Toyota to recall 340,000 gas-electric hybrid Prius cars over faulty parking brakes

Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corp today is recalling 340,000 gas-electric hybrid Prius cars worldwide over faulty parking brakes.

It said, the recall affects gas-electric hybrid Prius cars manufactured at its Tsutsumi plant in Toyota city, Japan, from August 2015 through October 2016.

The carmaker will recall 212,000 in Japan, 94,000 in North America, 17,000 in Europe, and the rest in Australia and other regions.

Toyota said that it has received reports of crashes, injuries and deaths, but did reveal details saying that it was still looking into the reports.

The fault lies in the parking brake cable that can disengage, causing the brakes to stop working properly, hence if the car is left in any gear other than park, it could start rolling away, and possibly crash.

The latest recall of hybrid Prius cars comes four months after Toyota recalled 1.43 million hybrid cars worldwide to fix a defect in the airbag inflator, which could pose a major threat to occupants in the vehicle. (See: Toyota to recall 1.43 mn hybrid cars over airbag inflator defect)

Toyota and other carmakers have over the past years been affected by problems with faulty airbags supplied by Japanese airbag supplier Takata.

These recalls are the biggest in the history of the automotive industry.

Toyota has so far recalled more than 100 million vehicles worldwide over faulty airbags, including those made by Takata, which has resulted in 11 deaths and more than 100 injuries.

Takata is now reported to considering filing for bankruptcy protection in the US.