Toyota's nightmare of faulty equipment and worse public relations continues as the company considers a recall of the 2010 Prius hybrid in the United States and Japan over brake issues that have prompted investigations in both countries.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company's founder, issued a personal apology and sought to insure drivers that Toyota cars are safe. Acknowledging the crisis that is imperiling Toyota's reputation for reliability and quality, Toyoda said, "I would like to take this opportunity to apologize from the bottom of my heart for causing many of our customers concern after the recalls across several models in several regions."

Currently, some 8 million Toyotas around the world have been recalled to implement a fix for a sticking accelerator pedal. The problem has been directly linked to 19 deaths in the United States over the past ten years. Dealers received metal shims this week that reduce friction on the pedal. The refit requires approximately 30 minutes and many dealerships are staying open 24 hours a day to accommodate their customer's schedules.

Public perception of the problem was compounded when Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood advised consumers not to drive their Toyotas in comments made on Wednesday, February 3. Although the secretary revised his comments later in the day, many Toyota drivers panicked and dealerships were flooded with calls from people seeking either a tow or a house call from qualified technicians.

If a Prius recall is indeed issued, Toyota's state of crisis will continue into a second, damaging week. Many drivers, upon learning that a software fix for brake issues had been implemented by Toyota on the model without notification to consumers, expressed concern that the automaker is actively hiding dangerous defects in its cars.