Toyota recalls 430,000 Prius cars over brakes

TOYOTA CONFIRMED yesterday that it was recalling almost half a million Prius petrol-electric hybrid cars. The worldwide recall concerns a potential braking problem with the car.

Toyota claims the problem is related to a software issue with the anti-lock brakes on 430,000 of its third generation of Prius cars, launched last May. It results in a slight delay in braking, particularly over bumpy roads. An estimated 58 new Prius models in Ireland are affected.

Toyota said last week that it was already contacting these owners to check if they were experiencing any braking problems with their cars. It will now be recalling all the cars. Customers will receive letters from Toyota Ireland in the coming week. The software update for the Prius brakes was due to arrive at dealers last night.

It is the latest safety-related recall for the world’s largest car maker and follows a recall of nearly eight million cars in recent weeks over potential problems with accelerator pedals and slipping floormats that have been blamed for incidents of unintended acceleration in several of the brand’s major models.

The impact of the Prius recall is limited to the third generation of the car, but it is a significant blow as the model has become an icon of the Japanese firm’s engineering prowess. It has flown the flag for petrol-electric hybrids and benefited from its very positive image among environmentally conscious motorists in the US.

In a statement issued yesterday, Toyota Ireland said: “[The recall] will entail a change to the ABS management program of the vehicle’s electronic control unit (ECU) in order to improve response time and the system’s overall sensitivity to tyre slippage.

“The specific software change has been communicated by Toyota Europe and the procedure will take approximately 40 minutes.”

Meanwhile Toyota Ireland has confirmed that owners of the 18,130 cars being recalled here over potential problems with the accelerator pedals can expect to receive letters from the company in the coming days. The recall will involve owners visiting their local dealers where a small metal plate will be fitted to the accelerator pedals to prevent them from sticking. The parts are due to arrive in Ireland tomorrow and work will begin on fitting them to cars next week.

Owners can check if their car is part of the recall by entering their registration details in a special recall section on Toyota’s website. They can also contact a dedicated helpline for the recalls at 01-4190222.

Toyota has also admitted that the recall section of its Irish website was hacked on Sunday, with visitors being redirected to a page that then referred them to check out the website for Renault. A spokesman said the problem lasted for about an hour before the Toyota site was restored.