Toyota recalls over 4,000 Prius cars in Singapore as part of global move

More than 4,000 Toyota Prius cars in Singapore will be recalled, as part of a global recall affecting more than a million units due to the risk of fire. A spokesman for Borneo Motors (Singapore), the sole distributor for Toyota here, said on Wednesday (5^th September) that 4,115 Prius cars are affected.

The company will be reaching out to all affected car owners and will carry out repairs for free. Worldwide, Toyota is recalling 1.03 million units of the Prius, including the plug-in hybrid, and the C-HR built between June 2015 and May 2018, for safety checks, according to media reports on Wednesday.

The models are also sold in Japan, Europe, Australia and other countries. Of the recalled units, 554,000 are in Japan, 217,000 in North America and 219,000 in Europe.

Borneo Motors (Singapore) said that it will be working with Toyota Motor Corporation and the Land Transport Authority to support the parallel-imported C-HR HV models.

According to the spokesman, the affected cars have an engine wire harness, which is connected to a power control unit. A portion of the wire harness could contact the cover at this connection and wear out over time, causing an electrical short circuit, which can generate heat and result in a fire.

"For all involved vehicles, Borneo Motors (Singapore) will check the engine wire harness assembly. If a wire core is exposed, the engine wire harness assembly will be replaced with a new one that includes a protective sleeve. If a wire core is not exposed, protective tape will be installed on the engine wire harness assembly," said the spokesman.

There has been one reported case of a vehicle emitting smoke, but no injuries were reported, Toyota spokesman Jean-Yves Jault said on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg News.

A spokesman for Toyota Japan told Agence France-Presse that she had no knowledge of any injuries occurring in Japan as a result of the possible defect. "It is difficult to know if and how many times exactly such an incident has occurred," the unnamed official was quoted as saying.

Since 1997, Toyota has sold more than 10 million hybrid petrol-electric vehicles globally, including the Prius. In 2016, Toyota announced the recall of 3.37 million vehicles globally over problems with air bags and a fuel emission control unit. The biggest recall ever for the Prius was in February 2014, with 1.9 million vehicles involved.