>>>
toyota
is now investigating possible brake problems on lexus hybrids after thursday's admission that there were problems on its
2010
prius
models. this as
toyota
's chief executive addresses the media for the first time. cnbc's
phil
lebeau covers the
car industry
and has certainly been covering this story for us.
phil
, good morning, again.
>>
reporter: good morning, matt. and as we speak right now, okio
toyota
, the chairman and ceo of
toyota
, is holding a press conference in japan, talking about the recalls that are taking place, this on a morning when an official with the
japanese government
says
toyota
has a mistaken view of the
prius
brake problem. he says the company does not see it as a major issue, even as
toyota
says repeatedly it is moving quickly to deal with
prius
brakes that are slow to work.
toyota
's latest problem, the
prius
, its best-selling gas-
electric hybrid
. the
prius
is considered
toyota
's
gold standard
and a badge of conspicuous conservation for its proud owners.
>>
there's a lot of consumers out there that are really nervous about driving their
toyota
products.
>>
reporter: last november, less than a month after buying her
2010
prius
, "today"
west coast
contributor
maria menounos
told police her brakes failed after an accident.
>>
i just felt like the brakes didn't work.
>>
reporter: federal investigators are looking into more than 100 consumer complaints about the brakes in the
2010
prius
.
>>
it's going to really hurt
toyota
, definitely in the short term.
>>
reporter:
toyota
says it's looking into what may cause the brakes to pause before slowing down, adding, "we're making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible." yet another setback for the world's number one automaker, already under the microscope for two massive recalls to address unintended acceleration. but as dealers around the country began the monumental task of fixing potentially faulty gas pedals --
>>
basically is this area right here.
>>
reporter: -- they're also faced with repairing relationships with millions of loyal customers.
>>
i just want it fixed. i want to go on driving my car and be happy and safe.
>>
reporter: as
toyota
looks into the issue of what's wrong with
prius
brakes, the big fix begins at dealerships across the country.
toyota
dealers are going to have to take weeks to fix millions of sticky gas pedals. remember, there's 2.3 million vehicles that have been recalled. matt?
>>
all right,
phil
lebeau on this story for us in illinois this morning.
phil
, thanks very much.
“ ”