Toyota Probes Complaints of Sudden Stalling in Prius Cars

Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday that it was looking into complaints in the U.S. that its popular Prius hybrid car suddenly stalled or shut down, often at high speeds on highways.

“We have been alerted to the fact that some owners might have a problem,” said Toyota spokesman John Hansen. “We are going to go back to our service records to find out what owners have had a problem like this and how many.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had received 13 complaints of the gas-electric hybrid vehicles stalling or stopping unexpectedly.

Toyota dealers attributed the problems to a software glitch in the car’s complex computer system, according to some complaints. The automaker didn’t identify the location of the owners making the complaints.

Toyota sold 87,000 Prius cars in the 16 months through April, about a third of those in California. There is usually a waiting list to buy the vehicle, which has a gasoline engine with an electric motor to increase fuel-efficiency. The Prius gets as much 60 miles per gallon of gasoline.

NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson said that the agency was monitoring the complaints but that no formal investigation has been launched.