Toyota NZ issues recall

Toyota New Zealand has announced a recall for 1,169 Prius and Prius V hybrid models manufactured between January 23, 2009, and June 30, 2014, due to concerns with the fail-safe mode in the hybrid system that could lead to stalling. 

According to Stuff NZ, the recall affects 1,003 Prius and 166 Prius V sold new in New Zealand.

This news has been released against the backdrop of a global recall of 2.4 million hybrid cars, mostly Prius models, that could contain an electronic defect that causes the vehicles to suddenly lose power that could "increase the risk of a crash."

A spokesman from Toyota New Zealand told Stuff NZ: "This is a precautionary recall due to the possibility, that in the event of an internal component failure, the hybrid system could shut down instead of going to into fail safe mode. This could result in the vehicle losing power while driving, increasing the risk of an accident."

Toyota New Zealand says that the remedy will be completed free of charge, and will take approximately 40 minutes to complete.

Owners of the vehicles, which are traceable through registration data, will be contacted by Toyota New Zealand through a remedy owner letter.

New Zealand owners are asked to contact 0800 TOYOTA (0800 869 682) for more information.