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Toyota recalls a million Prius vehicles citing a fire risk

Toyota recalls a million Prius vehicles citing a fire risk

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192,000 US cars are eligible for a checkup and repair

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Toyota is recalling about a million Prius hybrid vehicles from around the world due to a “fire risk” caused by a wiring issue that generates heat. Of the million cars, 192,000 of them are in the US, it announced yesterday in a press release.

If you own a Prius manufactured between mid-2015 and May 2018, check with a Toyota dealer to see if your vehicle has the wiring issue. Affected vehicles will be fixed for free.

Wiring connected to the hybrid vehicle’s power control unit could brush up too closely to the cover and wear down over time, creating an electrical short circuit that heats up, potentially leading to fire. So far, there has been one case reported in Japan of a wire short-circuiting and smoke emitting from the car. Toyota is offering a fix that will cover an exposed wire with a protective sleeve. If the wire is not yet exposed, it can be taped down to prevent it from rubbing against the cover.

You can check online to see if you need to bring your car in for a checkup

Toyota will mail Prius owners a notice about the recall later this month, but you can also check online with your vehicle identification number to see if you need to bring your car in for a checkup.

Recalls happen from time to time with Toyota. In 2013, Toyota recalled 800,000 vehicles after spiders crawling inside the air conditioning units caused airbags to deploy. In 2014, 1.9 million Prius vehicles were recalled due to a software glitch that could potentially cause the vehicle’s hybrid system to shut down while driving.