DavE713

By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 21 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - The government has opened an investigation of the hot-selling hybrid Toyota Prius amid reports of the engine stalling without warning, officials said Wednesday.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the preliminary investigation will involve about 75,000 cars of the 2004-2005 model years.

Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. said in a statement that it was "an early stage inquiry to determine if further analysis is warranted, not a recall."

The company said it was cooperating with NHTSA and would provide the agency with the complete results of its internal investigation.

The Prius has been a hugely popular model in the United States, leading to waiting lists. Automotive experts have said it is the first economy car with a higher resale value.

Hybrid vehicles deliver better mileage by switching between a gasoline engine and an electric motor. Toyota Motor Corp. leads in hybrid sales, with cumulative global sales of 381,500.

The agency said it has received 33 complaints of alleged engine stalling. The majority of the complaints involved reports of the engine stalling at speeds of 35 miles per hour and 65 mph.

Some of the complaints indicated that the vehicle was operated in electric mode for some period after the gas engine stalled, NHTSA said.

All of the complaints reported that the engine shut down without warning and about half of the complaints said that when the engine shut off, the vehicle would not restart and required the vehicle to be towed.

Toyota executives noted there has been no reported cases of deaths or injuries from the engine problems.

The investigation will not likely cool off sales or shorten waiting lists for the Prius, said Lindsay Brooke, a senior analyst with CSM Worldwide, a Michigan-based auto industry forecasting and analysis firm.

Brooke said since its release in 2000, the Prius' performance has been "exemplary" and many industry observers have been surprised that there hasn't been any major technological problems with the advanced vehicle.

"It's a tribute to Toyota that they built so many of them with really no problems thus far," Brooke said.

NHTSA investigations sometimes lead to vehicle recalls.

Toyota officials said last month they were investigating complaints about the Prius stalling. More than 88,000 2004 and 2005 Prius cars have been sold in the United States.

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On the Net:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: http://www.nhtsa.gov/

Toyota: http://www.toyota.com

mmarshall

This is just one of the reasons why I have posted, several times, on CL threads, that I feel that diesels are just as good if not a better bet than hybrids in the long run for saving fuel. Small diesels offer roughly the same mileage that gas-electric hybrids do, but with MUCH less complexity and a lower production cost, and while they currently do not quite match hybrids in emissions, (and are unavailable in several states) this is likely to change within the next two years or so as cleaner diesel fuels and urea-injection systems become available in the U.S.

The Prius, for all its publicity and mileage / low emission acheivements, is a very complex vehicle electronically (with the even more complex RX400h and Highlander hybrids set to debut), and even with the quality Toyota / Lexus names on them can be prone to some computer or hardware malfunctions here or there. Still.....any occasional electronic or computer-related problem in a Toyota or Honda product is nothing compared to what we have seen with European-sourced vehicles like Mercedes, BMW, and Audi.

Vegassc400

This was discussed in another thread already. Toyota identified the problem with their software quite some time ago and sent notices to all Prius owners to get the updated software. The lazy owners should have gone to the dealership.

mmarshall

I agree. This is the case with a lot of recalls and TSB's (Technical Service Bulletins). Can't blame the company if the thirsty horse won't show up at the water trough.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

It is not always the ownes fault when it comes to TSIBs or even recalls. I know with my RX330 I learned about a lot of TSIBs and recalls on my RX330 through the forums. Often other owners get their letters and mine doesn't show up for months after. For example, the brake light switch safety recall on the RX330. People here were getting their letters last year. I never got mine until just about 2 months ago. TSIB? I don't think they even issue letters for that. Those are just on specific customer complaints. The only way I learn about those is from here, and lately I subcribed to the Toyota tech info page which list them all as well as a description of the complaint/problem. For all those that don't surf car forums though, the their dealers or Lexus themselves are their only source of information, and they are not always timely with sending out notices. My emmisions recall on the RX330 wasn't as late as the brake switch, but I still got my letter a few months after people here on CL.

mmarshall

Usually...not always....the timing of the letter will be consistant with its urgency as a safety issue.
For example: a wheel-lug-nut-tightness or a fuel-leak in the engine campaign is likely to be treated with more urgency than, say, a dash treatment to keep it from cracking in the sun or a loose trim piece.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

Agree, but in these two situations, you would think emmisions and the fact that the brake light switch could fail causing no brake lights would be fairly urgent matters. Anyway, I'm not complaining, just pointing out that it is not always dumb owners throwing out their letters complaining about problems like on the Prius.

mmarshall

Emissions is usually not safety-related...unless it is the safety of your lungs.

Brake lights could or could not be urgent dependent on whether the regular red taillights continue to function. If the whole rear end of the car goes dark....yes, that's a problem.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I agree about the emitions not being a real safety issue, but it could be a potential PITA if your state does emitions testing. For me, my state does not so it was a non issue for me.

The brake light switch; however, is just as you stated., Your brake lights will not light up at all. It was the momentary switch at the foot pedal that could fail. You wouldn't know it either as when the switch fails, the momentary switch will not close the brake light circuit thus no brake lights, but it will not throw up any warning lights on the dash since the system just thinks you never pressed the brake as opposed to a light being out. The real problem is it wasn't a once fail aways fail problem. It was intermittent, so you just never know when you wont have brake lights.