Toyota Recalls 437,000 Hybrids Globally

Toyota has announced a worldwide recall of 437,000 hybrids, including the popular 2010 Toyota Prius over brake issues. The company announced that the fix will come via a software "patch" for the antilock braking system.

The Prius is somewhat similar to military jets that "fly by wire," in that many functions are done by electronic control. All software is buggy, and it's not unusual, in fact, for the center screen that shows all the visual feedback for the car, nicknamed the "video game," to freeze up, and recover when "rebooted" (i.e., when the car is turned off and restarted).

There have been about 200 complaints on 2010 Priuses in Japan and the U.S. about a delay when the brakes were depressed in cold or bumpy roads. There is no brake failure, according to Toyota. The software upgrade will take about 40 minutes.

In addition to the 2010 Prius, Toyota is also recalling two other hybrid models in Japan, the Lexus HS250h sedan, sold in the U.S. and Japan, and the Sai, which is sold only in Japan. Toyota officials went to Japan's Transport Ministry early Tuesday to formally notify officials of the recall.

In Japan, 223,000 cars are being recalled. They include nearly 200,000 Priuses sold from April of 2009 through Monday. The Prius is Japan's top-selling care model.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., Toyota will recall 133,000 Priuses and 14,500 Lexus HS250h vehicles. Approximately 53,000 Priuses are being recalled in Europe. Finally, Toyota will suspend production of the Sai and Lexus HS250h in Japan until updated software for those models is available.

Toyota said, in a statement, that if drivers experience a delay when using the brakes in any of these models, they should continue to press.

In additional, and worse, news, insurer State Farm said it alerted federal regulators in late 2007 about a rise in reports of unexpected acceleration in Toyota vehicles. State Farm is the largest auto insurer in the U.S.

Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com