The public opinion has become extremely sensitive to safety issues related to the Japanese manufacturer. This is due to problems with the accelerator pedal which generated a 3.8 million vehicle recall, corroborated with an excessive corrosion issue (sometimes causing brake failure) that resulted in a 110,000 Tundra pickup recalls and a sudden stalling problem which is currently being investigated and could lead to a 300,000 vehicle recall.
According to TDB, the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation has received at least 33 complaints from Prius owners claiming a safety issue related to the braking system. It appears that the car’s decelerating capabilities are seriously affected when it encounters an irregularity on the road surface or when it travels over a slippery surface. It is possible that the transition from regenerative braking (which seems to suddenly turn itself off when the car travels over bumps) to hydraulic braking is outside normal parameters, a process which leads to a sudden variation of the braking force applied to the wheels, eventually resulting in longer braking distances than expected.
For a complete view of the situation - How the NHTSA handled the complaints once they were filled and what was Toyota’s attitude towards the problem - you can browse The Detroit Bureau’s website.
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