Toyota starts fixing Priuses recalled in Japan

Instead of screwdrivers and wrenches, mechanics are fixing the problem with a laptop-like device that rewrites problem programming for the brakes.

Some 400,000 Prius vehicles globally, about half of them in Japan where the gas-electric hybrid is manufactured, will get a repair for the glitch.

Prius owners in Japan are the first to get the fix — at Toyota dealers nationwide. A similar repair for 139,000 Prius cars sold in North America will follow as dealers notify owners next week. A fix is also in the works for 53,000 Prius cars in Europe.

At a repair shop in the back of a Tokyo dealership, a mechanic plugged a long black cord dangling from a handheld device — about the size of a book — into a socket at the bottom of the dashboard, beneath the steering wheel.

An assistant opened the hood, to make sure everything was all right, turned to the mechanic in the driver's seat, and asked, "Ready?" The mechanic began pushing buttons on the device and pressing on its black and white touch panel.

The car's faulty programming — which can cause a slight delay in braking — was replaced with correct programming. It was all over in less than 10 minutes, without a sound or a stir.

The Tokyo dealership chain called Toyopet is expecting eight more Prius cars to be brought in for reprogramming later in the day. Owners are being asked to wait about 40 minutes.

Makiko Noguchi, a 61-year-old producer for a video company, was sipping tea in the showroom, anxiously waiting for her Prius to get fixed.

"I never experienced any problems," she said. "If anything, I'm more worried about what they're doing to my car now."

Like many other Prius owners, she was mystified by Toyota's handling of the recall. All Toyota needed to do was come out with an explanation sooner, she said.

It wasn't until Tuesday that Toyota announced the global Prius recall. The company acknowledged last week it had quietly fixed the glitch in cars in production from last month — a disclosure that did little to assuage growing consumer doubts.

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