標題: [新聞] Toyota confirms Prius had brake design problems [打印本頁] 作者: carwing 時間: 2010-2-5 01:21 AM 標題: Toyota confirms Prius had brake design problems
The news just keeps getting worse and worse for Toyota.
Now, the storied Japanese automaker has had to admit there have beenproblems with the anti-lock braking system on the celebrated ToyotaPrius hybrid model.
The company has received about 180 complaints from Prius owners inboth the U.S. and Japan about unresponsive brakes. The flaw is due tothe dual nature of the gasoline-electric hybrid Prius - the brakes maybecome momentarily ineffective as the vehicle switches between thehydraulic brakes and the electronically controlled braking system. Thebrake system flaw requires a software reprogramming to fix.
Toyota has said it has fixed the problem in its Prius production buthas not yet decided whether to issue a recall for Prius models whichwere delivered to customers before the fix in late January. The brakeproblem in the Prius dates back to 2007.
Toyota has recently had to recall about 4.5 million vehiclesworldwide due to a gas-pedal flaw which can cause the accelerator tostick. The company estimates the cost of the recall to be about $2billion, including a loss of sales. Toyota's stock value has fallenabout 22 percent since the recall was announced on the 21st of January.