Toyota Prius Recall Issued Over Stall Risk if Hybrid System Fails While Driving

More than 800,000 Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles are being recalled, due to a risk that they may suddenly stall and lose power, which may increase the risk of an auto accident if the problems occur while the car is in motion. 

The Toyota Prius recall was announced in a press release issued on October 5, indicating that the hybrid system software may malfunction, preventing the car from entering its failsafe driving mode. This may cause the vehicle to stall unexpectedly.

To date, Toyota is not aware of accidents or injuries related to the recall. The recall notice indicates the power steering and braking would remain operation in a stall event.

The affected vehicles have a software issue that could cause an electrical component to overheat and stall the vehicle. The affected vehicles are designed to enter a failsafe driving mode in response to certain hybrid system faults, however, Toyota has identified that in rare situations the vehicle may fail to enter into this mode.

The issue is part of a larger problem that has resulted in roughly 2.4 million Toyota hybrid vehicles being recalled across the globe. Toyota is warning that vehicles included in the recall could have received prior notifications about recalls in 2014 and 2015.

The recall affects approximately 807,000 model year 2010 through 2014 Toyota Prius hatchbacks and model years 2012 through 2014 Prius V hybrid vehicles. The vehicles were manufactured by Toyota Automotive manufacturer and distributed for sale throughout the U.S. to licensed dealers.

Toyota has announced it will begin notifying customers of the recall with instructions on how to schedule a free software upgrade for affected vehicles when the upgrade becomes available. Customers with additional questions or concerns regarding to the recall are being asked to contact Toyota Customer Service directly at 800-331-4331.