A Prius driver claims his 2008 model Toyota accelerated uncontrollably at speeds of up to 90 mph on a San Diego freeway before California High Patrol officers helped him stop his runaway car. The driver, 61-year-old James Sikes, said the acceleration happened when he overtook another car on Interstate 8, after which the car accelerated uncontrollably for the next 20 minutes as he traveled over 30 miles.

“I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny,” Sikes said at a press conference. “It jumped and it just stuck there. As it was going, I was trying the brakes … It wasn’t stopping.”

Sikes called 911 and a CHP officer caught up to the speeding Prius, instructing Sikes to use the brakes, put the car in neutral and then turn off the car once they had reached a lower speed. No one was injured in the incident.

The 2008 mode year Prius is currently part of Toyota’s Floormat Pedal Entrapment recall, which affects all 2004-09 Prius models. Sikes said he had received a recall notice, but when he contacted his local Toyota dealership, he was told the car was not on the recall list.

Toyota has dispatched a technical specialists to investigate the vehicle.

For more Toyota recall news visit the AutoGuide Toyota Recall News Hub here

[Source: Reuters]

Toyota has made the bold move to turn down a prestigious Japanese automotive award, given to the automaker for the new Prius model just days after a recall was announced for the hybrid’s ABS brake system.

The award, handed out annually by the Japanese Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry celebrates a vehicle’s energy efficiency. Not only is the new 2010 Prius a fuel-economy leader, but it was also the top selling model in Japan last year. Toyota cited the Prius’ recall and said it would be appropriate considering the circumstances.

Toyota has not commented if it will also turn down Motor Week’s Best of the Year award, which was just announced last Thursday.

[Source: InsideLine]

Toyota’s recent recall issues may cost the company an estimated $2 billion.

Along with the company’s third quarter report, Toyota estimated the costs of the global recall at 180 billion yen (US$2 billion), including 100 billion yen (US$1.1 billion) for repair costs and another 70-80 billion yen ($787-899 million) in lost sales. Toyota predicts a reduction of 100,000 vehicle sales as its recent troubles erode public confidence in the brand.

To make matters worse, these figures don’t include the costs of the just-announced Prius recall.

See more Toyota recall news at the AutoGuide.com Toyota Recall News Hub.

[Source: The Associated Press via Wheels.ca]

The Japanese Ministry of Transportation has now asked Toyota to investigate its new third-generation Prius model after complaints from owners of potentially faulty brakes. This news comes as Toyota currently has recalls out for millions of vehicles (not including the current Prius) which are mostly for two separate recalls. The first recall for 5.1 million vehicles is for floor mats that can cause the accelerator pedal to stick, while the second is for 2.3 million vehicles where Toyota has now said that over time the accelerator pedal could become stuck or slow to return to its “off” position.

In the sticking pedal recall, Toyota has said that the issue is mechanical and not electronic, but some individuals have refuted that claim and, most recently, Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, commented publicly that his 2010 Prius suffers from unintended acceleration that is caused by the car’s software.

Toyota has admitted to receiving complains about braking issues in the Prius and a quick look at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, returns 102 complains, most of which cite a loss of braking ability when driving on rough roads. One complainant says she was injured in a crash when the brakes on her Prius failed. The Japanese transportation agency has on record 14 reports of braking-related complains with the Prius.

Toyota’s Prius does not use the same pedal mechanism as found in the other recalled models, but rather uses a more complex system of regenerative braking to recharge the onboard battery. Such regenerative brakes feel much “grippier” than traditional brakes.

[Source: Automotive News]

How much could possibly be reported out of Toyota’s Tokyo Auto Salon booth? With G Sports and Gazoo Racing sharing the real estate it’s no surprise there’s plenty to see. Along with the FT-86 G-Sports Concept, Toyota displayed a pair of Gazoo Racing cars: the iQ-based FR Hot Hatch with a widebody and stylish flat black accents as well as a track-ready MR-S roadster. Toyota’s MR-S never got the cult following that its predecessor the MR2, but it was nice to see a tuned MR-S nonetheless.

