Toyota is the latest company to suffer from faulty features in their products. The Japanese automaker announced on Wednesday that approximately 340,000 Prius vehicles were affected by a defect in the parking brake system. This malfunction could be potentially lethal so that the company issued a worldwide recall.
The announcement by Toyota follows a similar situation in a different industry, the infamous case of Samsung and the exploding Galaxy Note 7. After first recalling the phablets last week, the company has now stated they would halt all sales of the devices worldwide due to an explosion hazard on the Note 7’s batteries.
The automaker had a strong presence at the Paris Motor Show 2016 last month with a hybrid vehicle lineup featuring the Prius center-front. Toyota has also kept quiet about its efforts to delve into the driverless car field, but it is known the Japanese manufacturer is working on the new technology like many others in the industry.
Why will Toyota recall 340,000 Prius models worldwide?
On a very brief press release held by the company on Wednesday, October 12, Toyota acknowledged several thousand Prius vehicles could be a potential threat to drivers and others.
The hybrid cars are a staple of the company’s commitment to the environment, as well as excellent bearers of Toyota’s quality standards. The Prius is a best-selling vehicle that fuses state-of-the-art tech and an affordable price.
Unfortunately, an important part of the car’s systems is at risk of malfunctioning. Toyota detected the integrated parking brake on the Prius could stop working, and in some situations, put others in danger.
“There is a possibility that the parking brake could become inoperative. If this occurs and the driver exits the vehicle with the transmission in a gear other than ‘Park’ while the ignition is on, the vehicle could roll away, increasing the risk of a crash,” a Toyota spokesperson said.
How to check if your Prius has the malfunction?
The Japanese automaker has established a contact infrastructure to help concerned vehicle owners check if their Prius models are faulty.
Customers can visit Toyota’s official platform at http://www.toyota.com/recall to register their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). Doing so will prompt the site to show the status of the Prius, detailing if it is the subject of the recall or not.
The U.S. also has a particular website for these occasions, enabled at http://safercar.gov/vin. It works in the same way as Toyota’s, except it is under the jurisdiction of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Toyota’s official Customer Service number is 1-800-331-4331. The automaker has committed to fixing the recalled vehicles starting in November when all affected owners will receive notice by mail informing them on the formal procedure.
Source: Toyota
