LAST UPDATE | 5 Oct 2018

TOYOTA HAS RECALLED over 2.4 million hybrid vehicles across the world amid concerns about a fault that could cause crashes.

In total 1,289 of the Japanese manufacturer’s hybrid vehicles in Ireland are affected. The issue affects Toyota Prius, Prius+ and Auris models and involves the failsafe driving mode.

It comes just a month after the manufacturer recalled over a million hybrid cars after uncovering a technical problem that could cause fires.

The latest recall affects several models of Toyota’s Prius and Auris hybrid vehicles produced between October 2008 and November 2014, with more than a million of the affected cars in Japan.

Another 830,000 are in North America, 290,000 are in Europe, 3,000 are in China, and the rest are in other parts of the world.

In a statement, Toyota said the cars involved in the recall had already been involved in previous recalls in 2014 and 2015, but “the remedy conducted then did not anticipate the new condition identified in this recall”.

The problem identified arises when the cars fail to enter “failsafe driving mode as intended”.

“If this occurs, the vehicle could lose power and stall,” the company said.

“While power steering and braking would remain operational, a vehicle stall while driving at higher speeds could increase the risk of a crash.”

Japan’s transport ministry said Toyota had reported three malfunctions locally related to the issue, but no accidents. There are no reported incidents in Ireland.

In a statement Toyota Ireland ceo Steve Tormey said: 

Commenting Steve Tormey, Chief Executive of Toyota Ireland said:

This recall affects limited numbers of customers in Ireland, and if any customer has any queries or concerns our dealer network will be happy to address these.

Toyota has sold more than 10 million hybrid petrol-electric vehicles globally, including the Prius, since 1997.

In 2016, Toyota announced the recall of 3.37 million vehicles globally over problems with air bags and a fuel emission control unit.

© – AFP 2018