Toyota Motor Corp., under fire from fresh quality complaints about its popular Prius hybrid, says it conducted a software fix to address reports of slipping brakes.

But the world's biggest carmaker didn't notify customers at the time of the change. And it says it is still uncertain how to handle the thousands of Prius vehicles that were sold before the fix.

The problem occurs in the third-generation Prius, which went on sale in the United States, Japan and Europe last year. Transportation agencies in the United States and Japan have been compiling dozens of complaints that the car's brakes give way under certain conditions.

Japan's Ministry of Transportation has ordered Toyota to investigate the problem and consider a recall if a defect is found. The ministry has logged 38 complaints since July.

 

If you’ve had your ear to the ground in the automotive world lately, chances are you’ve heard a thing or two about the upcoming Cadillac ATS. The car is supposed to be a smaller, more economical, entry-level Cadillac, designed to fill the slot the CTS outgrew a few years back. The concept version of the car is supposed to debut later this year, likely at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and if we swallow the rumors hook, line and sinker, we’ll probably see a wagon, convertible and coupe version over the next few years. But General Motors has tried its hand at a small Cadillac in the past with next to zero success. Here’s what the company can learn from those mistakes. 

Apparently learning quickly from the mounting -- and then brutal -- criticism of the company's slow response to the unintended-acceleration issues that led to several massive recalls, Toyota has already stepped up and acknowledged that certain Prius models have some braking issues. The news of the possible problems became widespread only two days ago.

Toyota said today that it had found design problems with the Prius' anti-lock braking system, but had corrected the issue for models sold since late January. The company did not, however, roll out a plan for dealing with models sold before then.  

Five small pickup trucks were rated for rollover protection by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety -- the first time the institute has performed such a test -- and verdict is in: Your roof may not be as strong as you think it is.

Of the five small pickups tested -- the Nissan Frontier (also sold as the Suzuki Equator), Ford Ranger, Dodge Dakota, Toyota Tacoma and Chevy Colorado (aka GMC Canyon) -- only the Frontier received the highest safety mark of "good." Not only that, but the latter three models were all rated "marginal," the second-lowest possible rating. The Ford Ranger was given the mark of "acceptable." 

The big winner of the Super Bowl has extended from just the last football team standing, and now includes the company with the most memorable advertisement. In fact (and especially during blowouts or otherwise uninteresting games), the funniest or most controversial ads can generate water-cooler talk long after the game itself.

Audi is hoping to take advantage of that fact with a commercial whose tone and delivery go decidedly against the brand's image of refined luxury.

The "Green Police" spot is meant to shill for the Audi A3 TDI, the diesel that won the Green Car of the Year award at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show. Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen said that Audi decided to promote the car after it won the award and that the company "decided the usual Audi style of subtle and understated would not be appropriate here. We knew that it needed to be a bit bolder and that humor is a very effective way to make an impression during the Super Bowl.” 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into yet another possible cause of unintended-acceleration issues: electromagnetic interference (EMI).

Of course, given all the back-and-forth with Toyota's accelerator issues (have you heard of that whole thing? It was sort of underreported in the press. HA!), it would be easy to assume this is a Toyota-only thing. Not so; fact is, NHTSA is looking at the general impact of signals from radar, radio waves and other sources on all vehicles' electronic throttles. However, in Toyota-specific news, USA Today is reporting that EMI is a major factor in two class-action lawsuits brought against the Japanese automaker.

There are conflicting reports as to the viability of the EMI hypothesis. 

OK, I'll admit that until recently I wasn't aware of eBay Motors' position as a major automotive auction site. The numbers are impressive: 3 million vehicles sold to date, and another one sold every minute.

Obviously, with that kind of volume -- and natural lack of oversight inherent to the machinations of the site -- there are bound to be some deals gone sour, or outright examples of fraud. Jalopnik originally came to the defense of eBay Motors user "McFly," who had trouble making good on a Hyundai he had purchased on the site, leading to legal wrangling and an online support campaign. (You can read the entire saga over at Jalopnik -- click here for the story.)

As a follow-up, Jalopnik -- ever watching out for its faithful gearhead readership -- has gone a step further and procured some do's and don'ts from eBay Motors itself. 

Toyota Motor Corp., already grappling with recalls totaling 8.1 million vehicles on five continents, has been ordered by Japan's Ministry of Transportation to investigate a rash of consumer complaints about braking problems in its popular third-generation Prius hybrid vehicle.

The Japanese carmaker has received several complaints about braking in the Prius in both Japan and North America since the end of last year, Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said.