This week, Toyota Motor Corp. will likely start a new effort in Japan to fix braking problems on the newest models of its Prius cars, either through a formal recall or a voluntary repair program for owners.

Also, the Japanese carmaker intends to take similar steps in the US and elsewhere involving the popular gas-electric hybrid cars.

The move goes a step further than the company’s announcement Friday, when Chief Executive Akio Toyoda said the company was looking into complaints about the Prius but hadn’t yet decided what to do.

The company was continuing to study the problem, a Toyota spokesman in Japan said Sunday, but declined to comment on any possible responses.

On Sunday, a US Department of Transportation (DOT) official said that the agency hadn’t received confirmation of any recall or proposed remedy on the Prius. He added that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “is working quickly to detect any potential problems, but as of now, Toyota has not said there is a safety defect with the vehicle. If Toyota does have knowledge of a safety defect, they are legally required to stop sale of the affected vehicles. They are also legally obligated to notify NHTSA within five days of discovering that a defect exists.”

(article source: The Wall Street Journal, photo source: Watchmojo.com)