Japan Tells Toyota to Test Prius Brakes for Defect

Japan Tells Toyota to Test Prius Brakes for Defect
By HIROKO TABUCHI
COPYRIGHT BY THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: February 3, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/business/global/04prius.html?hpw


NAGOYA, Japan — The Japanese government said Wednesday that it had ordered Toyota to investigate a possible defect in its newest Prius hybrid model after receiving 14 reports of brake trouble, another blow for an automaker already embroiled in its biggest-ever recall.

The drivers have complained that the brakes on their Priuses have momentarily stopped working when driving at low speeds, especially on slippery surfaces, said Kenji Sato, a transport ministry official in charge of recall policy.

In one incident in July 2009 in Japan, a Prius collided with another vehicle at an intersection, hurting two people. Ten of the 14 complaints in Japan about the new Prius, which went on sale here last May, came in January.

In the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has logged at least 136 complaints about the brakes on the 2010 Prius. Many are from drivers who say the vehicle surged forward or temporarily lost braking after driving over a pothole or other uneven surface, and many say it is a recurring problem.

Four cases involved a crash, and two of those resulted in injuries, according to the safety agency’s complaint database.

In comments Wednesday morning with reporters, the secretary of transportation, Ray LaHood, said the agency would “look at these complaints involving brakes and make sure they’re paying attention to it.”

A Toyota spokesman, Takanori Yokoi, said that dealers in North America and Japan have received reports from customers who said their Priuses had “braked insufficiently” on bumpy or frozen roads.

All Priuses, starting with the first generation model that went on sale in 1997, are fitted with complex regenerative brakes that recharge the car’s batteries with energy from the wheels. The technology can significantly increase the fuel economy of electric cars and hybrids, particularly in stop-and-go city traffic when braking is frequent. Problems with the technology from the world’s hybrid leader could therefore be a significant setback.

Ririko Takeuchi, a spokeswoman for Toyota, said it was unclear whether there was a defect with the regenerative brakes, although Toyota could not rule such a problem out.

The newest model Prius was fitted with an overhauled regenerative brake system different from the ones used in previous models, Ms. Takeuchi said. Toyota was not aware of any problem with the older versions.

Toyota is still investigating and is not in a position to release more details, including whether a recall will be necessary, Ms. Takeuchi said. Toyota shares dropped 5.7 percent in Tokyo on Wednesday.

The Prius was the best-selling car in Japan last year, and its popularity had been a bright spot in an auto industry still reeling from the fallout of the global economic crisis.

The reports of problems with the Prius brakes follows a widening recall involving 4.5 million cars by Toyota, the world’s No. 1 automaker, over gas pedals that could become stuck while driving. The Prius is not part of that recall.

Toyota announced in December that it planned a widespread release of a plug-in hybrid Prius.

“Several tens of thousands” of the plug-in version of its Prius hybrid would go on sale in 2012, with some reaching the market in 2011, the automaker said. It is also starting to lease a small number of the plug-in models to government and corporate clients in Europe, Japan and the United States.

Keith Bradsher contributed reporting from Hong Kong and Nick Bunkley from Detroit.