Recall alert: Toyota recalls 55,000 Prius cars; doors can fly open while driving

Toyota has announced the recall of hundreds of thousands of 2023-2024 Prius and Prius Prime vehicles due to a fault that could see the rear doors flying open as the cars are moving.

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The recall includes 211,000 vehicles sold in North America, Europe and Asia. About 55,000 of those cars are in the U.S., according to Toyota.

“Water can enter and short circuit the electronic rear door latches in the involved vehicles,” company officials said Wednesday in a recall notice. “If the doors are not locked, they could open while the vehicle is moving or in a crash, increasing the risk of injury to occupants.”

It was not immediately clear how the issue was first discovered. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did not have a recall report available as of Friday morning.

Toyota said that dealers will replace the right and left rear door opener switches for owners of the affected vehicles, free of charge. Until then, the company urged people to activate a feature in the car that automatically locks doors when shifting from park.

Letters notifying owners of the issue will go out in early June, according to Toyota.

If you have questions, you can contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.You can also contact the NHTSA at 1-888-327-4236 or visit its website.

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