Tokyo , Japan -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Without issuing a recall of its iconic Prius hybrid vehicles , Toyota said Thursday a software glitch is to blame for braking problems in the 2010 model . `` We would want to be given a little time , '' Hiro Yuki Yokoyama , Toyota 's managing officer , said when reporters asked whether a recall was in the works . The company changed its braking system software in January as part of what it called `` constant quality improvements , '' but did not say what it would do about vehicles manufactured before then . Toyota officials described the problem as a `` disconnect '' in the vehicle 's complex anti-lock brake system -LRB- ABS -RRB- that causes less than a one-second lag . With the delay , a vehicle going 60 mph will have traveled nearly another 90 feet before the brakes begin to take hold . Brakes in hybrids such as the Prius operate differently from brakes in most cars . In addition to standard brakes , which use friction from pads pressed against drums or rotors , the electric motors in hybrids help slow them . The process also generates electricity to recharge the batteries . The Japanese government has warned Toyota to take seriously mounting complaints with the Prius . Toyota Vice President Shinichi Sasaki met with Japan 's transport minister on Wednesday . iReport : How are Toyota 's problems affecting you ? In Japan , 14 complaints about brakes in the Prius have been lodged since July . Japan 's Ministry of Land , Infrastructure , Transport and Tourism has asked Toyota to investigate , according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association . `` The complaints received via our dealers center around when drivers are on a bumpy road or frozen surface , '' said Paul Nolasco , a Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman in Japan . `` The driver steps on the brake , and they do not get as full of a braking feel as expected . '' Full coverage of Toyota recall In the United States , more than 100 complaints alleging poor brake performance have been lodged with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration against the 2010 Prius , a newly designed version of the car that was introduced last summer . `` NHTSA has received a number of complaints about a potential defect affecting the brake system in Toyota 's Prius hybrid and is conducting field work to examine the issue , '' the agency said Wednesday . A search of NHTSA 's complaint database turned up many similar-sounding complaints in the United States . `` I have been driving my 2010 Prius for 6 months and have experienced the following nearly 10 times , '' one owner wrote . `` When braking , if a pothole or bump in the road is hit , the car seemingly jerks forward/accelerates for a split second . '' The Prius is Toyota 's third best-selling model in the United States , ranking behind the Camry mid-size sedan and the Corolla compact car . Toyota 's public image , and its sales , have been hit by recent recalls involving unintended acceleration . The automaker recalled 2.3 million vehicles on January 21 because of problems with sticking gas pedals and later halted the sale of the eight models involved in the recall . Toyota 's U.S. sales plunged 16 percent in January as a result , even as sales of other automakers rose . Toyota announced third-quarter results Thursday , posting a 10.2 percent rise in net revenue from the year before . The quarter ended December 31 , three weeks before Toyota stopped selling the recalled models . In a separate recall , about 4.2 million vehicles were called back in November for a problem in which the cars ' gas pedals could get stuck in some floor mats . The last-generation version of the Prius was included in that recall , which was expanded to include an additional 1.1 million cars last week . CNNMoney 's Peter Valdes-Dapena and Kyung Lah contributed to this report .