Toyota’s Hybrid Recall News – Set Back for Cleantech

Toyota today announced it was recalling and repairing 75,000 Prius cars due to engine stalling. I think that is on the order of half of their total fleet.

It doesn’t sound like a big fix is required, but certainly a massive PR setback for the most popular hybrid our there.

I’ve personally been waiting for the Ford Fusion hybrid to come out in 2007. Has anyone heard much about that one?

Recall Article

9 replies
  1. Bill
    Bill says:

    Hello,I’m new here.How is the recall a setback for CleanTech?Correct me if I am wrong, but The product (Prius), should in my opinion, be considered better than it was yesterday.A defect, a deficiency, is voluntarily being recognized, and repaired.It is not being ignored, repaired only if there is a complaint, or covered under a secret recall.The recall should be considered a positive statement about the factory’s concern for product quality.

  2. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    I belong to a Prius email list, and it seems the stalling problem is related to a few vehicles that need software updated. I have not read the recall notice, but it seems like it might be over-kill.

  3. Yoder the Sheepherde
    Yoder the Sheepherde says:

    I'm a new Prius owner as well and before buying I did a little digging on this and found that the problem was (up to that point) 14 vehicles.I would buy another Prius even if it didn't get twice the gas mileage as my other vehicles. As soon as we are able we will be getting a second so we don't have to fight over this one.

  4. Yoder the Sheepherder
    Yoder the Sheepherder says:

    I’m a new Prius owner as well and before buying I did a little digging on this and found that the problem was (up to that point) 14 vehicles.I would buy another Prius even if it didn’t get twice the gas mileage as my other vehicles. As soon as we are able we will be getting a second so we don’t have to fight over this one.

  5. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    Hi everybody. I had a problem like that described on Prius. But it happened during an accident.After the other car hit the back of my car, Prius switched off and I couldn't start again for about 2 or 3 minutes,(time that the other run away). I could again drive my car after and folow him, only after a "reset" of the ignition (off all for a minute).I think was the safety system that interverned.My Prius is of June 2005 but the seller gave me after several months for other problem. So the car is of the beginner of the Year.How Could I know if my car will be involved in the CleanTech??Hi to everyone…..

  6. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    Do NOT freak out. I have worked in the automotive industry for over 20 years. EVERY single auto from EVERY single manufacturer has at least once recall or more. Recalls are part of manufacturing cars. Its a fact of life in the auto industry. Nothing to worry about. I am surprised it took this long.

  7. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    The 2000/2001 Priuses were recalled several times on different issues. This is not a big deal. Toyota Corporate has handled their Prius owners like liquid gold since they first came out, (the dealerships are another story).

  8. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    I am a 2004 Prius owner–I experienced exactly what the recall is about. My car stalled at 35 mph and only the electric motor was left to power me. I was able to shut down the vehicle and restart it again–with only 3-4 of the idiot lights still lit–and get to a dealership for them to check. After computer reset, I was back on the road and 22000 miles later no repeat of the problem. I would not be overly concerned with this announcement.

  9. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    Regarding the Hybrid Fusion, don't get too excited. Ford is not breaking any new ground, as they are using Toyota technology under licence. I doubt if they will even try to change anything in the Fusion or the Escape/Explorer Hybrid (can't remember which it is), at least until they have some first-hand experience with the technology.Experience with licinced technologies from various industries suggests that the second user will likely have more glitches than the origiator, simply because they don't have all the development experience available. Engineers are not omniscient and can't foresee every possible eventuality in a complex machine like a car, especially in a rather exotic design with little real-world history. They will modify the software for the various systems at their peril. Think of Windows and the problems caused when a patch is applied to a fault in any version of Windows. Invariably the patch causes other unforeseen hiccups, freezes, etc. because of the impossibility of testing every possible scenario when trying the repair. Carmakers know that they can't get away with letting the customer troubleshoot the software, a la Microsoft, if only because of the liability issues of stalls or other system failures. Remember the Audi acceleration problems in the '80s?

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply