Prius Global Recall
It has been a rough year for Toyota and it is only getting worse with the news of a Toyota Prius global recall. Let’s take a look at what is happening with the Prius.
Given the media coverage and circus in Congress, you’re probably already aware that Toyota has revealed it has a host of problems with its cars. The problems started with other Toyota models that seemed to have acceleration problems similar to those suffered by Audi in the 1980s. The cars simply took off and ran.
In reaction, Toyota recalled most of these vehicles. It asserted that there was a problem with the pedals in the car and offered free fixes. Some critics have suggested the problem was not in the pedals, but in the software or ignition used in the vehicles. Importantly, this problem did not surface in the Prius…at least at that time. More on this in a minute.
The Prius global recall is all about a braking issue. The problem has been that Prius owners have been reporting an “empty” feeling when pressing the brakes before the mechanism reacts. The company seems to believe the issue is a software problem, one that might extend to a Lexus model as well. The fix will obviously be to fix that software glitch. This was a February problem.
Recently, in March 2010, there have been reports by Prius owners of uncontrolled acceleration problems mirroring those with other Toyota models. On March 9, a driver in San Diego pressed the accelerator to pass a car and had the car just continue to accelerate up to 94 miles per hour. Police were able to eventually get the car slowed down to 50 and then cut the engines. Toyota has sent out an investigator to look at the car, but has not issued a recall on this point.
Toyota has long been associated with quality when it comes to vehicles. The Prius global recall is just another nail in the coffin of that reputation these days.