The recall of Toyota Motor Corp.'s popular Prius hybrid earlier this month sparked criticism that the company was slow to respond to customers and failed to heed their views amid the automaker's various product safety issues in the U.S.
Some experts said that while Toyota indeed mishandled the Prius issue, it is questionable whether the model's brake problem itself was something requiring a recall if the automaker hadn't been in its current fix.
Automotive journalist Hiroshi Matsushita said the brake system problem basically poses no severe threat to regular driving safety and can be alleviated by stepping down firmly on the brake pedal in cases where the brakes aren't working well.