Toyota recalls new Prius in safety fix

U.S. authorities stepped up scrutiny of Toyota, whose reputation was already on the line over fixes to more than 8 million vehicles worldwide for slipping floormats and sticky accelerator pedals.

Toyota on Tuesday ended days of speculation and recalled more than 400,000 hybrid models, including the latest version of its iconic Prius, to rectify a problem with the regenerative brakes that help charge the cars' electric batteries.

The move came a day before Toyota's North America head Yoshimi Inaba was due to testify about the recall process to Congress before the House Oversight Committee in Washington.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda, still waiting for a fix on his own Prius, said he may travel to the United States next week to tackle criticism that his company moved too slowly on earlier recalls.

In Japan, Transport Minister Seiji Maehara added to U.S. criticism, telling Toyoda he had hoped for swifter action.

"Recalling defective products is important, but each country needs to consider how to prevent this from becoming a diplomatic problem," he told reporters, adding the U.S. response had been "extremely measured" so far.

The U.S. government will continue its investigation into 2010 Prius hybrids even though Toyota has recalled the model, the Transportation Department said on Tuesday.

Ratings agency Moody's said it was reviewing Toyota's "AA1" rating for a possible downgrade.

Toyota also faces potential litigation over 19 deaths and numerous injuries in crashes linked to the acceleration problems as well as class-action lawsuits over the brake problems with the Prius.