Just a week after the huge recall Toyota vehicles, the carmaker’s problems are gaining even more speed. According to CNN, Toyota has received over 100 complaints regarding the braking system of the 2010 Prius hybrid, one of the company’s hippest and most popular models. If it turns into a Prius recall, things could get ugly.
Consumers have told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the car’s brakes perform poorly. In Japan, 14 complaints about brakes in the Prius have been lodged since July. Japan’s Transportation Ministry has asked Toyota to investigate these reported brake malfunctions.
“The complaints received via our dealers center around when drivers are on a bumpy road or frozen surface,” said Paul Nolasco, a Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman in Japan. “The driver steps on the brake and they do not get as full of a braking feel as expected.”
2010 Prius owners in the United States had similar complaints. ”I have been driving my 2010 Prius for six months and have experienced the following nearly 10 times,” wrote one owner, “When braking, if a pothole or bump in the road is hit, the car seemingly jerks forward/accelerates for a split second.”
A Toyota spokesman in the U.S. was not immediately able to provide a comment. The Prius has not officially been recalled.
Toyota’s public image has been hit by the earlier recalls involving unintended acceleration. The company’s sales dropped 16% in January, even as sales of other automakers rose. Something tells me this isn’t going to help things, especially when the Prius is Toyota’s third best-selling car.
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