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A Toyota spokesman said on April 17 that Toyota had suspended orders for Prius models to deal with product recalls caused by faulty rear door handles, according to the Japan Broadcasting Association.

Toyota recalled more than 135000 Prius made between November 2022 and this month in the Japanese market because of a problem with the back door handle, according to a document released by Japan's Ministry of Land, Transport and Transport. The Ministry of Land and Transport said that the switch on the outer rear door of the vehicle is not waterproof enough, in the case of a large amount of flushing, it may cause a short circuit of internal parts, and in the most serious case, the door may suddenly open while driving. So far, there have been three reports of doors opening while driving at low speed, but no accidents have been caused.

The Prius PRIUS Hybrid (Prius) is a classic representative of Toyota hybrid cars, which was first introduced in October 1997. its largest markets are Japan and North America. According to statistics, up to the beginning of 2009, Toyota sold more than 600000 Prius cars in the United States, of which it won the North American car of the year in 2004.

Data show that in the early 1990s, in order to deal with the sudden oil crisis, Toyota launched the G21 project in 1993, which aims to create a new model Prius. Four years later, Toyota launched the first-generation Prius, code-named NHW10, and became the first mass-produced hybrid passenger car in the world. it was also the first model built by Toyota's MC platform. the car was sold only in Japan at a price of 2.15 million yen, and then exported as a used car to countries such as Britain, Australia and New Zealand, and then entered the American market after Honda's Insight. The second hybrid model produced on a large scale in the North American market. But over time, because of the high cost of making the car, Toyota eventually stopped production of the car in 2003, and the first-generation Prius sold a total of 123000 cars worldwide after its launch.

In 2003, Toyota launched the second generation Prius, code-named NHW20. Compared with the previous generation, this generation of Prius looks more fashionable and youthful. It abandons the design concept of the previous generation hatchback, and instead adopts the five-door hatchback design. The size of the length, width and height is 4450/1725/1490mm, the wheelbase is 2700mm, and the performance of fuel consumption is 2.82L/100km. The car has gained a lot of attention on the market, and created the peak of Prius sales. According to statistics, by the end of production in 2011, the second-generation Prius sold a total of 1.192 million vehicles worldwide, almost 10 times more than the first-generation sales.

The domestic Prius also comes from this generation of Prius models. At the end of 2005, Toyota officially introduced the second generation Prius model codenamed NHW20 into China and named it "Prius", which was produced by FAW Toyota Changchun Fengyue factory. The price range of the car was 259800-273800 yuan. At that time, FAW Toyota set a sales target of 3000 cars for the Prius, but in view of the fact that the car sold for 250000 yuan. After the launch of the new car, the domestic sales performance is very mediocre, according to the data, the Prius sold a total of 2152 vehicles in 2006 and only 414 in 2007.

In 2009, the third-generation Prius, code-named ZVW30, was sold in Japan and landed in the North American market. Toyota launched the third-generation Prius in the North American market. The biggest change of the new car is mainly reflected in power, which is replaced by a combination of 1.8L naturally aspirated engine and motor. The peak power is 74 kilowatts, equipped with 650V motor, the peak power is 60 kilowatts, the comprehensive power of the system is 100kW, and the fuel consumption is reduced to 2.63L/100km. This generation of models is the beginning of a large number of Toyota hybrid products. The third-generation Prius was put into production at the Toyota plant in Thailand in November 2010. since then, the third-generation Prius has been sold in about 80 countries around the world, and Toyota has even set an annual sales target of 400000 vehicles. The third-generation Prius was put into production at Changchun FAW Toyota plant in 2011 and was officially launched in February 2012. the car launched a total of three models with a price range of 229800-269800 yuan, but this generation of models still can not change the situation of poor sales. According to statistics, since its launch in 2009, the third-generation Prius has sold only 1.688 million vehicles worldwide.

The fourth-generation Prius was unveiled in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA in September 2015. the fourth-generation Prius is based on Toyota's brand-new TNGA platform, which changes the design style of the previous generation of models, and increases the design style of the previous generation of models for the first time, while the power continues to use a 1.8L four-cylinder gasoline engine. Although the engine power has been reduced, the comprehensive power of the system has reached 110kW, an increase of 10kW. However, this generation of models have not been introduced into China, but Toyota's hybrid technology has been domestically produced and used in a number of domestic models.

The fifth-generation Toyota Prius was released in November 2022. Compared with the previous generation, this generation has made significant adjustments to its appearance, interior and power. In addition to retaining the 1.8L hybrid system of the previous generation, the new car will introduce 2.0L hybrid and 2.0L plug-in hybrid models, of which only plug-in hybrid models will be available in Europe. Toyota announced in January 2023 that it would start selling the new Prius series hybrid (HEV) and will launch a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) in March. It is understood that the 2023 Toyota Prius HEV is priced at 2.75 million yen (about 141000 yuan)-392 yen (about 201000 yuan) in Japan.

In response to the recall, a Toyota spokesman added that the Prius is mainly produced at the Tik factory in Toyota City, Aichi County, and Toyota has stopped production from the 4th of this month and carried out quality inspection of the Prius. As of press time, it is not clear whether Prius sold outside Japan will also be recalled.

In addition, Toyota supplier Donghai Physicochemical Co., Ltd. (Tokai Rika) pointed out that there is something wrong with the door switches of its Prius, which the company expects to cost 11 billion yen ($71 million) as a result of the recall.

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