Toyota Motor Sales has announced a “voluntary safety recall” of about 87,000 2010 Toyota Prius and Lexus HS 250h vehicles as part of a global recall of 240,000 units built in 2009.
The involved have a brake pressure accumulator that may develop an internal fatigue crack due to vibration. Toyota’s US unit said it had no reports of any accidents or injuries associated with the problem but would recall and replace the brake booster pump assembly with an improved one if needed.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Parent Toyota Motor said the recall affected about 242,000 vehicles worldwide.
Toyota is recalling the third generation Prius produced between March and October 2009, and the HS 250h made between June and October 2009, spokeswoman Shino Yamada told Reuters in Japan.
The recalled vehicles could experience greater stopping distances when braking because of the potential brake part fault, Yamada said.
A fatigue crack could release nitrogen gas into the brake fluid, she said, adding that no accidents, injuries or deaths have been reported elsewhere as a result of the defect.
The recall affects 113,550 Prius vehicles in Japan and 81,570 Prius and 5,030 HS 250h in the US, Yamada said. There are also 4,947 cars in the UK.
A repair would take around three hours, the spokeswoman said.
Reuters noted Toyota in 2010 recalled 433,000 hybrid vehicles including the Prius and HS 250h because of a braking software glitch.
Toyota has sold around 5.1m hybrids, including 3.6m Prius, since launching the hybrid in 1997.
