Toyota Prius Still On Top In Japan

Toyota Motor's (TM: 75.42 -1.52 -1.98%) Prius hybrid has retained its position as the top-selling car in Japan despite the automaker's global recall woes that included braking problems with the popular hybrid.

According to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association, more than 27,000 units of Prius were sold in February, making it the best-selling model for the 10th straight month. Sales of the Prius have definitely been boosted by its reputation for delivering incomparable mileage as well as by tax breaks and other government incentives.

Last month, Toyota expanded its global recall to 8.5 million vehicles, which included 437,000 units of its popular 2010 Prius hybrid and other hybrids such as the Lexus HS250h sedan (sold in the U.S. and Japan) and the Sai (sold only in Japan).

The 2010 Prius has an overhauled regenerative brake system, through which energy from the wheels is used to recharge the car's battery. The car also has an antilock brake system. Toyota has found out that the problem with the brake system occurred as the car switched to conventional from regenerative brakes just as the antilock brake system kicks in.
 
Toyota has since begun offering new software to fix the braking problem on the Prius and two other hybrid models. The company has revealed that most of the fixes are expected to be completed by the end of this month.

In September last year, Toyota made a recall that included the older version of Prius (2004�09 model year) apart from other vehicles such as Toyota Camry (2007�10 model year), Toyota Avalon (2005�10), Toyota Tacoma (2005�10), Toyota Tundra (2007�10) and Lexus (2007�10 ES350 and 2006�10 IS250/350) due to a problem with the accelerator gas pedals.

In January, Toyota decided to suspend sales of 8 models to correct sticking accelerator pedals on specific Toyota Division models that did not include the new 2010 Prius. However, regulators in the U.S. started an investigation into the brakes of the 2010 Prius after drivers complained of being briefly unable to stop their cars on uneven surfaces.

The recurrence of recalls has no doubt blurred the image of Toyota vehicles. Toyota loyalists are now giving second thoughts prior to purchasing their vehicles. In February, Toyota's sales fell 9% to 100,027 vehicles in the U.S.