Toyota Recalling 106,000 Prius Hybrids Globally Over Steering Wheel Issue

The newest Toyota recall affects approximately 106,000 Prius hybrids globally built from 2001 to 2003 for a fault with the electric power steering system. The Japanese automaker said the voluntary action affects around 52,000 Prius models sold in the United States.

“If the steering wheel is repeatedly and strongly turned to the full-lock position, there is a possibility the nuts securing the pinion shaft in the steering gear box assembly may become loose,” Toyota said in a statement. The company added that if the owner leaves the condition uncorrected, over time they will gradually notice significant increased steering effort when making a left turn.

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Toyota Mulling a Larger Hybrid Minivan than the Prius V with Seating for Seven

The all-new Prius V five-seater minivan isn’t due to arrive in U.S. showrooms until this fall, yet Toyota is already looking into the development of a larger model capable of seating seven passengers as well as carrying their luggage, according to Bob Carter, Toyota Division general manager. The larger Prius won’t be based on the Japanese market Prius Alpha nor the European specification Prius+, both of which pack a retractable third row of seats into the Prius V’s cargo area.

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Viva Las Vegas: Google Lobbies to Legalize Self-Driving Cars in Nevada

Internet and software bigwig Google has begun lobbying the state of Nevada to legalize driverless cars. The move comes on the heels of some very promising results in California, where Google had mapped out the terrain and sent a couple of its autonomous Toyota Priuses (Prii? Priora?) on an epic jaunt from Mountain View to Santa Monica.

The California-based company is keen to point out the claimed benefits of self-driving cars over their human-driven counterparts including better safety, improved fuel efficient and greater environmental friendliness.

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Toyota Rolls Out Online Ordering Site for Upcoming Prius Plug-In Hybrid

In preparation for the 2012 market launch of its new Prius Plug-in hybrid (PHV), Toyota's U.S. division announced the introduction of a new online order system that will kick off later this year.

Customers who are interested in the Prius Plug-in hybrid are invited to register on Toyota's website in order to have first access to the online order system when it becomes available later in the year. Appropriately, the first phase of the online order program, called Priority Registration, will launch on Earth Day, April 22, 2011.

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Google Scientist Says its Driverless Cars Could Save a Million Lives each Year

Sebastian Thrun, leader of Google's driverless car project, talked about the technology of self-driven cars at TED Talks, claiming it could save one million lives each year if it would replace human driving.

Google's test cars have so far covered over 140,000 miles (225,300 km) in all types of driving conditions without a single fault. “People didn't even notice” Google's cars were not driven by humans, said Thrun, who lost his best friend to a car accident when he was 18. The Stanford professor of computer science said that moment made him decide dedicating his life to saving one million people every year.

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Toyota Sells One-Millionth Prius Hybrid in the States

The Toyota Prius, a car that is often credited for bringing hybrid-electric technology to the masses, has managed to rack up its one-millionth sale in the USA. The announcement comes shortly after Toyota achieved two more milestones that started with global Prius sales topping the two million mark in October 2010 and overall global Toyota hybrid sales passing three million last month.

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Analysts Predict Expensive Fuel and Factory Shortages Could See Prius Price Rise

There’s an old saying that goes, “One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity,” that I think is particularly apt in describing this latest story. With the civil war in Libya nudging petrol prices skyward and with the growing fear that Japan’s earthquake crisis will slow production of Toyota’s ubiquitous Prius hybrid, American consumers are flocking to their nearest dealership to snatch one up.

Tammy Darvish, the owner of four Toyota dealerships around Washington D.C. explains: “A lot of customers are convinced that prices will be going up and that availability [of the Prius] will be a little short.”

A Texas Toyota dealer is reporting that his sales have doubled in the last six weeks due to steadily increasing fuel prices. And with no U.S. factory producing the popular hybrid five-door, it’s not like there’s a backup supply if things become more pear shaped in the land of the rising sun.

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Toyota Postpones Prius V Launch in Japan after Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Crisis

The latest victim of the ongoing crisis in Japan is the new minivan version of the Prius as Toyota announced today that it has decided to postpone launch of the car at its home market. “No decision has been made at this time on when the launch will be rescheduled,” Toyota said in a statement.

Despite the delay in Japan, Toyota said that the North American version of the Prius V, which is scheduled to launch at the end of summer 2011, remains on track. “No decision has been made in regards to a possible need to change the launch timing,” Toyota said.

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