The move comes in the aftermath of Toyota recently recalling eight million cars around the world because of sticky accelerator pedals.
The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported an anti-lock braking system designed to prevent skidding is problematic and is expected to affect 270,000 vehicles in Japan and the United States. The Nikkei business daily said Toyota would also repair about 30,000 vehicles sold in Europe, China, Australia, Middle East and other areas.
According to sources not named by Japanese newspapers, “The company will repair the software free of charge in the United States and other countries in a similar manner.”
Toyota‘s formal announcement is expected within days.
Toyota had originally considered a voluntary repair for the problem, which the company said is not a fundamental defect, but decided on a recall to try to regain customer trust, Yomiuri and Kyodo News reported.
According to an Agence France Presse (AFP), the Prius brake problems can be fixed at Toyota dealerships in less than an hour
Toyota, which in 2008 dethroned General Motors as the world’s biggest car maker, produced 530,000 hybrids in 2009, spanning 15 models from sport utility vehicles to sedans, mini-vans and the luxury Lexus series.
James Raia
A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004. In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida. An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.