Two additional concepts from G Sports were also present in the booth with the Mark X (aka, Lexus GS) being converted from a mundane commuter sedan to an aggressive street prowler while the G Sports Prius Concept took the car’s aerodynamics to the extreme, covering up the rear wheels in order to reduce drag as much as possible.

GALLERY: G Sports Prius Concept

GALLERY: G Sports Mark X Concept

GALLERY: Gazo Racing FR Hot Hatch and MR-S

Damned if we report another body kit manufacturer but DAMD’s Styling Effect is highly worth mentioning. (Groan… we know). DAMD showed off a selection of its latest products at the Tokyo Auto Salon, with two new aero kits for Subaru products as well as one for, you guessed it, the Toyota Prius.

As the most popular car sold in Japan last year, the car’s style and hybrid efficiency have made it popular and now owners are looking to personalize their car to hel it stand out from the thousands of others on the street.

DAMD decided to take its Prius in a “VIP” luxury direction, slamming it low with glossy black paint and wheels. There’s also a beautiful custom tan leather interior.

As for the Subarus, we’re not huge fans of the “Oreo” themed WRX STI, but the new Legacy kit looks to be a perfect fit, especially for the North American market.

GALLERY: DAMD Modified Prius, WRX STI and Legacy

While not as well known in North America as VIP tuners like Wald International or Junction Produce, Branew is a Japanese tuning powerhouse specializing in various luxury and tuning markets including Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Nissan, Bentley, Hummer, Porsche and Land Rover. The big buzz leading up to the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon from Branew was the debut of their 370Z kit. Sadly, we don’t have a time machine to go back to before we saw this. We just feel so bad for the Z.

Branew should probably stick to designing aero kits for luxury cars. We took a close look at several of their luxury car designs and really took a liking to the modified HS250h on display.

GALLERY: Branew 370Z and Lexus Models

Not to be left behind with all the other Japanese aftermarket manufacturers that have taken to the trend of modifying hybrid/green cars, Tommy Kaira not only impressed with its GT-R at the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon, but with its Prius and Insight offerings too. Earlier this month both vehicles were released to the public and onto the Internet but this was our first opportunity to get up close with the vehicles in person and we’re quite impressed.

Both Eco-Sports Edition vehicles, part of the new Tommy Kaira Eco Spo line of aerodynamics for hybrids, carry a mixture of light weight carbon fiber and fibreglass body accents that are both conservative and appealing.

GALLERY: Tommy Kaira Eco Spo Honda Insight and Toyota Prius

Seen at the booth of wheel manufacturer RAYS Engineering at the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon was a nicely tuned Prius by ASI. Called the ASI Green Prius, this car is part of a new line of ASI tuning kits aimed at hybrid models. Currently it also includes a kit for the Honda Insight.

Sporting a green-accented Lexus badge, this Prius went through some pretty aggressive styling for a hybrid. Along with the aggressive front end, new side skirts and a small rear lip spoiler are plenty of carbon fiber accents and a nicely lowered stance.

This year’s Tokyo Auto Salon will undoubtedly be known for its excess hybrid tuning with every booth sporting a modified Toyota Prius of some sort. The ASI Green model was definitely one of the nicest we stumbled upon.

GALLERY: ASI Green Toyota Prius

Remember back when Honda announced pricing for its Insight hybrid would start at under $20,000 and Toyota, in a bid to compete, said it would offer the Prius for just $21,000? Several months later, and the launch of the Prius II, III, IV and V and Toyota is now saying the Prius I isn’t likely to ever see production – not for average consumers anyway.

According to a report on AllAboutPrius, Toyota spokesman Greg Thome said a test of the market with the Prius I resulted in just 177 units sold – all of which were to fleets. As a result, Toyota has no immediate or future plans to offer the entry-level Prius I to consumers.

The move isn’t surprising as it turned out that Honda’s Insight, with its smaller passenger space and less efficient engine, wasn’t much of a competitor to the Prius after all.

Thome did say that the Prius I would have been an incredibly stripped-down version, without items like cruise control, the Touch Tracer Display, Smart Key, EV mode, a rear wiper, heated mirrors, a heat vent for the rear seat, foldable rear headrests or underbody spoilers. And considering the Prius II starts at $22,400, the extra $1,400 seems like a small price to pay.

[Source: AllAboutPrius]