Toyota may recall 270,000 Prius models in U.S., Japan

Toyota Motor Corp. is set to recall 270,000 of its hybrid Prius models in the U.S. and Japan, according to a top Japanese business newspaper.

If the report by Nihon Keizai is confirmed, it would be the latest in a growing list of recent recalls from the world's largest automaker, which has been weighed down by safety issues lately.

However, Takayuki Fujimoto, a transport ministry official, said he has yet to hear of any recall plans. Toyota also denied Thursday that a recall was on the way.

Further complicating matters, the Lexus HS250h could also have similar problems because it uses the same braking system as the Prius.

But Toyota stressed that no complaints about the HS250h had yet been reported.

Japanese authorities have already ordered Toyota to investigate complaints about sluggish brakes on some models of the Prius, which went on sale in Japan and the United States in May, 2009.

Meanwhile the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal Transportation Department's safety agency, said Thursday it was launching an investigation into brake problems in the Prius based on 124 reports from consumers complaints, including four reports of crashes.

The investigation will look into allegations of momentary loss of braking capability while travelling over uneven road surfaces, potholes or bumps.

While preliminary, the probe represents another setback for Toyota, which has been battered by two major recalls in international markets affecting millions of vehicles. Those involve gas pedals that can become stuck at full throttle. The safety probes have challenged Toyota's long-standing reputation for building safe, quality vehicles.

The Canadian government is concerned by the problems surrounding Toyota and is monitoring the situation closely, Industry Minister Tony Clement told reporters Thursday.

"Obviously we've been concerned about that situation ... Transport Canada has been monitoring the situation closely and they have been engaged in discussions with Toyota, Toyota Canada in particular," Clement said.

He gave no further details.

The Prius was not part of the recall spanning the U.S., Canada, Europe and China over sticking gas pedals in eight top-selling models, including the Camry. That recall involved 2.3 million cars in the U.S. alone, with 270,000 vehicles affected in Canada.

The Japanese auto giant says it has no plans to suspend sales of its popular Prius hybrid while it makes adjustments to the vehicle's brake system to address complaints about insufficient braking.

The U.S. safety agency has talked to consumers and conducted pre-investigatory field work evaluating about 37,000 vehicles in the United States.

"Safety is our top priority," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. NHTSA said LaHood spoke with Toyota president Akio Toyoda late Wednesday and was assured by the executive that Toyota was taking the safety concerns seriously.

Toyota has already announced a strategy to fix the accelerator problem which has sent the world's largest automaker's sales into a slump and its stock prices plunging.

Company officials said in a statement it would fully co-operate with the U.S. investigation.

Breaking lag

Paul Nolasco, a company spokesman in Japan, said the time lag for brakes kicking in felt by drivers resulted from the two systems in a gas-electric hybrid -- the gas-engine and the electric motor.

When the car moves on a bumpy or slippery surface, a driver can feel a pause in the braking when the vehicle switches between the traditional hydraulic brakes and the electronically operated braking system, he said. The brakes work if the driver keeps pushing the pedal, he said.

Toyota's mounting problems mark a major setback for its efforts to contain damage to its reputation. Earlier this week, the company launched a public-relations campaign to assure customers that it is taking the steps needed to fix the problems.

NHTSA said it opens 100 investigations every year and there are currently 40 open defect investigations, three of which involve Toyota. NHTSA said its defect and compliance investigations have resulted in 524 recalls involving 23.5 million vehicles during the past three years.

Toyota senior managing director Takahiko Ijichi defended the automaker's quality standards.

"We have not sacrificed the quality for the sake of saving costs," he said. "Quality is our lifeline. We want our customers to feel safe and regain their trust as soon as possible."

Toyota is expecting to lose 100,000 in vehicle sales because of the recall fallout -- 80,000 of them in North America – and about $2 billion in lost sales and repair costs.

Shares of Toyota traded in the U.S. fell $2.09, or nearly three per cent, to $71.40 in late morning trade Thursday. Since Jan. 21, when the U.S. recalls were announced, the stock has lost about 22 per cent.

With files from The Associated Press