Toyota is recalling around 5,000 Priuses in the UK and 242,000 worldwide due to a potential braking fault.
The recall affects third-generation Prius models built between March and October 2009 and owners of affected cars will be contacted by Toyota in the coming weeks for the rectification work to be carried out free-of-charge. The work takes between three and three-and-a-half hours.
Toyota claims it has received two complaints regarding the issue from UK owners and 93 worldwide. There have been no accidents or injuries related to the problem.
The cause of the recall is a failure of a component within the car's brake pressure accumulator, which consists of a metal plunger containing brake fluid in a metal housing. The plunger has metal bellows which seal nitrogen between it and the housing.
Toyota says that the plunger can develop a fatigue crack, allowing nitrogen to leak into the brake fluid. The result of this is increased brake pedal travel and reduced braking force.
If this does happen, a warning light will illuminate on the car's dashboard. Toyota recommends that the car should not be driven in the event of this fault and that owners should contact their Toyota dealer.
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