Prius brakes questioned; Toyota probe expands

February 4, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans should park their recalled Toyotas unless driving to dealers for accelerator repairs, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood warned Wednesday — then quickly took it back — as skepticism of company fixes grew and the government’s probe expanded to other models in the U.S. and Japan. Questions now are being raised about the brakes on Toyota’s marquee Prius hybrid.

The Prius was not part of the most recent recall, but Japan’s transport ministry ordered the company to investigate complaints of brake problems with the hybrid. LaHood said his department, too, was looking into brake problems. About 100 complaints over Prius brakes have been filed in the U.S. and Japan.

Harried dealers began receiving parts to repair defective gas pedals in millions of vehicles and said they’d be extending their hours deep into the night to try to catch up. Toyota said that would solve the problem — which it said was extremely rare — of cars’ unaccountably accelerating.

At a congressional hearing, LaHood said his advice to an owner of a recalled Toyota would be to “stop driving it. Take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it.” His comments prompted new questions and rattled Toyota stockholders, causing shares to plunge 8 percent before they recovered, declining 6 percent for the day.

LaHood later told reporters, “What I said in there was obviously a misstatement. What I meant to say ... was if you own one of these cars or if you’re in doubt, take it to the dealer and they’re going to fix it.”

Adding to Toyota’s woes, LaHood said his department had received new complaints about electronics and would undertake a broad review, looking beyond Toyota vehicles, into whether automobile engines could be disrupted by electromagnetic interference caused by power lines or other sources. Toyota has said it investigated for electronic problems and failed to find a single case pointing in that direction.

Toyota Motor Corp., in a statement, said if owners were experiencing problems with the accelerator pedal, “please contact your dealer without delay. If you are not experiencing any issues with your pedal, we are confident that your vehicle is safe to drive.”

But the damage was done for many drivers.

Meredyth Waterman, who bought a 2010 Toyota Corolla in December, said the alarming statements from Washington confused her and she planned to wait until her dealer told her to come get the fix to bring her car in for repairs.

“If it is largely believed to be a rare instance, why would he tell people to stop driving their cars?” asked Waterman, of Burrillville, R.I. “It was an irresponsible thing to say.”

The confusion came as the world’s No. 1 automaker dealt with fresh probes in the U.S. and Japan over the Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid, and growing interest from congressional and other government investigators. Toyota has shut down several new vehicle assembly lines and is rushing parts to dealers to fix problems with the accelerators, trying to preserve a reputation of building safe, durable vehicles.