TOKYO – Toyota has decided to recall an estimated 270,000 of its latest-generation Prius cars in Japan and the United States to fix a brake problem in the popular hybrid, a report said Friday.

 

The world's largest automaker would shortly file the request with Japan's transport ministry and the US Department of Transportation, The Nikkei newspaper reported.

 

A spokesman for Toyota's US unit told AFP that he could not confirm or deny the unsourced report and said he had "no information on it."

 

The recall will target the third-generation Prius, which was launched last May, to change the control programme for the vehicle's anti-lock brake system, Nikkei reported.

 

The recall would only affect Prius vehicles sold between May and December -- about 176,000 units in Japan and around 100,000 in the US -- because Toyota began using a revised programme at the start of 2010.

 

Toyota will likely launch recalls or offer voluntary free repairs in other markets as well, the report said.

 

The Japanese automaker has recently been hit by a whirlwind of safety concerns around the globe leading to massive recalls affecting about eight million vehicles worldwide so far.