Toyota's president apologized to customers Friday for the worldwide recalls amid reports suggesting the troubled automaker is preparing a Prius recall involving some 270,000 hybrid vehicles after receiving complaints about the anti-lock braking system.
Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota’s founder, broke his silence at a news conference in Nagoya, Japan. Toyoda has been relatively quiet since his company launched a massive recall last month involving 4.5 million vehicles, due to faulty gas pedals.
The company has since resumed sales and deliveries of the eight models of vehicle affected by the massive international recall.
Company executives didn’t announce an additional recall Friday, but said this week they’re considering one.
The beleaguered automaker is trying to figure out just how it’s going to proceed after receiving nearly 200 complaints about brake problems in its prized Prius. Some customers claim they experienced a lag time after pressing the brake while driving over a slippery or bumpy surface.
Toyota has said that problem is due to a software programming glitch as the vehicle switches from the hydraulic brakes and the electronically-operated braking system. The delay lasts less than a second and the brakes will kick in if the driver keeps pushing down on the pedal, the company said.
The automaker has already solved the problem in vehicles sold since January and has downplayed that fix by characterizing it as part of a routine improvement program.
Japan’s top business newspaper, Nihon Keizai, reported Friday that the company is preparing for the recall. Japan’s public broadcaster NHK also reported the future recall.
There's no word yet if the expected recall will include vehicles sold in Canada.
On Thursday Toyota announced it's investigating a similar problem in its luxury Lexus hybrids. The same braking system is used in both hybrid models. The company has not logged any complaints about the Lexus, so far.
While the Prius isn’t Toyota’s top-seller, it’s a prized model in the company. It’s also the world’s top-selling hybrid.