Toyota must repair 650,000 Prius hybrids worldwide


3 Dec 2010

Around 650,000 pumps in the Toyota Prius must be replaced worldwide due to a malfunction in the hybrid car that leads to an unwanted switch from the hybrid system to petrol usage.

Toyota will replace the pumps that cool the system to avoid the overheats causing a malfunction in models between 2004 through 2007, according to the New York Times, although Toyota insists the repairs to the gas-electric vehicles are part of its “customer satisfaction campaign”.

The automaker will have to repair 390,000 hybrid vehicles in North America, 180,000 in Japan and around 70,000 in Europe.

Sales have recenlty passed the 2-million mark for the hybrid vehicle and the automaker said it intended to have around 5 million Prius models on the road by 2015.