Hundreds of car owners flood Toyota phones amid Prius recall

'Safe to drive': Toyota Prius
12 April 2012

Toyota was today overwhelmed with more calls from worried drivers after it recalled 8,500 Prius cars over brake problems.

The latest blow to the reputation of the world's biggest carmaker came after Toyota admitted that Prius models made before 27 January require new software to control their braking system.

Toyota has insisted the fault is not dangerous but some drivers have described how they narrowly avoided accidents when the brakes did not work properly on bumpy or slippery roads.

One Prius owner Alice Spondan wrote on a BBC website: "When driving my new Prius on a badly maintained road last week, I suddenly realised I was unable to stop. Although the brakes gave way for only a few seconds, it was a truly terrifying experience, especially as I had my children in the car."

Toyota has advised drivers to wait to hear from the DVLA with further details of how to get the brakes fixed. But it admitted that the latest safety scare meant its 90 service centres in the UK were receiving enquiries from huge numbers of worried owners.

Repairs are expected to take months to complete due to the timing of the discovery of the fault — a week after Toyota admitted that throttle pedals on up to 180,000 of its British cars may get stuck.

Toyota spokesman David Crouch said: "We've quadrupled the number of staff we have on the phones, but last week thousands of car owners were calling every day, and yesterday we still had 600 to 700 calls.

"Our dealers are going to be very busy addressing cars coming in for rectification work. Dealers are looking at introducing extra shifts and opening hours."

The recall affects the Prius — the world's biggest-selling hybrid car — and two other hybrid models, the Lexus HS 250 and the Toyota Sai. Globally, more than 400,000 cars will have to be fixed.

Toyota president, Akio Toyoda, today made his second public apology in a week. "I apologise for causing trouble and worries for many customers over the quality and safety of Toyota. We have decided to recall as we regard safety as our foremost priority," he said.

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