Toyota Prius 2013 News

Cars are either being built worse -- or companies are getting better at detecting faults.a range of models made over the last 10 years replacing potentially deadly Takata airbags in 1.3 million cars in Australia. a second, airbag-related recall for the Priusreplacing potentially deadly Takata airbags in 1.3 million cars in Australia

Another recall has hit Toyota, with the brand issuing a notice on the hybrid Prius for a defect that can see the cars suddenly lose power or stop, creating a safety risk for occupants and nearby traffic.The problem has been traced to a fault in the software that controls a power converter, and affects 1.9 million Prius cars around the world built between 2009 and 2014, with 5500 affected in Australia. The software failure can activate the car's warning lights and cause it to enter 'limp home' mode, allowing it to still be driven but only slowly."Because, in the worst case, the car could stop while driving we do consider this a potential safety issue and that's the reason why we are implementing this recall," a spokesman at Toyota's Japanese headquarters told media.However, Toyota Australia spokesman Mike Breen said there have been no incidents reported locally. "We're contacting local owners, who can take their Prius to a dealer and have the software remapped," he said, adding that the fix would take about an hour. Breen said there were no extra precautions Prius owners needed to take until the issue was rectified.The recall follows two previous ones for the Prius -- in 2013 and 2010 -- however this is the largest in scale. It comes on the heels of news that Toyota is close to settling a US$1.1 billion claim from a class action lawsuit by 16.3 million owners of vehicles whose value was affected by previous recalls.Toyota also yesterday announced an overseas recall on other models, including the RAV4 and Lexus RX350, but there will be no impact on Australia as the defective feature is not available here. 

Toyota will display three concept cars based on the Prius C (called the Aqua in Japan) at the Tokyo Motor Show. A drop top Aqua Air concept and a crossover Aqua Cross concept will join the sporty Aqua G concept, all based on the Toyota hybrid hero.The Aqua air appears to retain accommodation for four or five, but with a sportier interior than the standard Prius C. Red accents jazz up the interior, with deeper cushions hinting at a sportier ride.This could bring the Aqua Air in line with the Aqua G concept, which uses sports suspension, 17” alloys and other dynamic and visual enhancements. However none of these upgrades are confirmed on the open-top concept, with full details expected to be revealed at the show later today.All three concepts are likely to use the standard Prius C 1.5-litre engine mated to an electric motor, delivering 74kW in total. A CVT-like automatic continually varies the amount of electric and petrol power from both power plants to the front wheels.Aqua Cross’s taller suspension and plastic cladding protecting the undercarriage suggest it could be all wheel drive.The Aqua G is likely destined for production, at least in Japan, where its bigger sibling (Prius) is already available in a very sharp sports guise. However there are no plans to take the convertible or soft-roader version to the showrooms yet. But with Toyota keen to inject more fun and personality into its line-up, the two concept cars could well be gauging interest before a production go-ahead.

The first one I tried, a Toyota Prius, could happily measure the gaps and reverse into place provided I took care of work on the brake and accelerator, and that's a familiar package now for a range of cars including the Ford Focus.But there are also cars that can parallel park, and even reverse safely out into traffic using a range of radar-style sensors. Some people say the rise of self-parking cars is all about our increasing laziness and the ability of technology to take over the menial, or annoying, tasks in our day-to-day lives.Others might, more controversially, draw a link between self parking cars and the inability of many women to do the job. Before you get too carried away, I should point out that this has now been scientifically proven by a study in the UK that I read about in a book called 'Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps'.The book is by Allan Pease - the body language man - and his wife Barbara, and includes the parking research in a section devoted to women's relative lack of 'spatial awareness'. This apparently affects their ability to read maps, and park, but is offset by greater peripheral vision that makes it easier for women to spot things in a fridge than men.But, moving along, I've also recently heard about a new incentive for self parking cars. It comes as Audi accelerates its work on cars that can valet park themselves, linking electronically to a system inside a carpark that identifies open slots and then guides the car into place. They can then be summoned out of hibernation as needed.There is currently only one self-parking garage in the world, not surprisingly at Audi's headquarters in Germany, although work is progressing at other sites and on other cars. But the idea is that cars which can park themselves will free up extra space for parking. After all, when you park - often with other people in the car - you need clearance to open the doors for access. It's the same for head space, as well as clearance to open a hatchback boot.But if the cars can park autonomously, think about all the extra space in the world. It's something that occurs to me nearly every week as I head to the airport or my local shopping centre and wonder where the space has gone. Cars are obviously getting larger, and SUVs are making an increasing land grab, but am I the only one who thinks that parking slots are being shrunken to get a bigger car - and cash - return on the available space?Then again, there are cars that cannot be helped. In Britain - where 1950s garages designed for tiny Austins now look ludicrous in the face of even a humble Ford Fiesta - I was once driving a long-wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantom. When I drove into the supermarket to buy some fruit I was shocked to discover that the brutally brilliant limousine actually required four standard-sized parking spots, as it was both too long and too wide for anything less.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover 

