Toyota Canada is recalling some 23,000 Prius hybrid models in this country over a possible software defect that could lead to an accident, as part of a global recall affecting 2.43 million units of the model.
The recall affects Prius owners in Canada and the United States, as well as in Japan, China and Europe.
This is the second recall that Toyota has issued for its Prius in the past month. A previous recall involved a risk of fire coming from the hybrid vehicle’s Power Control Unit, and affected 7,200 vehicles in Canada. As it happens, this is also the second recall in recent years for the particular models cited; an earlier recall in February 2014 and July 2015 had to do with a related issue.
The problem relates to a software glitch that could prevent a failsafe mode from kicking in the event of a fault with the car’s hybrid system.
Toyota says it has received three reports in Japan of problems related to the issue, but is not aware of any accidents caused by it.
Aside from the massive Takata airbag-related recalls that have affected not just Toyota but a number of automakers, this newest recall is one of the larger to affect the company in the past several years. In 2016, Toyota recalled almost 3 million cars, including the Prius, for leaky fuel tanks, and more than 1.4 million vehicles, most of them Priuses, for other problems not related to airbags.