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The Toyota Motor Corp. has another reports of brake problems. This time its with the popular Prius hybrid gas-electric car.
The Japanese automaker has been dealing with massive recalls and plant shutdown related to a sticky accelerator in a number of its models.
Executives this week announced a strategy to fix the problem which has sent the world’s largest automaker’s sales into a slump.
But Wednesday’s news opens up a new set of troubles for the company. The Prius is not yet part of the recalls that extend to Europe and China and cover 4.5 million vehicles.
“The company is saying as of the end of last year they have received dozens of complaints about the braking system, but a report out of Japan, this is the Kyodo News Service, is saying the reports are more like in the hundreds,” BNN’s Mark Bunting told CTV’s Canada AM.
“What the report suggests is that sometimes the braking system in the Prius can stop working on bumpy and slippery roads.”
The Prius went on sale in Japan and the U.S. in May 2009.
In the U.S., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received more than 100 complaints about the brakes in the latest Prius model. Two of those complaints involved crashes that resulted in injuries.
The Japanese transport ministry has ordered Toyota to investigate the problems.
The Prius has also taken some strong criticism from Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple. Wozniak, who owns four Prius hybrids, including a 2010 model, said he has had problems with the accelerator sticking while on cruise control.
He called the problem “very scary” on Monday while addressing a tech conference in California. He went off-topic to tell the audience he had raised the issue with both Toyota and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, but had received no response.
Wozniak blamed the problem on faulty software.