Toyota Prius Recalled

A worldwide recall of Prius cars was initiated by Toyota, the world’s top-selling automaker, in February 2014 due to a hybrid software defect. Toyota recalled around 1.9 million of its Prius cars around the world. Most of the recalls took place in Japan and North America. The car maker said that it recalled 997,000 Prius cars in Japan, about 713,000 in North America, around 130,000 in Europe and the rest in other regions.

Related: Toyota Recalls 247,000 Vehicles Due to Faulty Airbags

What caused the recall?
The total number of the recalled vehicles was equivalent to more than half of the Prius hybrids sold since the model’s debut 17 years ago. The recall was attributed to a software defect. The defect caused the vehicle to slow down suddenly or shut down while the vehicle was being driven. This software defect was likely to result in the loss of power and the vehicle coming to a stop. More than 400 reports of this problem were identified, but Toyota said that no accidents or injuries were reported in connection with this recall. Also, prior to this recall, Toyota halted U.S. sales of certain Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Camry, Camry Hybrid, Corolla, Sienna, Tacoma and Tundra vehicles equipped with seat heaters. The seat heaters could burn at a faster rate than U.S. regulations allowed. With this recall, Toyota asked its dealers to upgrade the software. Consumers of the recalled vehicles were advised to get more information at www.toyota.com/recall or by calling Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Related: Takata, Honda: Two Lawsuits Over Airbag Recall

As a Kentucky Accident Attorney, I urge you to have your Prius checked out to make sure there isn’t any faulty machinery. We don’t want any accidents to happen when they can be avoided. This also makes me wonder if all of the technology that is going into our cars is a good idea. Software can malfunction at any time and cause an accident. Please take this recall seriously, and have your car looked at as soon as you are able.