Toyota to recall 1.9 mn Prius to fix software glitches

Toyota Motor Corp yesterday said that it would recall all 1.9 million of the third-generation Prius cars sold worldwide to fix a programming glitch that causes the car to stall.

This latest recall comes as Toyota is close to finalising a $1-billion deal to settle a four-year US federal criminal investigation into whether it withheld information or issued false information on unintended acceleration in its vehicles that led to it recalling 10.2 million vehicles in the US in 2009. (See: Toyota nears $1 bn settlement over mishandling unintended acceleration recalls)

Nearly half of the current recalled Priuses are in Japan, while 713,000 are in North America and 130,000 in Europe.

Toyota said that glitches in software settings used to control the boost converter in a module, which could stress and damage transistors in the hybrid systems.

"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 in a statement.

''If this happens, various warning lights will illuminate and the vehicle can enter a failsafe mode. In rare circumstances, the hybrid system might shut down while the vehicle is being driven, resulting in the loss of power and the vehicle coming to a stop,'' the statement added.

The automaker said it knows of no accidents or injuries resulting from the problem.

The Prius is one of Toyota's best-selling models and has outsold competing green cars like the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and the all-electric Nissan Leaf.

Toyota is also recalling 260,000 other vehicles in the US, including the RAV4 from 2012, the Tacoma from 2012 and 2013, and the Lexus RX 350 from 2012 and 2013.

The automaker said it will ''update the skid control ECU software on certain 2012 Toyota RAV4, 2012-2013 Toyota Tacoma, and 2012-2013 Lexus RX 350 models in order to address an electronic circuit condition that can cause the Vehicle Stability Control, Anti-lock Brake, and Traction Control functions to intermittently turn off. If these systems are off, standard braking operation remains fully functional.''