Toyota到底出了什麼問題?

standard.co.uk

February 12,2014

Toyota isrecalling 1.9 million third-generation Prius cars worldwide, due to aprogramming glitch in their hybrid system.

A Toyotaspokesperson said: "The setting of the software could cause higher thermalstress in certain transistors within the booster converter, and thesetransistors could deform or become damaged as a result."

"Thiswill result in various warning lights being illuminated, and will probablycause the vehicle to enter a failsafe mode," it said, noting that the carcan be driven but with reduced driving power.

In limitedcases, the hybrid system could shut down, causing the vehicle to stop, possiblywhile it is being driven, Toyota said.

About halfof the recalls are in Japan and 713,000 in North America, a Toyota spokeswomansaid. No accidents have been reported related to the defect.

The latestaction is the third recall for the current, five-year-old Prius. In June lastyear Toyota recalled models over problems related to the brake accumulator. ThePrius is one of Toyota's best-selling models, and has become synonymous withthe fuel-saving hybrid technology.

Toyota, theworld's top-selling automaker, does not disclose cost estimates for recalls.

The numberof vehicles called back for a single defect has ballooned over the years as carmakers increasingly use common parts across multiple models to save developmentand procurement costs.

In late2012, Toyota issued two multi-million-vehicle recalls, including one of morethan 7.4 million vehicles to fix power window switches that were a potentialfire hazard. That was the industry's biggest single recall since Ford took 8million vehicles off the road in 1996.