Toyota’s Recalling Nearly A Million Vehicles In The US Over Hybrid And Airbag Issues

Toyota has announced the recall of nearly a million vehicles in the United States, split between two campaigns.

The larger of the two is for the Prius – specifically, the 2010-14 Prius and 2012-14 Prius V. The problem affecting these dedicated hybrid vehicles is with their Intelligent Power Module in the inverter, which could be inundated with “excessive voltage” and cause the entire powertrain to shut down and the vehicle to stall.

The issue affects an estimated 807,329 vehicles in the United States, which represents the vast majority of Prius family vehicles that Toyota sold here over the course of the model years in question. So if you have a 2010-14 Prius or Prius V in your driveway, you can expect to hear from the manufacturer to arrange a time to bring your vehicle in to your local dealer and have the ECU updated.

The second recall affects a smaller number (but greater variety) of Toyota vehicles – namely the 2018-19 Tundra and Seqouia and the 2019 Avalon and Avalon Hybrid. The problem here comes down to the airbag control unit, which could malfunction and fail to deploy the airbags in the event of a collision. A total of 168,187 vehicles will need to be brought in under this recall to have their airbag ECUs reprogrammed. That number pretty well matches the number of Tundras, Sequoias, and Avalons that Toyota sold in the US last year.

The combined number of vehicles affected under the two recall campaigns comes to 975,516. Last week Toyota issued another recall for the rear axle on the C-HR, but that only affected 700 vehicles.