Toyota recalls Prius

TOYOTA Australia is recalling more than 1000 Prius hybrid-electric cars as part of a worldwide recall stemming from a potential software problem that could cause the vehicle to stall or shutdown.

A spokesperson said 1191 cars were affected, built between August 2003 and August 2004, and that the problem related to "the program logic in the electronic control module", which could fail to start the petrol motor.

He said the brakes and power steering would continue to work – and also stressed that there had been no reports of problems in Australia.

The Japanese manufacturer has this week recalled 91,000 cars in the United States, which accounts for more than half of all Prius cars built in the past two years.

The problem first came to light in May when the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was investigating gripes from Prius owners about engine stalls and shutdowns.

The NHTSA had received 428 complaints from owners but no reports of crashes or injuries.