Toyota announces recall for Prius
Toyota has announced a worldwide recall for the current-generation Prius 1.8 to rectify a software bug in the control system of the boost converter, a critical component in the Intelligent Power Module of the hybrid system’s inverter assembly. In day-to-day operation, the boost converter is called upon when the vehicle is driven on high load, such as hard acceleration.
According to the official blog of Toyota UK, the errant software setting has the potential of causing increased thermal stress occurring in insulated-gate bipolar transistors used in the boost converter, causing damage or deformation. If that sounded very Star Trek to you, just know that this failure triggers the vehicle’s ‘fail safe’ mode and causes it to operate on reduced power, with the instrument panel lighting up like a Christmas tree.
Toyota also warned that ‘driver will not experience any change in the vehicle’s behaviour or performance prior to the problem occurring’, meaning that this can happen without warning. The company’s statement is also clear in highlighting that no other Toyota model is affected by the recall as they use different transistor structures and control logic'; Lexus CT 200h owners can breathe easy for now.
Earlier today, Reuters reported that 1.9 million units of the Prius are affected by this recall, and a statement that was just issued by UMW Toyota Motor confirmed that 6,160 units of the Prius sold by the company in Malaysia and manufactured between 2009 and 2013 are affected. The company will contact all customers involved to carry out the necessary corrective measures, which will be to re-program the software for both Motor Generator Control ECU and the Power Management Control ECU, at no cost.
There has yet to be any reported cases of vehicle failure due to this fault in Malaysia, but 11 field reports of the issue have been recorded in Europe. There has been no reports of any injuries or accidents relating to the issue.
