Does Newest Prius Recall Validate Toyota Dealer's Stop-Sale And Lawsuit?

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Toyota is recalling the Prius for the third time for the same issue. An earlier story on this topic now seems timely.

A new Toyota recall for Prius and Prius V cars has us wondering if one California Toyota dealer may be right after all. The new recall by Toyota covers various Prius vehicles from 2010 through 2014. It involves a possible fault in the hybrid drive system. When the drive system has this fault, the vehicle is designed to enter a fail-safe mode. Toyota says, "The involved vehicles were designed to enter a failsafe driving mode in response to certain hybrid system faults. Toyota has found that in rare situations, the vehicle may not enter a failsafe driving mode as intended. If this occurs, the vehicle could lose power and stall. While power steering and braking would remain operational, a vehicle stall while driving at higher speeds could increase the risk of a crash."

Toyota also says that it previously recalled the same batch of cars in both February of 2014 and also July of 2015 to try to install software that makes the car safe if the fault occurs. Unfortunately, Toyota says, " The previous recalls did not anticipate this new condition remedied with this recall." So the third one is now being instituted.

Back in April of this year, Torque News was one of the few automotive publications that highlighted a Californian Toyota dealers efforts to force Toyota to do a more expensive fix to the hybrid drive system. The dealer had gone to the extreme level of no longer selling used Prius cars over safety concerns and was suing its own corporate partner.

As Toyota enters this third round of recalls on the same issue we will be watching for developments.

Related Story: FIRE! Toyota Prius Recall Makes Us Think It's Just Jealous of Tesla

Toyota Prius Fast Facts:
The Toyota Prius is the world's top-selling green vehicle. With a combined MPG rating of up to 133MPGe, the Prius is one of the world's most fuel economical vehicles as well. The current Prius is an IIHS Top Safety Pick and the Prius family remains one of the top-selling hybrid models in America.