Toyota Australia has had to recall hundreds of Prius vehicles due to a potentially faulty brake cable.
The recall affects about 300 Prius vehicles built between August 2015 and October 2016.
The Prius cars have a manual parking brake system operated by a foot pedal.
When the foot pedal is operated, a connecting cable applies the rear brakes.
The parking brake works together with the transmission park function to hold the vehicle when it is parked.
In a statement, Toyota said “there is a possibility the cable may disengage causing the parking brake to fail, and the car to roll away, if it’s left in gear”.
“To rectify this condition, parking brake cable clips will be installed on all impacted vehicles.
“Owners should contact their preferred Toyota dealer to arrange vehicle rectification at their earliest convenience.”
The company said the fault would be repaired free of charge, with the fix taking abut 30 minutes to install.
Toyota says the cars can still be driven safely in the meantime.
“The potential for the vehicle to roll away only exists if the vehicle is parked with the transmission left in a gear other than park with the ignition on,” the statement says.
“Owners can ensure their vehicle is securely parked by ensuring the vehicle is left with the transmission in park position with the ignition off.”
The recall is proceeding even though there have been no reported cases in Australia as a result of the condition.
Globally, Toyota is recalling 340,000 Prius cars, including 212,000 in Japan and 92,000 of the 2016 and 2017 models in the US.
Online Source: ABC.net.au.
