Toyota Prius global recall announcement

By George Skentzos | February 09th, 2010

Toyota has today announced an official global recall on its most technologically advanced model, the third-generation Toyota Prius.

A total of 2378 new Toyota Prius vehicles in Australia are effected, with more than 400,000 vehicles involved in the recall globally.

The recall is unrelated to the current Toyota pedal crisis with no other Toyota or Lexus models affected by the recall which has been simultaneously announced in Japan, the United States, Europe and in other regions.

This announcement has stemmed from reports concerning inconsistent brake feel during slow and steady braking on certain road conditions such as a pot hole, bumpy or slippery road surfaces when the ABS is activated.

While pedal feel may become inconsistent under these circumstances, the brakes themselves are not affected and will continue to operate effectively.

A total of 111 cases of this fault have been reported by customers globally, with two in Australia.

The fix is strictly limited to firmware and entails a change to the ABS management program of the vehicle’s Electronic Control Unit (ECU) in order to improve response time.

The entire procedure will be carried out by an authorised Toyota dealer, taking approximately one hour at no cost to the vehicle owner.

Simon

Good on you Toyota – “no Australian cars affected….”.
In the words of Jeremy Clarkson, “Yeah……….Right!”
Just bite the bullet and update all Prius.

The Other Brad

“The recall is unrelated to the current Toyota pedal crisis with no other Toyota or Lexus models affected by the recall which has been simultaneously announced in Japan, the United States, Europe and in other regions.”

trackdaze

If ever there was any doubt that toyota’s reliability mantra is based in a carefully fettled marketing myth rather than reality. that doubt must surely be broken………except for the brand lemings of course.
Andrew M

I wonder if this will affect the hybrid Camry….

Toyota are the parts bin specialists, makes me wonder out of pure curiosity whether the camry dips into the same bin for parts and settings etc.

Perhaps Toyota has known this one for a while and was able to tune it out of the camry before its release????
Shak

This is what happens when your marketing department gets too cocky and thinks the stupid cardigans will purchase their cars for ever and ever. Toyota has to learn. GenY dont wear cardignas. We dont want a washing machine on wheels even if its as reliable as Mother Theresa.

Baddass

I don’t see any cockyness, just a company selling cars. From your line ‘thinks the stupid cardigans will purchase their cars for ever and ever’, do you really think that that is the actual mantra going around at Toyota? As for the whole white goods thing, that joke kinda died a while back.

birdie

so much for it being toyota’s most technologically advanced washing machine
Snatch

…and now they have announced the Corolla is faulty. Oh What a Failing!. The Korean manufacturers must be loving this.

Stevo the Devo

Here’s a link to a story about the Corolla.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/breaking-news/toyota-could-face-corolla-probe/story-e6frea7c-1225828544140

When it rains it pours. Just waiting for the Japanese Govt. to bail out Toymota.

RdS

quick everyone… kick them while they’re down!
tall poppy syndrome. go us. <_<

Andrew

Kick them while they are down, Bought a camry few years ago, it would not drive in a straight line even after a wheel alignment, Toyota’s dealer response “sell it it’s a lemon”,
these type of problems with toyota’s have being going on for a long time, no one just even mentioned it.

HyundaiSmoke

This new Prius isnt good enough. Remember when it first came out and people were hoping for 100 MPG at least?

That’s what Im talking about with the Japanese. No more new ideas, no more new advances towards anything automotive anymore (except hybrids). They used to be at the cutting edge, and now they are just mediocre car makers in my eyes.

You old guys dont get it, unlike you I dont see Honda or Toyota as this potentially innovative force going forward.

What’s the point of buying a car that’s been pretty much the same since 1995 (yeah to me Toyotas and Hondas have been pretty much the same for 15 years: Interiors, Engine refinement, fuel economy, etc…), while the Koreans are making 2011 stuff now?

Koreans continue to refine their product and add technology, and as a young man in my late 20s I just dont see that same attention to detail from the Japanese anymore. With Korean cars, you know the next one will be 10 times better than the last, and will feature some tech that was unthnkable just 5 years before.

The Japanese dont give me that feeling at all.

I see the Koreans making most of the short term (15-25) year advances in cars. Honda and Toyota are old school to me, and like everything else they need to go into an attrophy period in order to gain ground in the future. The Japanese will continue to work on hybrids over the next 5-10 yars, but once it makes sense the Koreans will make it better and cheaper.

I do think however, that the Koreans and Ford will be the leaders in advanced Gas only ICE engines, like the Germans are at the cutting edge of diesel. I think the Koreans will make the first car that gets 200 HP+ and 75-100 MPG. The Koreans(that includes GM/Holden) and then Ford are at the cutting edge now in these technologies, and they will make 90% of this dinosaur powetrain tech, which most of it is evolution of 80s tech obsolete.

