The President of Toyota Taiwan said on Tuesday the company there will try to make repairs to fix brake problems within three days, following the corporation''s announcement it is recalling about 437-thousand Prius and other hybrid vehicles worldwide.
Following the announcement, Toyota''s Taiwan office said it will recall all 629 Prius cars on the island.
The recall is the latest blow to the automaker, which is in the midst of recalling more than 7 (m) million vehicles worldwide because of problems with floor mats, which can trap gas pedals, and faulty gas pedals that are slow to return to the idle position.
The 2010 Prius wasn''t part of those recalls.
There have been about 200 complaints in Japan and the US about a delay when the brakes in the Prius were pressed in cold conditions and on some bumpy roads.
The delay doesn''t indicate a brake failure.
The company says the problem can be fixed in 40 minutes with new software that oversees the controls of the antilock brakes.
"We plan to put all our efforts to accomplish repairs within three days," Daniel Chang, President of Toyota in Taiwan said at a news conference on Tuesday.
Toyota officials went to Japan''s Transport Ministry earlier on Tuesday to formally notify officials the company is recalling the 2010 Prius gas-electric hybrid - the world''s top-selling hybrid car.
The automaker is also recalling two other hybrid models in Japan, the Lexus HS250h sedan, sold in the US and Japan, and the Sai, which is sold only in Japan.
The 223-thousand cars being recalled in Japan include nearly 200-thousand Priuses sold from April last year through Monday, according to papers the automaker filed with the ministry.
The Prius is Japan''s top-selling car.
In the US, Toyota will recall 133-thousand Prius cars and 14,500 Lexus Hs250h vehicles.
Nearly 53-thousand Priuses are also being recalled in Europe.
The problem is suspected in four crashes resulting in two minor injuries, according to data gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is investigating the matter.
Toyota says it''s cooperating with NHTSA''s investigation.
Problems with hybrid braking systems haven''t been limited to Toyota.
Ford Motor Co. said last week it plans to fix 17,600 Mercury Milan and Ford Fusion gas-electric hybrids because of a software problem that can give drivers the impression that the brakes have failed.
The automaker says the problem occurs in transition between two braking systems and at no time are drivers without brakes.
Toyota''s plug-in hybrid is also being recalled in Japan, a largely experimental model for rental and government use, with 159 sold.
The Prius holds a cherished spot in Toyota''s vehicle line-up and is symbolic of its leadership in the "green" car market.
Toyota was one of the first companies to mass-market a hybrid that combines an electric motor with a gas engine, introducing the Prius in Japan in 1997.
Its high gas mileage made it popular among environmentally conscious drivers, especially when gas prices spiked two years ago.
But the complexity of the Prius, a highly computerised car, has led to problems in the past.
In 2005, the company repaired 75-thousand of them to fix software glitches that caused the engine to stall.
It has also had trouble with headlights going out.
