Sri Lanka’s 2010 Prius hybrid car owners have been taken by surprise following a recent announcement of a defect in the software controlling the anti-lock brake system (ABS) and the Electric coolant pump for the high voltage inverter assembly, according to industry experts.
They were of the view that Prius hybrid car owners were completely unaware about the Japan’s Toyota Corporation’s announcement of a voluntary but expected safety recall on 133,000 Toyota Prius vehicles and 14,500 2010 Lexus HS 250h vehicles in 2010 to correct a defect in the software controlling the anti-lock brake system (ABS). These cars with defective brakes are still running on Sri Lankan roads without repairs. This issue came to light following the recent request made by Hybrid Motors Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, the first Hybrid centre in Sri Lanka (a subsidiary of Hybrid Motors-Singapore) from 2010 Prius hybrid car owners to bring their cars to the Hybrid centre to do the repairs.
Hybrid Motors Lanka said in a statement that the company has offered to carry out the repairs and maintenance for affected cars especially for the Prius model.
When contacted by the Business Times to get more information on this issue, Geraldine Lim-Managing Director, Hybrid Motors Lanka emphasized that driving hybrid cars with some defects is highly dangerous. Normally, ABS engages and disengages the brakes many times per second in the event of wheel slippage. Hybrids also employ regenerative braking, which charges the battery as part of the braking process. It turns out the 2010 Prius and HS 250h sometimes exhibit inconsistent brake feel, particularly during slow and steady applications of the ABS brakes on slick or rough road surfaces. Toyota had actually "fixed" this issue in a running production change for the 2010 Prius, blaming it on a software glitch.
She noted that at least four to five motorists visit their centre complaining about brake problems. A former official of the Used Motor Vehicle Dealers Association said that used motor vehicle dealers cannot take any responsibly for defects in cars sold by them. Under the implied warrant the manufacturer is responsible for such faulty. He vehemently rejected allegations of bringing down 2010 Prius vehicles despite the global recall of such model by Toyota Japan due to a defect in the software controlling the anti-lock brake system.
Executive Director - Sathosa Motors Tilak Gunasekera told the Business Times at present there are no qualified personal to repair defaults in a car’s electronic system and noted that this car may not be suitable for the country’s climatic conditions. “We have no infrastructure and repair facilities and we should not import hybrid vehicles without knowing about its condition.
There are so many used hybrids imported on a daily basis to the country mainly from Japan and now they are even getting down cars from UK at a cheaper Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) and the main models are the Civic and the Insight,” he revealed.
He noted that used car dealers should take the responsibility for bringing down defected cars. They purchase hybrid vehicles from auction houses in Japan at low prices and sell it here at high prices.
Expressing his personnel opinion, C.L. Liyanasuriya - Chief Engineer Automobile Association of Ceylon pointed out that Toyota Japan is responsible for factory defects in hybrid vehicles. Normally they recall such vehicles through the local agent. But the local agent is not the importer of these vehicles, thus creating a problematic situation for those who purchased used Hybrid vehicles.
Priyantha Perera, General Manager of Spare Parts and Lubricants at Toyota Lanka, a fully owned subsidiary of Toyota Japan, noted that his company has facilities and expertise to repair defects of Hybrid vehicles. But it has so far not received any complaints. Toyota Japan has not informed the company about the recall of these vehicles, either, he added. Therefore the company cannot take any responsibility for defective vehicles.
However he revealed that they will bring down brand new hybrid vehicles to the country next year. |
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