UMWT announces recall for Toyota Prius
UMW Toyota Motor has today issued a press statement announcing a recall for 60 units of the new Toyota Prius currently running on Malaysian roads. The recall, which affects the Anti-lock Braking System, is part of a worldwide campaign affecting 437,000 vehicles.
It should be made immediately clear, however, that this recall is unrelated to the ongoing accelerator pedal recalls currently affecting an estimated 9 million Toyota vehicles worldwide. UMWT had already announced on 30 Jan 2010 that Toyota vehicles sold in Malaysia are unaffected by the accelerator pedal recall.
Mr. Kuah Kock Heng, President of UMW Toyota Motor said, “To date there are over 60 units of the third generation Toyota Prius sold by the company since it was launched in October 2009.”
He also said, “At this moment our technicians are being trained to carry out the necessary corrective measures.”
“UMW Toyota Motor will contact our Prius owners regarding the special service campaign that will be available starting from Friday, 12 February 2010. Owners of the Prius will be given first priority,” he added.
Mr Kuah continued to say, “For customers who have booked their Prius or are interested to purchase a Prius, we would like to assure you that all Prius models will go through the corrective measures before delivery.”
“We would like to apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused by this predicament,” he concluded.
According to reports from the Associated Press, Toyota has received a combined 180 complaints from Prius customers in US & Japan regarding braking problems. Both these markets have a combined 273,000 units of the current Prius sold.
Reuters reported that complaints were received from customers saying that on bumpy roads and on ice, the regenerative brakes which help charge the vehicles’ electric battery appear to slip and the car lurches forward before the traditional brakes engage. Besides the Prius, Toyota is also recalling other hybrid models not sold in Malaysia, such as the Sai, Prius PHV (plug-in hybrid) and Lexus HS250h
