Toyota recall
June 5, 2013
Toyotareported Wednesday it would have to recall 242,000 cars globally because of a braking problem.
It said affected would be 117,000 units in Japan itself, 91,000 in North America, 30,000 in Europe and the rest in the Asia Pacific region.
The carmaker said the issue affected Prius and Lexus hybrid vehicles manufactured between March and October 2009.
Reputation at stake
The automaker said in a statement that a materials weakness had led to cracks that allowed nitrogen gas to leak into the brake fluid, affecting the efficiency of the brakes.
According to Reuters news agency, no accidents had been reported prior to the recall, but Toyota had received more than 90 complaints from customers worldwide.
The incident is the latest in a long line for the Japanese carmaker. Over the past few years, it had to recall millions of cars, tainting the reputation it once enjoyed for safety and reliability.
hg/mz (dpa, Reuters, AFP)