The latest potential trouble for Toyota comes from reports that its Prius model may have braking issues.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received approximately 100 complaints about the current Prius model's brakes. Of those complaints involving the Prius' brakes, two involved crashes.
Japan's transport ministry says that it has received 14 complaints about the third generation Prius' brakes including a head-on accident where the driver of the Prius complained to the police that his car's brakes did not work.
For its part, Toyota says that it has received reports about the incidents and is looking into the matter.
Toyota isn't discussing braking, it is talking a lot about accelerating. Toyota has maintained that each case of unintended acceleration can be explained by mechanical failures: Either entrapment of the accelerator pedal by a floor mat or a sticking throttle mechanism. What the company has been loathe to do is publicly admit to the possibility that a software glitch may be causing some of these cases, something that some industry insiders consider to be a possibility.
While reports of Prius cars that have experienced braking problems may be limited in nature and yet to be substantiated, the current reality is that both consumers and journalists are hyper sensitive to any potential issues involving Toyota vehicles. This symbiotic relationship between consumers and media has brewed a veritable cauldron of bad publicity for the Japanese company.
Toyota executives have taken to the airwaves to plead their case and the company is now sending frequent updates to consumers and journalists, but the train has already left the station. One might even say that the bad publicity train is accelerating uncontrollably such that it might prove impossible to put on the brakes.
Written by Michael Sheena
Huliq.com
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