Few things are more frightening than your car stalling on the highway. A sudden loss of power can cause other cars or trucks to hit you from behind. On occasions, cars stall due to a defect rather than the actions of a driver. In October, Toyota recalled hybrids over a defect that led them to stall.
The Japanese automaker announced the recall of 2.4 million hybrid vehicles around the world due to the risk of stalling while on the road, reported Michigan Automotive News.
The recall covered about 807,000 cars in the United States, more than 1 million in Japan, 290,000 in Europe and 3,000. Toyota USA warned the hybrids enter a fail-safe driving mode in response to certain hybrid system faults.
This is an alarming glitch. It’s not clear if the defect has resulted in any accidents or injuries. Toyota reported three incidents in Japan.
The Associated Press reported the recall affected Toyota Prius and Auris hybrid vehicles made between October 2008 and November 2014.
Toyota is one of the three biggest carmakers in the world. The company warned the effect can lead affected hybrids to lose power and stall. While power steering and braking remains operational when this occurs, a vehicle stalls while driving at higher speeds could increase the risk of a crash, Toyota stated.
Toyota said its dealers will update the software for all affected vehicles free of charge of car owners who are affected.
Experts questioned Toyota’s safety record almost a decade ago. A defect causes Sudden acceleration issues.
Outlining Toyota’s History of Recalls
In 2014, the car manufacturer paid $1.2 billion to avoid prosecution for covering up serious safety problems with “unintended acceleration,” according to court documents. The FBI said Toyota continued to make cars with parts it knew were dangerous.
A report on ABC News said the Japanese carmaker was forced to admit it misled U.S. consumers by concealing and making deceptive statements about two safety-related issues affecting its vehicles, both of which caused unintended acceleration.
News reports suggested Toyota’s unintended acceleration problem caused about 140 deaths over a 10-year period.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it received over 6,200 complaints involving sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles.
We expect the cars we drive to be safe. However, defects caused deaths and numerous recalls over recent years. People injured by defective cars may have grounds to file lawsuits against manufacturers. Please call our Newnan injury lawyers at (404) 913-1529 if a dangerous defect car defect caused your injury.