The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has informed consumers of a recall affecting the Toyota RAV4 SUV sold in South Africa.
The NCC was informed by Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) that it is recalling 77 RAV4 plug-in hybrid (PHEV) units due to a safety fault in the powertrain.
The affected units were built between 2 April 2026 and 3 September 2026.
According to the manufacturer, a fault was detected with the motor generator ECU (MG-ECU) used by the PHEV units.
“In some cases, the MG-ECU in these vehicles may not complete the motor initialisation process correctly, resulting in the motor control mode used for speeds being unavailable,” said TSAM.
“In this condition, when the vehicle reaches a speed that requires the higher-speed motor control mode, warning lights will illuminate, and the plug-in-hybrid system will either transition to a fail-safe driving mode or shut down.”
“If the system shuts down, the vehicle can lose motive power while being driven at a higher speed, increasing the risk of an accident.”
Motorists who own the affected models are urged to take their cars to an authorised Toyota dealership, where the MG-ECU will be reprogrammed to address the issue.
Importantly, this service will be carried out at no cost to the consumer.
The NCC warned owners to take vehicle recall notices seriously and to contact suppliers to ensure that the necessary corrective action is taken.
Any further queries relating to this recall can be directed to [email protected].
Another Toyota recall in 2026
The RAV4 is the latest Toyota vehicle to be recalled in South Africa this year. In March 2026, the Japanese automaker’s local division put out a notice for the Land Cruiser 300 and Lexus LX.
This affected over 1,800 units sold in South Africa and was the result of an error in the programming of the Transmission Electronic Control Unit (T-ECU).
This fault could potentially lead to the transmission being damaged, causing a loss of power while driving at high speeds.
In April, TSAM recalled 700 Hino commercial trucks over a defect in the fuel pump housing that had an inappropriate surface treatment process done during production.
“Cracks may develop when repeated high load is applied to the supply pump, resulting in a fuel leak,” it said.
In August, TSAM recalled 518 cars across five different series, including the RAV4, Corolla Cross, Corolla hatchback, Crown, and GR Corolla.
The affected cars were fitted with a combination meter system that displays vehicle information, including warning and indicator lights, gauges and messages, on their 12.3-inch driver instrument clusters.
“Due to improper programming of the combination meter, unnecessary data may be repeatedly written to a memory device while the meter is operating,” the NCC explained.
“This may cause the memory device to deteriorate earlier than intended. If this occurs, the monitor may fail to display information when the vehicle is started.”
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