Apr 18 (NHK) - Toyota Motor has issued a recall for about 211,000 Prius vehicles worldwide due to a risk the rear doors could open during driving.
The Japanese automaker says it has halted production of the car until it can obtain parts to resolve the problem.
In Japan, the recall is affecting roughly 135,000 cars manufactured between November 2022 and April of this year.
The transport ministry says due to insufficient water-proofing, water can get in and short-circuit electronic rear door latches.
The ministry says in the worst-case scenario, if the doors are not locked, they could open while the vehicle is moving.
So far there have been three cases when doors opened while Priuses were traveling at low speed, but there have been no reports of accidents.
Prius models for the Japan market are manufactured at a plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture. The automaker has suspended production since April 4.
