Toyota recalls 155,000 Prius and Lexus vehicles in U.S.

CHICAGO, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Toyota Motor Corp. announced early Tuesday in Washington that it would recall another three models in the United States -- covering 155,000 vehicles -- one day ahead of a congressional hearing. This is the third round of recalls by the auto giant in the last two weeks.

A Toyota Prius vehicle is pictured parked at a dealership in Crissier near Lausanne February 7, 2010. Toyota, which has recalled more than 8 million vehicles around the world for problems with unintended acceleration, has  decided to recall its new Prius hybrid in Japan to fix a braking software  glitch, a dealer said Sunday. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

The recalls involve 133,000 2010 Prius vehicles and 14,500 Lexus 2010 HS 250h vehicles, in a bid "to update software in the vehicle's anti-lock brake system (ABS)." Worldwide, the company announced it was recalling about 437,000 Prius and other hybrid vehicles because of brake problems, Detroit News reported.

The ABS, in normal operation, engages and disengages rapidly as the control system senses and reacts to tire slippage. Some owners have reported inconsistent brake feel during slow and steady application of brakes on rough or slick road surfaces when the ABS is activated.

Last month, Toyota fixed the problem on Prius vehicles by making a software patch to improve the ABS response time and will make a similar change for the Lexus HS 250h later this month. Toyota didn't initially disclose the change to its customers or regulators.

Separately, Toyota is recalling 7,300 early production 2010 Camry vehicles equipped with a 4-cylinder engine to inspect for a power steering hose that may be in contact with a front brake tube. This contact could lead to a hole in the brake tube and cause a brake fluid leak, increasing brake pedal stroke and lengthening the vehicle's stopping distance.

This latest round of recalls comes just two weeks after the company recalled 2.3 million vehicles in the United States for sticky pedal concerns and raised another recall of 5.3 million vehicles to address pedal entrapment issues.

Toyota said on Tuesday in the Washington Post that the company was moving aggressively to improve its quality and react faster to safety problems.

The Toyota logo is pictured in front of a retailer in Vienna February 4,  2010.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)