Toyota’s North American arm is conducting two separate recalls that include 68,500 units of the 2018 C-HR and 2012-2015 Prius PHEV.
The first campaign revolves around some 28,600 units of the crossover, whose electronic parking brakes may not disengage or apply, thus resulting in a noncompliance with the federal safety standard.
This is a software issue that will be resolved via an update of the electronic control unit, free of charge to owners, who will receive a notification by first-class mail later this month informing them of the problem and advising them to make an appointment with an authorized dealer.
The second recall announced by Toyota includes roughly 39,900 units of the Prius Plug-In Hybrid, as driving them in EV mode repeatedly under high-load conditions such as long hill climbs could cause a fuse to malfunction.
If this happens, then drivers will notice warning lights and warning messages, and in some cases, they may experience reduced power. Under more extreme circumstances, though, the hybrid system could shut down, resulting in the loss of motive power, which however shouldn’t affect the power steering and braking.
Toyota’s dealers will replace the fuse with an improved unit at no cost to owners, who will be informed of this condition via first-class mail, starting January, 2018.