One of Great Britain's major political parties says it wants to see diesel-powered and non-hybrid petrol-powered passenger cars banned from British roads by 2040. The Liberal Democrats, part of the UK's current coalition government, said it would even be willing to accelerate the timing of the ban, if the availability and affordability of fuel-sipping hybrids and battery-powered electrics matched those of regular petrol and diesel cars. The proposal, which excludes vehicles used for freight purposes, was published in a paper submitted by the political party titled Green Growth And Green Jobs -Transition To A Zero Carbon Britain. It will be voted on by party members at an upcoming conference and could end up as official party policy if approved, The Telegraph reports. Understandably, there has been a lot of backlash to the proposal in the UK, especially because it makes no provisions for owners of classic cars and there is no mention of solutions for charging infrastructure and other requirements for electrified cars. “To set an arbitrary deadline like this is completely unrealistic,” one opposing politician said. The party also proposed a new road-pricing system for congested areas. This would replace the current flat road tax system, with vehicle owners paying a fee calculated on how many miles they drive, whether those miles are driven during peak or off-peak hours, and which road types are used -- as well as their car’s CO2 rating. www.motorauthority.com  

Toyota has issued a recall of the 2008-09 ZW30 third-generation Prius hybrid. The recall affects some 1,652 Australian models, and relates to a potentially faulty Brake Booster Pump Assembly --a key element of the car’s braking system.The potential fault can result in a fatigue crack to the accumulator within the system, which could cause nitrogen gas to leak and result in a spongy or longer travel to the brake pedal. This could in turn increase stopping distances and the risk of collision.The recall includes all Prius models within the VIN number range: JTDKN36U# 01000031 – 01092008 and JTDKN36U# 05000003 – 05076028, produced between October 2008 and October 2009.Toyota will alert owners of the recall via mail, advising they visit their Toyota dealer for a free inspection of the relevant system. If necessary, the assembly will be replaced free of charge. 

Toyota has issued a global recall on 242,000 cars around the world, affecting the Toyota Prius and the Lexus HS 250h. The recall will include 1650 Australian Toyota Prius built between October 2008 and October 2009, however the Lexus model is not sold in Australia. The affected vehicles are fitted with a brake pressure accumulator that may develop a fatigue crack on an internal part due to vibration. The most likely outcome would be a loss of braking pressure, although Toyota hasn’t detailed what would happen if the part in question did develop a crack. The fix will involve inspection of the brake booster pump assembly to see if it is equipped with one of the suspect accumulators.  If so, the dealer will replace the brake booster pump assembly with an improved one.  

Toyota has put its weight behind hybrids, disclosing plans to roll out 21 new or redesigned petrol-electric powered vehicles by the end of 2015 and playing down the near-term outlook for other alternative-fuel technologies such as all-electric cars. The Japanese carmaker predicted its sales of hybrid models worldwide will likely top 1 million this year and to 2015. While the rollout and forecast signal Toyota's confidence in its hybrid strategy, the company acknowledges costs must still be cut further to increase profitability and spur sales. "Profits from conventional (petrol) powered cars are still higher, so we need to reduce hybrid costs more in order to promote their diffusion,'' said Toyota's vice-chairman and R&D head, Takeshi Uchiyamada. Hybrids are becoming more mainstream in Japan. Toyota's sales of the petrol-electric vehicles last year reached 310,000, or 26 per cent of sales. But they remain a niche in other key markets such as the US. Last year, Toyota sold 178,587 hybrid models in the US, just a fraction of the 1.64 million vehicles it sold there overall in 2011. The Japanese carmaker has high hopes for its "plug-in'' hybrid, which can be refuelled at a petrol station or by plugging in to a standard electrical outlet. Cumulative sales of its Prius PHV, which made its debut this year, reached 15,600 last month, including 8400 in Japan, 6100 in the US and 1100 in Europe. At the same, time Toyota plans to sell just 100 models of its newest electric vehicle, a subcompact EV called eQ. That contrasts with rival Nissan, which has bet big on EVs with its Leaf compact. Mr Uchiyamada said Toyota was moving ahead with plans to localise production in China of hybrid engines by 2015 and hoped to follow suit in the US, but said the carmaker had made no decision yet. "We are looking into it, but we haven't reached a formal decision or made any specific plans,'' Mr Uchiyamada said. This year, the company announced plans to shift production of its Highlander SUV hybrid to a plant in Indiana, in the US, but the core engine components -- such as motors, batteries and converters -- will continue to be exported from Japan. Beyond the main thrust into hybrids, Japan's No 1 carmaker also laid out its strategy in other fields of environmental technology, such as all-electric and fuel cell-powered vehicles. Toyota is tiptoeing into EVs with its first sales this year and it won't begin commercial sales of a fuel-cell vehicle for at least three years. Mr Uchiyamada indicated that proprietary technology made FCVs hold more promise than EVs. "Anybody can make EVs but that is not the case for FCVs,'' he said. ``So we see a lot more potential in FCVs.'' Toyota will begin sales of a compact SUV with an electric engine made by Tesla. The company also will introduce its eQ to clients such as local governments in the US and Japan in December and China some time next year, but sales of the $US46,146 ($44,260) vehicle will be limited to 100 units. The carmaker said it would launch a fuel cell-powered sedan "around 2015'' in Japan, North America and Europe, and collaborate with subsidiary Hino to debut a fuel-cell bus in 2016. It projected sales of FCVs in the "tens of thousands'' by the 2020s. Separately, Panasonic said it would provide Toyota with lithium-ion batteries for the eQ. Panasonic has a track record with batteries used in eco-friendly vehicles, demand for which is growing amid environmental concerns and higher oil prices. Panasonic has supplied lithium-ion batteries for Toyota's Prius Plug-in and Prius Alpha hybrids.  

