Toyota Motor Corp. is looking into complaints in the United States that its popular Prius hybrid car suddenly stalls and shuts down, often at high speeds on highways.
"We have been alerted to the fact that some owners might have a problem and we are going to go back to our service records to find out what owners have had a problem like this and how many," a Toyota spokesman said.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it has received 13 complaints so far 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.
Toyota has sold 34,225 Prius cars so far this year. There is usually a waiting list to buy the vehicle, which has a gasoline engine with an electric motor to increase fuel efficiency.
