Toyota Recalls 2.4M Vehicles Due To Flawed Hybrid System

Toyota Motor Comp TM announced a massive safety recall of 2.43 million gasoline hybrid vehicles in Japan, the United States and other markets. The recalled vehicles have a system issue that may lead to halting of cars.

Notably, the recalled cars include Toyota's Prius and Auris models, which were manufactured between October 2008 and November 2014. Out of the total cars recalled, 1.25 million were sold in Japan, 830,000 in North America and 290,000 in Europe. The additional recalled vehicles were sold in China, Africa, Oceania and other regions.

In unusual situations, the recalled cars might fail to switch to failsafe driving mode on the hybrid system faults, which may result in stalling of the car. This, at higher speeds, increases the risk of a car crash even if the power steering and braking system remain operational.

Toyota dealers will update the software in all the recalled vehicles without any charge from the customers.

Almost within a month, this marks the second massive recall by the company, which is not related to the Takata airbag issue. Last month, Toyota was recalling more than 1 million of its Prius and C-HR compact crossover cars. The affected vehicle's engine wire harness, which is linked to the power control unit, might damage over time resulting in a short circuit or catch fire.

Such frequent vehicle recalls in large numbers not only add to expenses for Toyota but also hurts the company's reputation, which might weigh on vehicle sales.

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