Toyota drivers have been urged to check whether their vehicles are affected by a recall involving 518 cars sold across South Africa.

The recall affects selected Toyota RAV4 PHEV, Corolla Cross, Corolla Hatchback, Crown and GR Corolla vehicles.

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) announced the recall after Toyota South Africa Motors notified it.

According to the NCC, the recall relates to a programming problem affecting the combination meter. This system displays warning and indicator lights, gauges and other vehicle messages on the 12.3-inch instrument screen.

The affected vehicles include:

• 16 RAV4 PHEV vehicles built from July 8, 2024 onwards
• Four Corolla Cross vehicles built from July 2, 2024 onwards
• 391 Corolla Hatchback vehicles built from October 7, 2022 onwards
• 21 Crown vehicles built from October 17, 2022 onwards
• 86 GR Corolla vehicles built from February 16, 2023 onwards

Not every vehicle built after these dates is necessarily affected. Owners should contact an authorised Toyota dealership and provide their vehicle identification number, or VIN, to confirm whether their particular car is included.

The NCC said unnecessary data may be repeatedly written to a memory device because the combination meter was improperly programmed.

This could cause the device to deteriorate sooner than intended and may cause the instrument display to fail to show information when the vehicle is started.

Should another vehicle malfunction occur while the display is not working, the driver may not see the relevant warning or indicator light.

A notification may appear on the vehicle’s central multimedia screen. However, motorists who do not notice it could continue driving without realising a vehicle malfunction.

“Depending on the malfunction, continued driving may increase the risk of an accident,” the NCC warned.

Acting NCC commissioner Hardin Ratshisusu urged consumers to take recall notices seriously and ensure affected vehicles are presented to the manufacturer for the necessary work.

The repair involves reprogramming the combination meter assembly and will be carried out free of charge at an authorised Toyota dealership.

Vehicle recalls have increased sharply in South Africa in recent years.

According to NCC figures reported by Wanted Online, recall campaigns increased from 25 during the 2023/24 financial year to 35 in 2024/25, before rising to 75 in 2025/26.

Mechanical and physical faults involving engines, transmissions, brakes, steering systems, airbags and fuel systems still account for most recalls. However, an increasing number now involve software, electronic control units and digital displays.

NCC spokesperson Phetho Ntaba told the publication the increase could indicate greater transparency rather than deteriorating vehicle quality, as manufacturers identify defects and notify consumers earlier.

Toyota corporate communications manager Refilwe Ramatlhodi Ndhlovu said recall and service campaigns form an important part of the manufacturer’s commitment to quality, durability and reliability.

Modern vehicles contain numerous electronic control units and millions of lines of software code, meaning faults can sometimes affect every vehicle using the same programming.

Owners of the affected Toyota models should contact their nearest authorised dealership with their 17-character VIN and arrange the free repair if required.

The VIN can ordinarily be found on the vehicle’s licence disc, registration documents or identification plate.

Toyota South Africa’s customer contact centre can be reached on 0800 139 111. Recall-related enquiries may also be sent to the NCC at ProductRecall@thencc.org.za.

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