Toyota recalls every third generation Prius over software glitch

Toyota is recalling 1.9 million of its Prius hybrids, 30,790 of which are UK-registered, because of a computer problem that could cause the vehicle to stop.

The recall affects every single third-generation Prius manufactured by the company to date, with production beginning in March 2009.

Customers wanting to find out if their car is part of the recall can visit a recall checker website set up by Toyota.

The news is another blow for the Japanese car manufacturer, which has had to issue a number of recalls in recent years including others involving the Prius.

Toyota said there had been 11 incidents in Europe of the computer problem but there had been no accidents or injuries. Worldwide it has discovered about 400 faulty vehicles, predominantly in Japan.

The company said the latest incident involved a possible issue with the software "used to control the boost converter in the intelligent power module".

The boost converter is required when driving with a high system load, for example when accelerating hard from a standstill.

It said that if the issue occurred then the car could switch to a “fail-safe” operation, causing the vehicle to slow down.

A spokesperson said: "In limited cases, the hybrid system might shut down and the vehicle will stop, perhaps while being driven."

Adding: “The driver will not experience any change in the vehicle's behaviour or performance prior to the problem occurring."

Toyota said that the issue would not occur in any other of the company's hybrid vehicles, which used different systems.

The recall will involve an update of the control software, free of charge.

The news comes just weeks after the Toyota halted the sale of some of its models in the US following problems with faulty seat heaters.

In 2010, the company was forced to recall more than 10 million vehicles over unintended acceleration issues.

After damage to its reputation for reliability, Toyota responded with an aggressive PR campaign, including increasing warranty cover for all UK cars from three to five years.

The biggest car safety recall in history remains the 14 million vehicles Ford was forced to recall worldwide in 2009 due to faulty cruise control switches.

In 2013 more than 850,000 cars were recalled from Britain's roads because of safety faults.

Japanese brands headed the recall table with nearly 560,000 cars recalled – more than those from every other country combined.

Nissan, Honda and Toyota dominated the safely alert league with 514,000 cars recalled.

Toyota recalls in 2013 were 868,605, up from 843,000 in 2012, according to the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA). In 2011 the recall figure reached 886,000 cars.

The most recalled model of 2013 was the Honda Jazz, with 171,394 models ordered back to dealerships after a potential fire risk was identified on an electric window switch.