— Toyota is recalling 625,000 model year 2012-2014 Prius v hybrid wagons globally because they can stall without warning due to software problems. The same problems caused Toyota to recall over 700,000 Prius vehicles in February 2014.
The Prius v, also called the Prius Plus and Prius Alpha outside the U.S., can go into "safe" mode because transistors could overheat and become damaged. Toyota says the overheating is caused by software settings for the motor/generator and hybrid electronic control units. Errors in the software settings could cause high thermal stress in the transistors and shut down the car.
A driver will have some advanced notice of the problem because warning lights will activate before the car goes into safe mode. In the worst case scenario, the hybrid system will shut down while the car is on the road.
The automaker says about 109,000 of the cars are in the U.S., with the rest spread across Japan and other countries.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not released details about when the Prius v recall will begin, but Toyota said dealers will update the software for both the motor/generator control and hybrid control electronic control units.
With questions about the Prius v hybrid recall, contact Toyota customer service at 800-331-4331.
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