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Toyota Recalls 1.9 Million Prius Hybrids

TOKYO (AP) - Toyota is recalling 1.9 million hybrid Prius cars globally for a software glitch that could cause the vehicle to stall. Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that 997,000 Prius cars in Japan, some 713,000 in North America, another 130,000 in Europe and the rest in other regions are being recalled for a problem in the software to control the hybrid system. No accidents or injuries have been reported related to the problem. The software could cause transistors to become damaged, causing warnings lights to go off, driving power to be reduced or the car to stop. The recalled vehicles were manufactured between March 2009 and February 2014. The Japanese automaker suffered massive recalls starting in 2009, affecting more than 14 million vehicles for problems including floor mats, gas pedals and brakes. Affected vehicles include: 2010-2014 Prius vehicles, 2012 Toyota RAV4, 2012-2013 Toyota Tacoma and 2012-2013 Lexus RX 350 vehicles sold in the United States. Related Gallery AOL Autos Test Drive: 2014 Toyota Highlander Recalls Toyota

U.S. and Toyota Reach Settlement Over Safety Problems Disclosure

The U.S. has reached a $1.2 billion settlement with Toyota Motor Corp., concluding a four-year criminal investigation into the Japanese automaker's disclosure of safety problems, according to a person close to the investigation. Attorney General Eric Holder, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, were announcing the settlement Wednesday morning, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the settlement on the record before the announcement. TOP 5Most Researched Green Cars On AOL Autos 2013 Honda Fit EV MSRP : $36,625 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV MSRP : $26,685 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV MSRP : $29,125 2012 Ford Focus Electric MSRP : $39,200 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in MSRP : $32,000 In a statement early Wednesday, Toyota said it has "cooperated with the U.S. Attorney's office in this matter for more than four years" and had "made fundamental changes to become a more responsive and customer-focused organization, and we are committed to continued improvements." The criminal investigation focused on whether Toyota was forthright in reporting problems related to unintended acceleration troubles. Starting in 2009, Toyota issued massive recalls, mostly in the U.S., totaling more than 10 million vehicles for various problems including faulty brakes, gas pedals and floor mats. From 2010 through 2012, Toyota Motor Corp. paid fines totaling more than $66 million for delays in reporting unintended acceleration problems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration never found defects in electronics or software in Toyota cars, which had been targeted as a possible cause. The settlement continues a string of bad publicity for Toyota, which before the unintended acceleration cases had a bulletproof image of reliability. Since the cases surfaced, the company's brand image has been damaged and it has lost U.S. market share as competition has intensified. Last year, Toyota agreed to pay more than $1 billion to resolve hundreds of lawsuits claiming that owners of its cars suffered economic losses because of the recalls. But that settlement did not include wrongful death and injury lawsuits that have been consolidated in California state and federal courts. In December, Toyota filed court papers after a four-year legal battle saying that it's in settlement talks on nearly 400 U.S. lawsuits, but other cases aren't included in the talks.

Ford only automaker to make 2012 Buzz Rankings, Toyota most improved

Ford landed itself a spot among the top 10 brands in the 2012 Buzz Rankings. The annual index scores 1,100 brands in 41 categories to determine which nameplates had the most positive buzz throughout the year.
For the third year in a row, Subway took the top honors overall with a score of 40.3, and Ford was the only automaker to break into the top 25 by earning a sixth-place finish overall. The manufacturer earned a score of 32.1 points, which was enough to push it up one spot from the 2011 Buzz Rankings. Honda managed 21.2 points overall, which is still well behind 25th-place Kohl's at 26.5 points. Toyota, Volkswagen and BMW all round out the top five automakers.
The 2012 Buzz Rankings also keep track of which brands improved the most over the past year, and this year, Toyota was the manufacturer with the largest leap forward. The Japanese automaker jumped from just 14 points in 2011 to 20.5 in 2012. Chrysler, Kia, Dodge and Volkswagen all saw sizable steps forward as well. Be sure to head over to the Brand Index site for more information.