TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling 242,000 hybrid vehicles worldwide, including 86,500 Toyota Prius and Lexus HS 250h hybrids in the United States, to fix a braking glitch.
The problem affects only 2010 model year Prius and HS 250h vehicles. Those cars are equipped with a brake pressure accumulator that may develop a fatigue crack due to vibration, Toyota said in a statement.
No accidents or injuries have been linked to the problem in any market worldwide, a spokesman said.
The Prius, the world's best-selling hybrid, accounts for about 233,000 units of the global recall. The HS comes in at 9,000.
The recall targets Prius models manufactured from March to October 2009; that car is the current third-generation Prius. The suspect HS hybrids were made from June to October 2009.
Toyota received its first report of the problem in May 2010.
In the United States, about 81,500 Prius and 5,000 HS sedans are being recalled, the spokesman said. Dealers will inspect the brake booster pump. If it has a potentially defective accumulator, the dealer will replace it at no cost to the owner.
The recall is the biggest targeting the Prius since November. At that time, Toyota called back 670,000 of the second-generation Prius in the United States to fix a possible water pump problem and steering defect, as part of a global action.
