Another possible recall is in the works for Toyota involving the Toyota Prius. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced Thursday that it will investigate whether the Prius' brakes stop working after the car hits a bump. A formal recall for the Prius has not been announced.
Japan's Transportation Ministry asked Toyota Wednesday to investigate 14 complaints of brake and gas pedal problems. The Prius was the number one selling car in Japan in 2009.
NHTSA has received 124 consumer complaints (up from 100 complaints yesterday) about Prius brakes, four of which included crashes that allegedly occurred.
"Safety is our top priority," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "That is why in recent weeks NHTSA has also issued a consumer advisory on the recall of several models of Toyota vehicles and the Pontiac Vibe involving pedal entrapment and sticky accelerator pedals. We will continue to monitor these issues closely."
The Prius is not part of the current recall of eight Toyota vehicles that are currently being repairing at dealerships around the country.
Tuesday, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak appeared on CNN to complain about his Prius and the acceleration problem. He said that he had attempted to contact Toyota directly several times without any response, so he decided it was time to tell his story to the media. He said that his Prius has accelerated on its own as though it is on a progressive speed control, and has accelerated up to 97 miles per hour by itself. He quickly learned that he needed to press the break to get it to stop. After his interview on Tuesday with CNN, Toyota has asked to borrow Wozniak’s car for a week to test it out.
Toyota announced this morning that the dealerships are ready to begin fixing the recalled vehicles, for more information on that story, click here.
The problems with Toyota and the recalls over the past few months creates an opportunity for other dealerships. "Every dog has his day," said Jerry Seiner who owns several General Motors dealerships in Salt Lake City. "Maybe they'll take a second look at us instead of Toyota...when Toyota stumbles it's our opportunity."
Toyota had a 47% drop in sales from December after the recalls were announced. For more on that story, click here.
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Sources: NHTSA and USAToday
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Comments
This is bad news for Toyota. Recalling the 2010 Prius for brake glitches will tarnish the reputation of the maker and the model. Hybrids and electric cars are the greenest technology in the mainstream and it would be a shame to see their production and popularity stalled over safety issues.
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