Toyota UK and US recall Prius and lexus models.

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., today announced that it will conduct a voluntary safety recall involving approximately 87,000 model year 2010 Toyota Prius and Lexus HS 250h vehicles.

The involved vehicles are equipped with a brake pressure accumulator that may develop a fatigue crack on an internal part due to vibration.  Toyota has had no reports of any accidents or injuries associated with this condition.

Owners of vehicles subject to this recall will receive a notification by first class mail.  The recall remedy will involve inspection of the brake booster pump assembly to see if it is equipped with an involved accumulator.  If so, the dealer will replace the brake booster pump assembly with an improved one at no cost to the customer.
 
Detailed information is available to customers at www.toyota.com/recall, the Toyota Customer Experience at 1-800-331-4331, www.lexus.com/recall and Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-255-3987.

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Toyota is to recall 5,000 UK Prius models due to a potential braking fault

Toyota is recalling 4,947 third generation Prius models in the UK due to a potential braking fault. A total of 242,000 cars will be recalled globally due to the problem.

In a statement, the manufacturer said: “In accordance with its commitment to zero tolerance for quality issues or concerns, Toyota has today registered a recall through the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) for a number of its current (third generation) Prius models.”

The issue concerns the brake pressure accumulator, which consists of a metal plunger containing brake fluid, encased in a metal housing. The plunger has metal bellows beneath it sealing nitrogen gas between the plunger and the housing.

Toyota says there is a possibility of a fatigue crack developing in the bellows. If this happens, nitrogen gas could leak into the brake fluid and cause the pedal travel to increase and reduce braking force.

Should the fault occur, a warning light will appear on the driver’s dashboard. If this happens, Toyota has warned that the car should not be driven.

The manufacturer says that it has had two reports of the problem in the UK, and 93 worldwide. However, there have been no accidents or injuries related to the issue.

Models affected by the recall were built between March and October 2009, with owners of the cars contacted by Toyota in the coming weeks.

Customer can also check whether their car is involved in the recall using a registration look-up function in the owners section of the Toyota website at www.toyota.co.uk.

Owners affected will be asked to make an appointment with their nearest dealer, while the maker claims that the work will take between three and three-and-a-half hours.

AUTOEXPRESS UK report