Toyota PRIUS, COROLLA HYBRID (2014–2019)
What the hazard is
If the vehicle does not enter a fail-safe driving mode when required, the vehicle will behave as if shifted into neutral, coasting to a stop. While power steering and braking would remain operational, this behaviour of the car could increase the risk of an accident and injury or death of vehicle occupants and other road users.
What to do
Toyota will contact affected owners in writing, requesting that owners make an appointment at their preferred Toyota dealer for a software update to the vehicle's Power Management control unit, free of charge. To find a local dealer, visit https://www.toyota.com.au/find-a-dealer For further information, consumers should contact the Toyota Recall Assist helpline on 1800 987 366 (Monday to Friday, 8am - 6pm AEST).
Defect
These vehicles use software to control the hybrid system. The software is designed to put the system into a fail-safe mode if there is an internal component failure. This allows the vehicle to travel a limited distance at reduced power. In certain situations, such as hard acceleration immediately after a component failure, the hybrid system may shut down rather than go into fail-safe mode. If this happens, the vehicle may illuminate various warning lights and in some models may display a warning message to the driver in the instrument panel.