Toyota doesn't sell the Auris in the US, which is why the Stateside component of this recall only covers the Prius and Prius V.
ToyotaSome recalls take more than one go-around to fix. In the case of Toyota's latest recall, some of the hybrids mentioned have undergone two prior recalls to fix related issues.
Toyota has issued a recall for 2.4 million Prius and Auris hybrids worldwide. In the US, the recall covers approximately 807,000 examples of the 2010-2014 Prius and 2012-2014 Prius V. The vehicles in question, including those found in other countries, carry build dates between October 2008 and November 2014.
The issue stems from the vehicles' software. When a fault is discovered in the hybrid system, the cars in question should default to a "failsafe" driving mode (often referred to as "limp" mode) that will allow the vehicle enough power to get off the road and to a safe place. In the recalled vehicles, however, they might lose power and stall instead of going into "limp" mode, which could increase the risk of a crash if it happens at a bad time.
According to Toyota's release, this issue was also addressed in two prior recalls from 2014 and 2015. This new recall addresses a condition that the last two recalls "did not anticipate."
Thankfully, fixing the problem requires no hardware alterations. Dealership technicians will apply a software patch to the recalled vehicles, which should clean the problem up and ensure that "limp" mode activates when it should. Toyota will send recall notifications via first-class mail when the necessary software updates are available.
Discuss: Toyota recalls 2.4 million Prius, Auris hybrids for software-related stalling
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