Tokyo, Japan (FT) -- Toyota is to issue a formal recall in Japan of its latest-model Prius petrol-electric hybrid, and may do the same in the US and other markets, following complaints about problems with its brakes, people close to the situation said.
The decision, which could be announced as early as Monday, comes after recall of more than 8m other Toyota vehicles since November to fix faulty accelerators and floor mats.
Akio Toyoda, group president, on Friday apologised for the recalls and said that Toyota would decide "as soon as possible" how to fix a problem with the newest Prius involving software that controls the car's anti-lock braking system. The recall could be extended to other hybrid models.
US safety regulators have launched a probe into the brake problems on the third generation of the world's best-selling hybrid car. Toyota has sold about 300,000 of the vehicles worldwide since it started sales in Japan in May.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last week that it had received 124 complaints about the car, including four relating to crashes.
Japanese authorities have directed Toyota to begin an internal investigation after receiving 77 complaints up to the end of 2009. Drivers have complained of feeling a momentary loss of braking power when the car switches from "regenerative" braking - during which the forward momentum created by stopping recharges the battery - to standard hydraulic braking. The problem appears to occur when the ABS is engaged on bumpy, wet or icy roads.
Toyota engineers reprogrammed the ABS software to eliminate the problem last month and implemented the fix at factory level. A recall would apply to cars on the road that did not receive that upgrade.
The company has decided to offer software upgrades at no charge to customers in all markets who bought Priuses before last month, those close to the situation said, but executives are still debating how far to extend the formal recall.
Toyota says the problem is not a safety risk and has resisted labelling it a manufacturing fault, something it would be forced to do in the event of a recall. The company has also been weighing other options, including a customer satisfaction campaign that would fall short of a recall.
Toyota officials in Europe said they had not been informed of any decision on a recall, which would be taken by management in Japan. Limiting the recall to one region is seen as unlikely. One Toyota dealer in Tokyo said that the company had told him a recall would be issued, and to expect an announcement on Monday.
CNNMoney's Peter Valdes-Dapena and Kyung Lah contributed to this report.
© The Financial Times Limited 2009
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