Toyota Not Confirming or Denying Prius Recall
Toyota Motor Co. may be bracing for yet another vehicle defect recall, this time involving 270,000 of its 2010 Prius hybrid models. According to a UPI news report, Japanese newspaper, Nikkei, reported that Toyota had in fact issued a recall for 270,000 cars. But Toyota officials, who held a news conference on February 4, 2010, said they have not yet issued the recall and are "studying the issue." During the press conference, Toyota's CEO, Akio Toyoda, apologized to consumers all over the world for a series of recalls that have inconvenienced and caused serious concern to Toyota customers. So far, Toyota has recalled more than 9 million vehicles because of problems that can cause sudden acceleration.
Prius Has Braking Problems
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an inquiry over complaints of a braking issue with the 2010 model year Prius. So far, the federal agency's Office of Defects Investigation has received 124 reports from Prius owners regarding this auto product defect. Almost all the complaints involve a momentary loss of braking capability while traveling over an uneven road surface, pothole or bump. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said earlier this week that the NHTSA had to push Toyota quite a bit to issue these recalls and he hopes that Toyota will at least now, take these safety issues seriously.
The Need for Prompt Action
Last month, Toyota suspended manufacturing and sales of eight of its vehicle models including the top-selling Camry and Corolla. Now, the company says they have a fix for the defective gas pedals that is causing unintended acceleration. The fix has been approved by NHTSA, but it could take the company several months or even years to get all of the 9 million recalled vehicles fixed.
The noise about the Prius' braking issues has been getting louder and louder over the last several days. It's time that Toyota learned its lesson and issued a prompt recall for the defective Prius vehicles. And this needs to happen before anyone suffers serious personal injuries as a result of this vehicle defect.
