Toyota recalls 2.4 million Prius and Auris models over software flaw

Japanese automaker Toyota has announced a recall of hybrid Prius and Auris models. They must undergo a software update to prevent them from stopping in certain cases. In total, this concerns 2.4 million vehicles.

The BBC reports that about 290,000 cars in Europe are under the recall. It concerns models that were made between 2008 and 2014. A spokesperson tells the broadcaster that the update takes about forty minutes. On a page about the problems with the American Prius models, Toyota writes that in some cases the cars do not go into a ‘failsafe driving mode’ and stall. Although the brakes and power steering will continue to work, this phenomenon would increase the risk of a collision.

On the same page, Toyota reports that these are models that were previously recalled in February 2014 and July 2015. Those previous recalls are said to have “not anticipated the new problems.” The company says it will notify affected car owners. The move follows an earlier recall in September that affected more than one million Toyota vehicles.