NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The total number of vehicles Toyota Motor Corp. has had to recall for gas-pedal related issues now comes to 8.1 million, the carmaker confirmed Thursday.

That figure may grow after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Thursday that it is launching a formal investigation into braking problems in the popular Toyota Prius.

The 8.1 million figure includes a total of 5.8 million vehicles recalled, around the world, for an issue in which accelerator pedals could become stuck in floor mats. Of those, 5.3 million are being recalled in the United States.

A total of 4.5 million vehicles, worldwide, are being recalled for a problem in which gas pedals, as they wear, can become sticky and not come all the way back up when the driver takes his foot off the pedal. Of those, 2.3 million are under recall in the U.S.

A total of 2.1 million vehicles around the world are subject to both recalls.

In addition to the United States, the recalls are also occurring in Europe and Asia.

Toyota officials estimate the total cost of the global recall could be as much as $2 billion, including the loss of 100,000 vehicle sales in the United States and Europe.

The figures do not include the Toyota Prius, which is currently not subject to a recall but is under formal investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This follows complaints of faulty braking by consumers and an admission by the company that cars produced early in the 2010 model year had a software problem that caused poor brake performance.

Volkswagen AG’s Audi luxury brand spent 15 years rebuilding U.S. sales after sudden-acceleration incidents in the 1980s almost wiped out demand, a possible sign of the difficult times Toyota Motor Corp. faces.

Audi’s U.S. deliveries plunged 83 percent by 1991 from their peak in 1985 following recalls of the German automaker’s 5000 sedan. A class-action lawsuit in 1987 by Audi owners seeking compensation is still being fought.

Audi was then selling no more than 75,000 cars a year in the U.S. and was chipping away at the market for higher-priced models. Last year, Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, sold 17 percent of all cars in the U.S. The Japanese manufacturer’s recall of almost 8 million vehicles, including 5.6 million in the U.S., to fix defects that cause sudden acceleration has prompted the U.S. government to probe the cause.

“There are very strong parallels between the Audi incident and Toyota,” said John Wolkonowicz, an analyst at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, who worked on product- development analysis for Ford Motor Co. at the time of the Audi recalls. “I’m convinced this whole mess can take longer than seven years to overcome. It might well have a generational impact.....”

“There are very strong parallels between the Audi incident and Toyota,” said John Wolkonowicz, an analyst at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, who worked on product- development analysis for Ford Motor Co. at the time of the Audi recalls. “I’m convinced this whole mess can take longer than seven years to overcome. It might well have a generational impact.....”

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has had some pretty harsh words for Toyota over the last few days, but LaHood spoke out in favor of Toyota on a government blog late on Thursday. LaHood has been at the center of Toyota’s latest safety investigations.

LaHood has been rather critical of Toyota over the last several days, but acknowledged Toyota’s sterling reputation for safety on a government blog. “It’s also important to remember that, fundamentally, Toyota has a strong safety record and is a good corporate citizen,” LaHood wrote.

LaHood created a firestorm on Wednesday when he advised Toyota owners to “stop driving it and take it to a Toyota dealer.” Toyota dealers were soon overrun with owners concerned about their vehicle’s safety, prompting LaHood to retract his statement just 90 minutes later.

In addition to Toyota’s latest wave of recalls, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launch a formal investigation involving the braking system on the 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid. If the investigation leads to a recall, more than 100,000 vehicles in the U.S. would be affected.

Toyota discovered a design flaw in the 2010 Hybrid Prius months ago, the company said this morning.

The anti-lock brake-system problem, which required a software change to fix, was corrected in all versions of the company's prized, fuel-efficient car sold since late last month. Toyota also said it would expand its investigation to all of its hybrid models

According to a new report, federal safety investigators allegedly agreed to exclude only the most severe cases of “runaway Toyotas” after the intervention of a former safety official, since hired to be a Washington, D.C. representative for Toyota.

According to a new investigation by ABC News, the 2004 federal investigation of computer-based throttle problems never reviewed any cases where the unintended sudden acceleration lasted more than one to two seconds – or any cases in which the driver attempted to brake. Because of these odd protocols, essentially any high-speed cases were completely ruled out from federal investigation.

Since the 2004 investigation, there have been five other similar investigations with the same limitations placed on federal probing. The most recent case involved a Lexus model with unintended and uncontrollable acceleration in 2007.

