Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center ® has become aware that Toyota is recalling about 2.4 million hybrid cars worldwide that could stall while driving. The Japanese automaker said Friday that the recall affects about 807,000 Toyota Prius cars in the U.S. It covers certain 2010 to 2014 Prius hybrids and certain 2012 to 2014 Prius V hybrids.
The defect occurs in “rare situations,” Toyota said. It involves the vehicle failing to “enter a fail-safe driving mode in response to certain hybrid system faults.” When that happens, “the vehicle could lose power and stall. While power steering and braking would remain operational, a vehicle stall while driving at higher speeds could increase the risk of a crash.” The automaker did not say whether it had linked any crashes, injuries or deaths to the problem.
It’s not the first time Toyota’s had trouble with the fail-safe procedure with some of these cars. The company issued recalls in 2014 and 2015 to address similar issues but “did not anticipate this new condition” at the time, Toyota said Friday. Dealers will apply a software fix to the Prius cars for free. Customers will be notified when they can get their cars repaired.
Separately, Toyota on Friday also announced a recall covering certain 2018 to 2019 Tundra pickup trucks and Sequoia SUVs, as well as 2019 Avalon cars, to repair an airbag defect. That recall covers about 188,000 worldwide, including 168,000 in the U.S.
“Due to inappropriate programming in the airbag electronic control unit (ECU), a fault may be erroneously detected during vehicle startup which would disable one or more of the sensors used to detect crashes,” Toyota said. “This could result in the side and curtain shield airbags and/or front and knee airbags not deploying as designed in a crash. As a result, there is an increased risk of injury in the event of a crash and regulatory requirements in certain markets may not be met.”
If you have a question regarding your vehicle’s safety, you should call the experienced lemon law attorneys at Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center ®. Our lemon law attorneys will take time to talk to you about your rights and will let you know if they can help. Visit www.YOURLEMONLAWRIGHTS.com or call 1-800-US-LEMON to submit your information to see if we can help.