美国安全监管机构已启动针对普瑞斯(Prius)刹车问题的正式调查，令日本汽车制造商丰田(Toyota)雪上加霜。普瑞斯是世界上最畅销的油电混合动力轿车。
US safety regulators have begun a formal probe into brake problems on the Toyota Prius, the world's best selling hybrid petrol-electric car, adding to the woes of the Japanese carmaker.
美国国家公路交通安全管理局(NHTSA)昨日表示，它已接到124起有关2010年型号普瑞斯刹车问题的投诉，包括4起撞车事故。丰田昨日早些时候宣布，发现了新款普瑞斯的一个设计问题，可能会影响该款汽车在结冰或不平坦路面上的刹车性能。此后，NHTSA宣布将展开调查。
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said yesterday that it had received 124 complaints about braking problems on the 2010 model of the Prius, including four crashes. It announced the investigation after Toyota's disclosure earlier in the day that it had identified a design problem with the revamped Prius that can affect the performance of the car's brakes on icy or uneven roads.
自去年11月以来，世界第一大汽车制造商丰田已召回了800多万辆汽车，为其更换油门踏板及位置不合适的地垫——这两个问题涉及一些撞车事故。丰田昨日估算，这些召回事件及由此造成的销售和生产停滞将带来1800亿日元（合19.8亿美元）的财务成本。
Toyota, the world's biggest carmaker, has recalled more than 8m vehicles since November to fix accelerator pedals and out-of-position floormats, which have been linked to crashes. Yesterday, it put the financial cost of those recalls and a related sales and production freeze at up to Y180bn ($1.98bn).
不过，正在努力挽救自身声誉的丰田表示，由于政府的报废车激励措施提升了世界各地的汽车销量，预计在截至今年3月的财政年度，该公司将恢复盈利。
However, the company, which is fighting to salvage its reputation, said it expected to return to profit in the year to March as a result of government scrappage incentives that have lifted car sales worldwide.
丰田负责质量控制的常务董事横山裕行(Hiroyuki Yokoyama)表示，尚未决定是否要大范围召回普瑞斯汽车，而且此刹车问题并不被视为一项安全威胁。
Hiroyuki Yokoyama, Toyota managing director responsible for quality control, said it had not decided whether to issue a broad recall of the Prius, and that the brake problem was not considered a safety threat.
他表示，问题涉及控制该车防抱死系统(ABS)的软件。当防抱死系统启动后，当制动系统从“再生”模式转换到标准的液压制动时，一些驾驶员可能感到短暂的“停顿”。他表示，在经销商和日本国土交通省接到投诉后，丰田工程师上月已重新编写了防抱死系统软件。对于已经上路的汽车，丰田目前只有在接到要求的情况下才会进行更新。
He said the issue involved software that controls the car's anti-lock braking system (ABS). When the ABS was engaged, some drivers might feel a short “pause” when the car's brakes switched from “regenerative” mode to standard hydraulic braking.Toyota engineers had reprogrammed the ABS software last month after dealers and the Japanese transport ministry received complaints, he said. For cars already on the road, Toyota would for now perform updates only on request.
