least 100 drivers of Prius cars in the US have complained to Washington that their antilock brakes seemed to fail momentarily while driving on bumpy roads. The Japanese government has also received dozens of complaints. The US says the problem is suspected in four crashes that caused two minor injuries.

Toyota says a software glitch is behind the problem. The company says it has already fixed vehicles that went on sale since last month. It has also said that the brakes will work if the driver keeps pushing the pedal.

The Prius is the world's top-selling gas-electric hybrid and its fuel efficiency has drawn intense interest amid concerns about global warming and dependence on fossil fuels.

Toyota has sold a little more than 300,000 of the vehicles in about 60 countries since May, according to the company, and any recall was likely to eventually affect most of those cars.

Kyodo also reported that recalls and other measures in other countries will follow those in Japan and the US.

Toyota sales expert Yoshimi Inaba will appear before the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Wednesday along with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Administrator David Strickland. The name of the hearing: "Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public at Risk?"

Inaba was hand-picked from semiretirement by Toyota President Akio Toyoda last year to head the North American operations and help steer Toyota through the company's biggest earnings slump in its 72-year history as global auto sales dived.

General Motors Co said Monday it will start shipping parts to dealers this week to fix about 99,000 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibes equipped with the same sticky gas pedal systems as Toyota's. The Vibe is essentially the same car as a Toyota Matrix, built by a joint venture between the two automakers. The Vibe also is covered by the floor mat recall, and GM is urging customers to take out removable mats and put them in the trunk until a fix is ready.

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