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NHTSA investigating 30,000 Toyota Camry Hybrids for brake assist problems

Older model Toyota Camry Hybrids are under investigation by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for potential braking problems. Enough complaints have poured into the NHTSA website that the agency is now taking a look at the problem, which could affect around 30,000 vehicles from the 2007 and 2008 model years. According to Reuters, 59 complaints have been submitted revolving around an "intermittent loss of assisted braking" which means the car takes longer to stop. Interestingly, the rate of complaints is increasing. Toyota is reportedly cooperating with NHTSA and there has not yet been an official recall on the Camry Hybrids. In 2006, Toyota said Brake Assist was "an electronic function that senses an emergency stop and applies increased braking power once the driver touches the brake pedal." When Toyota unveiled the 2007 Camry Hybrid, it proudly stated that the new Brake Assist function would be standard. Other Toyota hybrids have had problems with their brakes in the past, including the 2010 Prius and Lexus HS 250h hybrid. You can read some of the complaints about Brake Assist in the Camry Hybrids to the NHTSA here. People are saying that the "Check VSC" lights can come on before the brakes loose some of their power and a lot of them are being quoted repair costs of over $3,000 by Toyota dealers. Featured Gallery 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid View 38 Photos News Source: Reuters Green Toyota Hybrid brakes

Coming Toyota Supra to forgo hybrid, get a BMW six-cylinder turbo?

For years, almost all of the talk about the Toyota FT-1 concept becoming a resurrected Supra envisioned a hybrid under the hood. And then the latest take on Future Toyota 1 showed up at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show and - although Toyota wouldn't say a word about any engine at all - horizons began to expand. Imaginary fancies were aided by the news that Toyota had partnered with BMW to develop a sports car on the next-generation BMW Z4 platform, which would necessarily mean an engine bay designed to accept an old-fashioned hunk of gas-burning iron-working solo. Car and Driver now turns the whole thing around, reporting that there will be an inline-six with forced induction provided by BMW under the hood. What about that hybrid, though? The report states, "there's currently no indication that the Silk Road cars will offer hybrid options" - 'Silk Road' being the codename for the jointly-developed vehicles. CD makes a point to note that said tidbit came from Germany, not Japan. However, designers at Toyota's Calty studio did tell Automotive News last year that they designed the body with an inline-six in mind, a nod to the Supra's history. Hybrid rumors aren't dead yet, though - remember, we were hearing about all-wheel drive and supercapacitors in May 2014. The coupe is predicted to be a 2018 model, making its appearance sometime in 2017, and be "about 10 percent" smaller than the FT-1 concept. Related Video:

400-hp Toyota Hybrid-R Concept gets second teaser

Toyota has released a second teaser of its Hybrid-R Concept, along with an estimation of the show car's power output. Using technology that's "similar to that used by Toyota Racing's TS030 Hybrid race car," the concept is expected to deliver over 400 horsepower.
The press release also mentions that the new concept is based on a current production model. While it's difficult to tell from the sole teaser image of the car's body, rumors are flying that it's related to the Yaris. If that's the case, though, it's difficult to know what to make of this concept. The teaser image is quite dark, but we played around with the exposure and came up with an image that reveals more details about the new concept. Take a look at the related gallery, below, to see the high-exposure image. We'll find out for certain what the Hybrid-R is in a few weeks at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Let us know what you think Toyota's newest concept is in the comments.