Car Manufacturer Has To Recall Recent Hybrid Models
There’s been quite a large number of automobiles being recalled this year. Most of these have been directly related to faulty Takata airbags, and there’s a strange comfort to knowing that they were all a result of the same problem as opposed to a number of different problems that car manufacturers have had. However, the latest from Toyota is a hybrid recall, and it isn’t related to airbags. 625,000 hybrids around the world are being recalled by Toyota, sold between 2010 and 2014. American models being recalled are from 2012-2014, 109,000 Prius V vehicles. These vehicles are also known as the Prius Alpha or Prius Plus, depending on where they’re sold. Also involved in this new hybrid recall are 340,000 cars sold in Japan, as well as 160,000 in Europe.
Hybrids Can Stall Without Warning
The issue that caused the hybrid recall stems from the software settings, which could cause the vehicles to overheat. The transistors of the motor/generator control units and the hybrid control units, if too heated, will cease to continue working. Instead, it shuts down after entering a safe mode, and causes the car to stop suddenly. The biggest danger in this is that this problem can happen while the owner is driving the Toyota, forcing Toyota to make the hybrid recall before a major accident occurs. This is not the first time this issue has plagued Toyota; a hybrid recall was put into effect last year as well, when Toyota had to recall Prius sedans for this very problem. Toyota is certainly no stranger to recalls at this point; the 625,000 cars in this hybrid recall just add to the over 5 million cars worldwide that Toyota has been forced to recall for a myriad of reasons.
Toyota Will Be Notifying Car Owners of Recall
All of these recalls are adding up to a quite a bit of bad PR. The only thing Toyota can really do to help their case and get their customers back on their good side is to, like they’ve been doing, offer a fix to the hybrid recall problem for no charge. Toyota will be notifying those affected by the hybrid recall via mail over the next few days. Hybrid owners whose cars fit under the umbrella of cars being recalled will be asked to take their car to their local Toyota dealership, where the problematic software will be updated.