Trump

GTR excluded dude, it’ll be 15 years before Hyundai catches up with that
SteveH

So smoker, you are saying that the Koreans will awit until hybrid is perfected, then they will just copy it? Real innovation there.

I am not sure where all of these ‘innovations’ that you go ona bout from the Korean car makers are as I can’t remember seeing any here in Australia. The new 2.2 litre diesl is good, but Mazda has already done that.

HyundaiSmoke

3 hybrids, well at least in the US market:

1. Sonata Hybrid-this summer.
2. Accent Hybrid-next summer.
3. Dedicated plug in hybrid in 2012, and unlike the Volt you’re not going to pay 65 billion dollars to get a Corolla Interior. Audi CEO was right on the money with his VERY: Appropriate, Truthful, and Insightful comments.

Big deal about the diesel, in 5-7 years All company diesels might have a Hybrid powertrain. If not all about 70% of them will.

http://www.caradvice.com.au OSU811

ALL brands have recalls, just most of them are not as widely advertised in the press!. The prestige european brands tend to be the worst!!, japanese BUILT cars tend to have the least problems, (THATS JAPANESE BUILT, NOT JUST A JAPANESE BRAND THATS BUILT ELSEWHERE)
MJ

The break lights at the back of new Toyota cars are just too dam bright at night! They are brighter than the traffic lights!

There should be a legal limit on how bright break-lights can be, and they must not be allowed to be brighter than the traffic lights.
ScottT

Shheeeez, Toyota have a couple of recalls and the whole world ends. Ford and Holden have recalls almost daily and nobody thinks anything of it……………go figure!!!!!!

SteveH

I wonder this as well. How come the brake recall on the 3 litre Commodore isn’t front page news as well?

The Other Brad

Australian news instead of US/worldwide news.

Darren

Isn’t it interesting. I remember an article about how bad it could be if one day Google suddenly decided to be evil. They can manipulate the search results, only display what they want people to see, alter the world view on the subject as Google see fit. Only now, the Toyota ‘incident’ helps me fully understand the true extent of how dangerous the internet and the media can be. They can manipulate and brainwash people.
Stumpy

May end up being the largest most costly mass recall of all time and you think it’s a beat up?

Toyota have been trying to hide these issues for some time now but with deaths and continued issues that don’t reflect the explanations Toyota has been giving as per reasons for the faults.

Toyota has manipulated and changed the points of reference of investigations into crashes and incidents so as to shrink the pool of data retrieved seemingly in an effort to remove most of the crashes/incidents from investigations.

If you don’t see a pattern of a big company trying to protect its own ass, well you naive or brand blind.

This isn’t just about Toyota it’s about how big companies cut costs and increase margins and treat the greater public like morons.

If I were in control of the relevant Government department I be demanding access to all Toyota engine management and flash software updates that are current or ongoing to assess any changes in possible statutory issues in the future.
safety first

The Commodore problem is limited to one type of vehicle in the GM Global range, Toyota have suspended productions of Eight models in one country alone let alone all the other models globally affect.. and the brands that bought parts of the Toyota owned suppliers… also that this fault is rumured to have been recognized as early as 2001 Avalons….. Big difference wouldn’t you say?? If you remember there was someone on this site who was closed down partially because they got into “discussions” regarding the impending downfall of Toyota…. Seems he actually knew a thing or two…

rentakeyboard

cars guide reporting power steering probs with Corolla.

Poss ANOTHER RECALL YET TO COME and this one might effect OZ too.
rentakeyboard

If were gonna start on the conspiracy theories has anyone considered its industrial espionage bought about by the whale protesters trying to stop people buying Japanese products lol lol lol lol

Toyota has really dropped the ball in the last twelve months. They set a new record for the number of recalls in America during 2009, and you expect me to beleive this is a media beatup?

Makes about as much sense as my whale proteters theory.

Snatch

I agree. It certainly isn’t a beat up. Mitsubishi got chastized for covering up problems with their cars. So why can’t toyota? They have gloated about their dominance and sold mediocre product with the promise of reliablity for so long it isn’t funny. Now they may actually have to put some excitement into their cars as well as value for money (where they fail badly) to win the customers back.

Perhaps now ,some of the ignorant people that think Hyundai and Kia are lesser quality may have to come out of their slumber too. This is a big win for the auto industry and levels the playing field once more.

reekoll

now it’s honda’s turn to recall with those faulty airbags on accords, cr-v’s and civics
Save it for the track

SteveH. Yes Mazda have a 2.2L Diesel, but unlike Hyundai lack an automatic, and as mentioned elsewhere are one of only three manufacturers to make their own 6 speed auto. And I believe Hyundai do an LPG/electric hybrid in Korea, sounds like a good one for Aus doesn’t it?