Edgar Heiskell, an attorney filing a suit against Toyota regarding a deadly Camry crash which took place in Detroit, said, “It’s beyond explanation. I have not seen an explanation that makes sense.”

According to internal memos and court testimony analyzed by ABS News investigators, the investigations were extremely limited in their scope, that is, after negotiations involving former safety inspector-turned Toyota representative.

According to a 2004 NHTSA memo, “Longer durations incidents involving uncontrollable accelerations” were deemed to be “not within the scope of the investigation.”

According to ABC News, that memo was written on March 23, 2004, not long after Scott Yon, a NHTSA official, met with two former NHTSA colleagues that now work for Toyota, including Chris Santucci, who left NHTSA six months prior, according to his testimony.

“We discussed the scope, ” Santucci testified. “I think it worked out well for both the agency and for Toyota.”

Flemington Hyundai gives $21,000 car to recalled Toyota driver

By PAMELA SROKA-HOLZMANN
Staff Writer

Union Township, Hunterdon resident Kevin Haggerty Friday was handed the keys to a 2010 Hyundai Sonata donated by the dealership following a plight with his former vehicle that could have turned tragic.

Flemington Hyundai owners, Richard and Leonard Datello presented Haggerty and his wife with the vehicle, valued at $21,000, following a national recall of some Toyota vehicles that had issues with gas pedals sticking. Richard Datello had learned about Haggerty’s woes with his Toyota in the media and wanted to help, he said.

Haggerty, 45, a volunteer firefighter with the Quakertown Fire Department in Franklin Township, Hunterdon, said he had been in dire straights with his 2007 Toyota Avalon sedan for the past several months. Haggerty said he started having trouble with occasional episodes of random acceleration. The vehicle would start revving and picking up speed and he'd have to stand on the brakes to slow it down, he said.

Haggerty would be driving through his hometown at 25 miles an hour and the car would begin accelerating. He then brought the vehicle to several mechanics, as well as a local dealership, with no luck in fixing the gas pedal that had been sticking. Then, in December 2009, Haggerty faced a near catastrophic accident when the car continued to accelerate forward – at nearly 65-mph -- in early morning rush hour traffic on Interstate 78. Fortunately, he was able to prevent the vehicle from having a collision by quickly shifting it into neutral, he said.

Haggerty continued to alert the car company that the problem might not just be with his vehicle, but others. Haggerty made headlines when he shared his technique for shifting the vehicle into neutral to prevent it from accelerating with other motorists.

Haggerty’s story quickly followed thousands of similar complaints, which led Toyota on Jan. 21 to recall approximately 2.3 million select Toyota Division vehicles equipped with certain accelerator pedal mechanisms that could, in rare instances, mechanically stick or return slowly to an idle position.

“This man risks his life as a volunteer firefighter and now was risking his life in this vehicle with his family and two young children,’’ Richard Datello said. “I wanted to take him out of that vehicle and give him one of the safest vehicles on the road.”

Hyundai in 2009 was ranked the top non-luxury brand by J.D. Power and Associates’ “Initial Quality Study,” which beat Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chevy and others.

“This is a local dealership helping local residents out,’’ Haggerty said Friday morning after receiving the new vehicle. “I appreciate their generosity, they came through for me. I now have peace of mind driving in a safe car.”

In addition to the free car, Flemington Hyundai also announced Friday morning it will make a $50 donation to the Quakertown Firehouse for every vehicle purchased this month. The dealership is located at 180 U.S. 202, Raritan Township.

Toyota has decided to issue a formal recall of its latest-model Prius petrol-electric hybrid in Japan, and may do the same in the US and other markets, after complaints about problems with its brakes, people close to the situation said on Sunday.

And in early 1996, Toyota engineers discovered that a crucial steering mechanism could fracture on the Hilux Surf, which was sold as the 4Runner in the United States. Toyota started installing a stronger version on new models.

Yet it took Toyota eight more years to start recalling Hilux Surfs and 4Runners built before the 1996 design change, after an accident involving an out-of-control Hilux Surf prompted a police investigation. Toyota received a rebuke from the Japanese government and was ordered to overhaul its recall system.

"It was like (the car) was being controlled by a robot or something," Dent said. "That thing accelerated and just went right into the wall."

"It was like (the car) was being controlled by a robot or something," Dent said. "That thing accelerated and just went right into the wall."