Toyota Reeling Again From 2010 Prius Braking Concerns

On the heels of their Unexpected Acceleration Remembers, Toyota is now below strain for braking issues on the Prius, Toyota’s well-known hybrid. According to Ray LaHood, Transportation Secretary, Transportation officers will start off an inquiry following reviews had been been given that the Japanese government has initiated an investigation in brake malfunction complaints, in accordance to the Japan Automobile Sellers Affiliation.

A Toyota spokesman in Japan indicated that the braking complaints obtained have been involving cases the place the drivers were being on a bumpy street or frozen surface area. According to one complainant on report at the National Highway Targeted traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “My 2010 Toyota Prius has a really serious braking problem, the auto lunges ahead following (I) use my brakes about a bumpy surface. This is pretty unforeseen and the good news is no one particular was in front of me normally I would have strike them. This currently occurred quite a few moments, took my motor vehicle to the dealer and no option, I don’t know what to do with a brand new (motor vehicle) like this.” There are lots of complaints with similar descriptions all-around braking/acceleration difficulties when encountering even insignificant bumps and potholes with the 2010 Prius.

Brakes in the Prius and other hybrids work in another way from people in conventional cars. Hybrids use an engagement process amongst their braking system and electric powered motors to make energy for recharging the batteries alongside with standard brakes. The braking difficulties could lie inside of this engagement program.

This most current difficulty with the Prius is on best of Toyota’s recall of 3.8 million cars and trucks in November 2009 to take care of accelerator pedals and computer software to handle what has been reported as sudden acceleration difficulties. Toyota dealers ended up earning modifications to the fuel pedals by removing inches from the bottom so the gas pedals would not get trapped under the ground mats. Toyota then followed up that remember with an additional recall for unexpected acceleration on January 21, 2010. On that working day Toyota Motor Sales introduced a recall of 2.3 million automobiles which bundled:

* 2005-2010 Avalon
* 2007-2010 Camry
* 2009-2010 Corolla
* 2010 Highlander
* 2009-2010 Matrix
* 2009-2010 RAV4
* 2008-2010 Sequoia
* 2007-2010 Tundra

In accordance to a Usa posting titled “100 Toyota drivers submitted complaints before recall”, “she would become one particular of far more than 100 drivers, in accordance to a United states of america Nowadays look for of the Nationwide Freeway Website traffic Protection Administration problems database, who about the earlier several several years have had their Toyota motor vehicles acquire off when they were not expected to.”

Seemingly Toyota was not as intense at working with the concern as they have let on. In accordance to LaHood, “The recollects involving pedal entrapment and attainable sticky gas pedals on Toyota cars are some of the most significant in automobile history. Every single move of the way, NHTSA… officers pushed Toyota to acquire corrective motion so that buyers would be safe and sound.”…”Now, Toyota is seemingly getting the proper techniques to tackle these basic safety issues. Sad to say it took significantly work to get to this point.”

For the duration of a Congressional hearing on Weds, February 3rd, the Transportation Secretary explained that owners of recalled Toyotas really should stop driving them until finally they are repaired. He was quoted as saying, “… stop driving it, get it to a Toyota dealer mainly because they imagine they have a take care of for it.”

Toyota has said that they have a remedy to deploy for the accelerator difficulty, but there has not been any formal Toyota release regarding the 2010 Prius braking problem. Toyota’s U.S. profits have plunged 16% in January as an evident reaction to the sudden acceleration remember, even as income of other automakers rose. What the influence of this Prius difficulty will be, no a single is aware of. It is clear that Toyota’s impression has suffered severe problems and we are going to have to wait around and see how very long it will just take for it to get better.

To read through an in-depth write-up on this problem from a 3rd social gathering go to Customer Experiences write-up on the Toyota recall.