According to a report in the Nikkei business daily, embattled Toyota Motor Corp. will recall the Prius hybrid in the United States, China, Japan and more than 50 other countries to address a problem with the brakes slipping.

Bloomberg News reports that on Friday, February 5, 2010, Toyota send a leader to dealers telling them to anticipate instructions on how to handle the Prius issue.

The brake fix involves an upgrade of the Prius software. Apparently the company contemplated offering the repair as a voluntary option but opted for a recall in hopes the move will help to restore public confidence.

The problem occurs in the third generation of the popular hybrid, which became available for sale in Japan, Europe, and the United States in 2009. In the U.S., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation of the issue after receiving 124 complaints, two of which involved fatal crashes.

The problem is most likely to occur on roads that are slick or bumpy, with reports peaking in December thanks to icy conditions and the more frequent application of anti-lock braking.

Toyota was aware of the brake problem was conducting repairs, but had not advised consumers, a move that further eroded public confidence in the face of recalls since last year of 8.1 million vehicles with potentially defective accelerator pedals.