Toyota Prius’ Doors Could Open While Driving, New Recall Coming
The current-generation Toyota Prius, including the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, finds itself in an awkward situation again requiring a new safety recall.
“There is a possibility that certain circumstances can cause water to enter the electric door switches on the rear doors of the subject vehicles and cause a switch to activate,” the automaker explains. “If this occurs while the rear doors are unlocked, a rear door can open while driving, leading to an increased risk of injury to occupants.”
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In total, 19,399 units covering the 2023-2026 model years are affected in Canada. It should be noted that this is an expansion of an April 2024 recall and that vehicles that have already been repaired must return to the dealership for another visit.
This time, Toyota dealers will modify the left and right rear door switch circuits to prevent the switch from activating, even if it is shorted. The remedy will be free of charge. Until then, the company recommends enabling the automatic door locking function through the car’s head unit to reduce the safety risk.
Owners of affected vehicles will be notified by late March. Alternatively, they should check their vehicle’s status by visiting Toyota.ca/recall and entering their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
The only other safety recall involving the latest Prius so far aims to fix a software problem that could cause the rearview camera image to freeze or not to display. The remedy is an update to the parking assist ECU software.
