Toyota recalls 437,000 Prius, hybrids globally

Dubai: Toyota said it is recalling about 437,000 Prius and other hybrid cars worldwide to fix brake problems.
 
The move is the latest in a string of embarrassing safety problems at the world's largest automaker.

Company President Akio Toyoda made the recall announcement on Tuesday at a press conference in Tokyo.

"We have decided to recall as we regard safety for our customers as our foremost priority," Toyoda said.

What to do if you have a recalled Toyota in the UAE

There have been about 200 complaints in Japan and the US about a delay when the brakes in the Prius were pressed in some conditions.

In Dubai, a spokesperson for Al Futtaim Motors said that the Prius is not distributed in the GCC.

Earlier this month, Toyota announced the recall of two models — Avalon and Sequoia (2005 - 2010) — in the UAE, out of the eight models recalled globally.

Toyota recently had to recall 8 million cars globally due to a faulty accelerator which causes sudden and unexpected acceleration.

The models affected are RAV4, Corolla, Matrix, Avalon, Camry, Highlander, Tundra, and Sequoia.

Simon Frith, managing director of Al Futtaim Motors, said: "We can now announce that of the 8 models affected by the USA campaign only two are sold by Al Futtaim Motors in the UAE. These models, however, are highly unlikely to experience the same potential accelerator issue due to the UAE's climatic conditions."

Details of the number of cars affected are yet to be clarified but Frith estimates the numbers of the two models combined to make up only 1 per cent of the total inventory.