Toyota Plans Recall of 300,000 Priuses

By James Sheldon on February 8th, 2010

toyota-prius Toyota? Is that you? Are you suffering from auto-amnesia? It really can’t be that bad, can it? Unfortunately, it’s worse.

On the heels of the gas pedal recall for 7 million mixed models, Toyota has discovered a braking problem within the popular Prius, the world’s top-selling gas-electric hybrid. When I say Toyota discovered it, I really mean that more than a few Prius owners discovered it, losing the function of the anti-lock braking system while on bumpy roads. And who needs brakes on bumpy roads? The bumps will eventually offer the law of inertia to a rolling Prius, or as Toyota has suggested – the brakes will work if you keep pressing the pedal. WHAT? As in pumping the pedal? Jamming it to the floorboard? Please elaborate, Toyota.

As enjoyable as it is to make fun of Toyota for smoking crack in the Research and Development room, this is a serious blow to the automaker as well as their stock holders. These issues are going to cost monster figures to rectify, and regardless of the fix, the reputation has been tarnished and prospective car buyers are quickly falling out of love with the idea of makes and models from Japan’s top automaker – producers of the luxury Lexus line.

The Prius recall is planned to be announced on Tuesday, February 9, 2010, and will be released first to the United States and Japanese governments, followed by other nations possessing the unstoppable Prius. For Prius owners who are brave enough to drive their gas-savers in the meantime, consider an idiosyncratic routine for driving down bumpy roads: Right foot on gas, left foot on brake – press both continuously for optimal control. (Seriously, don’t do that- don’t even thing of doing that…just get it in to your dealer immediately, and politely suggest some accountability.)