Toyota says it will the first carmaker to sell a hydrogen-powered car in Australia, using an onboard fuel cell to generate electricity, perhaps as soon as 2016.It claims the newcomer will be a bigger breakthrough than the first Prius, although its plans are dependent on developing a workable network of refuelling stations that can supply the hydrogen for the vehicle.Toyota is well advanced with its fuel cell development work and I have driven an impressive Kluger in California that is refuelled from the world's first dedicated high-pressure hydrogen refuelling station. It sounds and responds like an electric car, and Toyota says its giant hydrogen tanks and prototype fuel cell 'stack' will be shrunken considerably by the time it is ready with its first production car."We're aiming for a production fuel cell car in the USA in 2015. It's a car, not an SUV," says Greg Gardner, of Toyota Australia. "It will be an all-new model. Something like the Prius, at least initially. "As the environmental leader in Australia, hat's definitely a target for us. Yes, definitely, we want to be first."Toyota has shown several hydrogen concept cars including a four-door sedan that will have the space to package the new-era powerplant, which is similar to the one in the landmark Honda Clarity. The Clarity began as a concept car and is now being leased in small numbers in Japan and the USA, but is not regarded as a genuine production model.Toyota says its car will be sold, not leased, and will be a genuine production car and not a science experiment. Even so, Gardner says it will take time to get established. "It will be produced in the tens of thousands by 2020.It won't be like the Prius, which will hit one million sales next year," he says. But he promises a car that satisfies the needs of regular consumers, not just eco warriors, with the practicality of a Camry. "The good thing about hydrogen is that you only have to find space for the cell and tanks. It's about packaging," Gardner says."It can be applied to any vehicle. So in the future you could have a gasoline car, an electric hybrid and and hydrogen drive in the same vehicle. "The more that you do, and the longer you do it, the better the price will become. It's about the economies of scale." But he admits there is an elephant in the room, with no sign of a workable hydrogen fuel network any time soon in Australia."Refueling is the biggest challenge. But this is he future we're talking about," he says. "If we build it, they will come. When we introduce it, we'll have to work collaboratively with the liquid energy distribution companies and governments to make it work. It's a massive task." 

But it takes a government office to forget where they parked a fleet of 293 brand new cars. Let alone that they bought them in the first place. The Miami-Dade county office in Florida, US, has ‘rediscovered’ a fleet of Toyota Prius hybrids and other vehicles that have sat unused since being purchased five to six years ago. The $4 million worth of undriven vehicles only came to light after a story appeared in the Florida Spanish-language newspaper, El Nuevo Herald.  County commissioner Javier Souto is cited as saying that in 2010 a county employee had been told hundreds of new cars were sitting unused in a Miami-Dade carpark. Mr Souto says questions about the fleet had been put to the office of then - mayor Carlos Alvarez - who lost office last year amid controversy over county funding uses.  The county’s director of corporate services, Lester Sola, has reportedly confirmed the cars were being quickly put into service. He has also stated the vehicles are still covered by warranty.  However, warranties can be voided when a vehicle has been abused. And leaving one sitting unused - and unserviced - for several years could well wipe out any manufacturer guarantees. Get all the latest news and reviews in your newspaper's Carsguide section.