Recalls at Toyota continue with Prius by Zuzana Zelenakova

Toyota´s reputation is severely threatened as the company announced problems with the brake system in its new Prius. According to the spokesman of Toyota it has been fixed but only in models sold since late January. The company will be pulling more than 400,000 of its hybrid vehicles from around the world. This is not the first quality trouble for Toyota. In late January it was forced to announce recalls of about 2.3 million vehicles due to accelerator pedal problem. Toyota the further widened the recall to include also 1.8 million vehicles in Europe and about seventy thousand in China. The sales of vehicles with this problem were suspended until the company finds the! appropriate solution. The official statement said about the problem: "The condition is rare and does not occur suddenly. It can occur when the pedal mechanism becomes worn and, in certain conditions, the accelerator pedal may become harder to depress, slower to return or, in the worst case, stuck in a partially depressed position." Even before that, at the end of 2009, the company voluntarily recalled 3.8 million vehicles due to possible pedal entrapment by incorrect or out-of-place floor mat. When it comes to the latest problem with Prius, the Japanese company´s sales were battered mainly in the United States of America, which represent Toyota´s biggest market. About 100 complaints about Prius brakes were received in the US, 14 in Japan including an accident where Prius crashed into another car at an intersection leaving two people injured. "The Prius driver in the accident told police that a brake did not work," said Transport ministry official Masaya Ota. "Oth! er Prius drivers also complained brakes were not so sharp." To! yota Pri us is the most popular gas-electric hybrid in the world. Current model represents the third generation of the vehicle since 1997 when it was introduced to the market.

related story (sgx16405): http://www.france24.com/en/20100209-toyota-recall-prius-adve...

by Zuzana Zelenakova for SigEx Ventures (http://sigexventures.com)

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