Toyota Recalls 670K Vehicles For Steering, Water Pump Defects
DETROIT (WWJ) - Toyota is recalling 670,000 of their popular Prius and Prius hybrid vehicles in the United States to correct two safety issues.
Japan's top automaker said all of the vehicles will be inspected to see if a part in the steering shaft needs to be replaced because of an issue that could cause excessive wear. Affected models were produced from 2000 to 2011 in Japan, and from 2000 to 2009 overseas.
Approximately 350,000 of these same Prius vehicles are also being recalled to replace the electric water pump for the hybrid system. Toyota says the pump could fail and cause the hybrid system to stop running. Those vehicles were produced from 2001 to 2010 in Japan, and from 2003 to 2011 overseas.
The automaker says no accidents have been reported related to these two problems.
Toyota said its dealers will inspect and replace any defective systems, free of charge.
Recall notices are expected to go out to owners of the affected vehicles in December.
The recall affects a total of about 2.77 million vehicles world-wide.
For more information, call 1-800-331-4331 or visit www.toyota.com/recall.
