Toyota said on Feb. 9 it would recall hundreds of thousands of hybrid vehicles around the world, including its best-selling Prius, plunging deeper into crisis as lawsuits in the United States piled up.

Toyota, facing a barrage of complaints ranging from unintended acceleration to brake failure, is scrambling to reassure drivers it did not sacrifice its legendary safety in its successful drive to be the world's largest automaker.

But in another heavy blow to its brand image, long synonymous with reliability and quality, Toyota said it was recalling 437,000 Prius and other hybrid vehicles to repair a flaw in the braking system.

The company is now pulling almost 8.7 million vehicles around the world -- far more than its entire 2009 global sales of 7.8 million vehicles.

"We will tackle the issue with dealers and suppliers," Toyota's president Akio Toyoda said at a news conference. "Together we will do everything in our power to regain the confidence of our customers."

The Toyota family scion, under fire for his handling of the crisis, said he would travel to the United States to explain the safety troubles. He denied the company, whose U.S. executives face a congressional grilling on Wednesday, had become overly complacent as it overtook General Motors to take the global pole position.

"I don't think Toyota is an almighty company. We are confident that we've been making improvements when we spotted a failure or defect to provide better products. We will continue this attitude in the future," he said.

Toyota is facing a raft of lawsuits in the United States. In one of the latest, a California woman is alleging her Prius has severe braking problems which make it dangerous to drive.

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