Projo Cars Blog

TOKYO -- Toyota said Tuesday that it would recall 437,000 of its 2010 Priuses and other hybrid models worldwide because of a glitch in the braking system, as the Japanese automaker moves to contain a crisis over problems with a range of its products, according to The New York Times.

In addition to the standard 2010 Priuses, Toyota is recalling 270 plug-in Priuses, 28,000 Lexus HS250hs, and 11,000 Sai hybrids. Older Priuses are unaffected by the problem, Toyota has said.

Separately, Toyota also recalled 7,300 of its latest-model Camrys in the United States to fix a power steering pressure hose in the engine compartment that may be the incorrect length. This could cause a hole in the brake tube and deplete the braking fluid, interfering with braking, Toyota said in a statement.

TOKYO -- Toyota said Sunday that it will soon announce plans to deal with braking problems in its prized Prius hybrid amid reports it has decided to issue a recall for the vehicle in Japan, a possible new embarrassment for the world's biggest automaker, according to The Associated Press.

Toyota Motor Corp. has already had to recall more than 7 million other cars in the United States, Europe and China over a sticky accelerator and floor mats that can get caught in the gas pedal. Those problems and criticism of Toyota's response to them have sullied the stellar reputation for quality long enjoyed by one of Japan's corporate icons.

Separately, the company has told dealers in the United States it is preparing to repair the brakes on thousands of Prius vehicles there, according to an e-mail sent by a company executive. It was unclear whether Toyota planned a formal U.S. recall.

TOKYO -- Toyota's president apologized Friday for the massive global recalls over sticking gas pedals as the automaker scrambles to repair a damaged reputation and sliding sales, according to The Associated Press.

But Akio Toyoda, appointed to the top job at Toyota Motor Corp. last June, said the company is still deciding what steps to take to fix brake problems in the popular Prius gas-electric hybrid.

Speaking at a hastily announced news conference that lasted an hour, a stern-looking Toyoda promised to beef up quality control.

"We are facing a crisis," he said, publicly confronting the automaker's safety problems for the first time since a global recall affecting 4.5 million vehicles was announced Jan. 21.

He bowed in customary Japanese-style greeting at the start of the televised news conference at Toyota's Nagoya headquarters but did not bow deeply when offering an apology as some executives, including his predecessor Katsuaki Watanabe, have done when under fire.

Toyoda, 53, said the company is setting up a special committee he would head himself.

Toyota is scrambling to fix 4.2 million vehicles recalled worldwide for unintended acceleration and potentially 5 million more for a design flaw that trapped gas pedals under the floor mat. It is also mulling the recall of its 2010 Prius for brake problems.

What lessons should Toyota have learned from the recall fiascoes of American carmakers in decades past? How damaging is this to Toyota's image -- and what will it take to recover?

Check out the observations of five auto experts that were printed in today's New York Times:

Maryann Keller, financial analyst
Jamie Kitman, Automobile Magazine
Michael Smitka, professor of economics
Peter M. De Lorenzo, publisher of AutoExtremist.com
Sean P. McAlinden, Center for Automotive Research

Safety regulators in Washington said Thursday that they would open an investigation into the brakes on the 2010 Prius, which had been spared from the recall lists, according to The New York Times.

The announcement was made hours after Toyota acknowledged that it had identified a flaw in the car's antilock braking system and corrected it for Priuses built since late January. The car was redesigned for the 2010 model year.

Here are some answers from The New York Times to questions about the recent problems at Toyota:

SAN FRANCISCO -- Here in the country's environmental hotbed, where plastic bags are banned, composting is mandatory, and even some Yellow Cabs run green, Thursday will dawn with at least eight fewer Toyota Priuses -- the eco-friendly status symbol of the hybrid set -- on the roads, according to The New York Times.

City CarShare, a local nonprofit, removed the brand-new vehicles from its fleet after reports on Wednesday from Japan that their brakes might be faulty. "We will await directions from Toyota on next steps," City CarShare said in a statement.

It may be an abundance of caution or a bad case of nerves, but the suggestion that even the Prius -- one of Toyota's most popular models -- might become a new chapter in the company's safety troubles had some of the most devout Toyota loyalists shaking their heads in confusion and disbelief.

While Toyota has not ordered a recall of the Prius, the questions about its brakes followed hard on the heels of last month's recall of millions of Toyota vehicles for malfunctioning gas pedals.