About 350 owners of Honda Jazz cars and close to 20 owners of the hybrid car Toyota Prius will be contacted to have faulty parts upgraded or checked following an international safety recall by the two major Japanese car manufacturers.
After a recall of almost 440,000 Prius third-generation hybrids worldwide, Toyota's Malta agent Michael Debono Ltd is contacting the Maltese owners to upgrade a faulty braking system.
This is the second recall by the world's biggest car maker after it pledged last week to repair almost 8.7 million Agyo, Verso, iQ, Yaris, Auris, Corolla and Avensis models worldwide because of a potentially defective accelerator pedal.
The Prius international recall was made recently after drivers reported a momentary loss of braking power in the petrol-electric hybrid while travelling over uneven road surfaces.
When contacted, a spokesman for Michael Debono Ltd said that fewer than 20 cars in Malta would be affected by the latest recall and that the anti-lock braking software required an upgrade to "ensure proper consistency in braking".
"The procedure will take about 40 minutes and owners will be contacted for an appointment for rectification work to be carried out free of charge. Meanwhile, the cars concerned are safe to drive. At no time are drivers without brakes," the company said.
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received 124 reports from drivers about a momentary loss of braking power while travelling over uneven road surfaces.
The competing giant Japanese car manufacturer, Honda this week confirmed it was recalling 650,000 Jazz models manufactured between 2002 and 2008 over a potentially faulty electrical window circuit board.
Honda's local agent Associated Motors Ltd is following the international recall, which was made after an alleged incident in South Africa in which a two-year old girl died in a fire caused by a short circuit in the electrical window's switch board.
Honda International said the master window switch in the driver's door could malfunction when exposed to large amounts of liquids, for example if a window was left open frequently for long periods during heavy rain.
"Water and other fluids can cause the circuit board of the window switch to malfunction and prevent opening or closing of the window. In rare cases, the circuit board can overheat causing melting, smoke or potentially, fire," Honda said.
An Associated Motors Ltd spokesman confirmed they were contacting owners of Honda Jazz cars manufactured between 2002 and 2008 to examine the window mechanism.
"Some 350 owners will be given an appointment and the part will be examined. If it is defective then it will be changed free of charge," the spokesman said.
However, he insisted there was no cause for concern as the potential fire risk was created when the window was not closed properly during extreme rainy conditions.
Owners of second-hand Jazz imported models, which were not bought from Associated Motors Ltd, are also eligible for the part, if needed, the spokesman said.
International reports estimate that Toyota's own recall will cost the company an estimated €1.4 billion.
A further issue that came to light this week was a possible problem with the 2009-2010 Corolla model. In fact, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 83 complaints about the cars veering sharply to one side, unprompted, at high speeds.