Toyota recalls new Prius in latest safety fix

WASHINGTON/DETROIT, (Reuters) – The spiraling crisis  at Toyota Motor Corp deepened yesterday as the automaker said  it would recall thousands of Camry sedans as well as nearly  half a million new Prius and other hybrid cars to fix steering  and braking problems.

U.S. regulators also said they are reviewing dozens of  complaints about potential steering problems in newer Toyota  Corollas.

News of the recalls, the latest in a string of embarrassing  Toyota product problems that have affected more than 8.5  million vehicles globally, came as a U.S. congressional  committee postponed a hearing scheduled for today to  examine the recalls and Toyota’s response to reports of safety  problems with top-selling cars.

In a document sent to U.S. dealers yesterday and obtained  by Reuters, Toyota said the 2010 Camrys equipped with a  4-cylinder engine might have a shorter-than-required power  steering pressure hose in the engine compartment.  That could deplete the brake fluid, increasing the brake  pedal stroke and making it more difficult and requiring more  time to stop the vehicle, Toyota said.

Toyota notified the National Highway Traffic Safety  Administration yesterday of its intention to conduct a  voluntary safety recall, the document showed.

Toyota ended days of speculation on Tuesday and recalled  more than 400,000 hybrid models, including the latest version  of its iconic Prius, to rectify a problem with the regenerative  brakes that help charge the cars’ electric batteries.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda said he may travel to the  United States next week to tackle criticism that his company  moved too slowly on earlier recalls.