Toyota recalls 1.9 million Prius hybrids for shutdown risk

Toyota announced today that it is recalling about 1.9 million 2010 to 2014 Prius hybrids, 700,000 of which were sold in the United States, because current software settings could cause higher thermal stress in certain transistors, leading to damage. If this happens, the vehicle can enter a failsafe mode, potentially causing the system shut down while the vehicle is being driven, resulting in the loss of power and the vehicle coming to a stop.

Toyota said it would update the motor/generator control ECU and hybrid control ECU software on affected Prius vehicles.

If your Prius enters the failsafe mode, quickly pull over to a safe location, exit the vehicle, and call for help. We suggest you exit the vehicle in this situation because you don't want to be in or near a car on the side of the road in case another vehicle careers into it.

Toyota is also recalling 260,000 2012 RAV4, 2012 to 2013 Tacoma, and 2012 to 2013 Lexus RX 350 vehicles in the United States to address a separate issue. A potential electronic circuit condition can cause the stability control, antilock brake, and traction control functions to intermittently turn off. (If these systems are off, standard braking operation remains functional.) Toyota said it would update the skid control ECU software on affected RAV4, Tacoma, and Lexus RX 350 models.

Toyota has received no reports of accidents or injuries associated with either condition.

Owners of vehicles affected by these recalls will get a free software update, and they will be notified by first class mail when updates are available at their dealers.

For more information, vehicle owners can visit toyota.com/recall or call 800-331-4331. Lexus customers can visit lexus.com/recall or call 800-255-3987.

You can search for car recalls on ConsumerReports.org for reports and explanation, either through the recalls hub or via the appropriate model page.

—Maggie Shader