Toyota (TM) announced that it is recalling some 1.9 million hybrid Prius cars worldwide after faulty software was discovered in the car’s hybrid-control system.
Here are five things to know about the Toyota Prius recall 2014:
5. The recall impacts vehicles manufactured between March 2009 and February 2014
The recall is likely to be significant. According to Toyota, 997,000 Prius cars in Japan, 713,000 in North America, and 130,000 in Europe and more in other regions will be recalled.
4. There is a potential danger, but no accidents have happened yet
Toyota said that no accidents or injuries have been reported related to the problem. However, the issue stems from the ECU settings that may cause some transistors to overheat. When this happens, the car is sent into failsafe mode and has the potential to cause the hybrid system to shut down during operation.
“The setting of the software could cause higher thermal stress in certain transistors within the booster converter, and these transistors could deform or become damaged as a result,” Toyota said.
3. You can get the glitch fixed in about 40 minutes
Toyota says the issue can be fixed in under an hour, and is currently reaching out to impacted Prius owners asking them to bring their car in for a software patch.
2. The recall is being for other Toyota vehicles as well
While Toyota notes that its other hybrid vehicles are not affected by the same issues as its Prius vehicles, the company has also issued a U.S. recall of RAV4s, Tacomas, and Lexus RX 350s to correct a problem with the skid control software. (Because, you know, you may as well get all these recalls out of the way at once.)
1. It’s another recall problem for Toyota
The Japanese automaker has been suffering through large-scale recalls since 2009, which have impacted some 14 million vehicles for problems from everything from brakes to gas pedals to floor mats.
More Toyota News
TM: Toyota Stock Poised to Move Into the Passing Lane
Toyota Halts Sales of Camry, Corolla Over Fire Risk
Toyota Leads the Auto Stocks Sales Race
