Toyota Recalls 1.9 Mln. Prius To Fix Software Glitch

(RTTNews) - Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) Wednesday said it is recalling about 1.9 million Prius cars worldwide to fix a software defect, which could slow down the car or result in a sudden stop.

It is reported that the number of vehicles would be more than half of the Prius vehicles Toyota has produced globally since March 2009.

Toyota is recalling about a million Prius cars in Japan, around 700,000 in North America, another 130,000 in Europe and the rest in other regions.

Toyota said the software's current settings could result in higher thermal stress in certain transistors, potentially causing them to become damaged. 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.

Toyota, the world's top-selling car marker, said it has not received any reports of accidents or injuries due to the problem.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Toyota has recalled more vehicles than any automaker in the U.S. for each of the last two years.

Besides the Prius recall, Toyota will also recall about 300,000 other cars in the U.S. to fix a separate issue. The recalled cars include 2012 Toyota RAV4, 2012-2013 Toyota Tacoma, and 2012-2013 Lexus RX 350.

Toyota will update the skid control ECU software on those 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.

TM is currently trading at $117.62, down $0.29 or 0.25%, on the NYSE.