Toyota expands Prius recall to up to 20,000 vehicles

The Los Angeles Times (7/2, Vartabedian, 4.64M) reports that “as many as 20,000 Toyota Prius owners have had electric power system failures after the company recalled their vehicles in 2014 and attempted to remedy a safety defect by modifying software,” according to a Toyota executive testifying “in a high-stakes, two-month-long civil trial that had closing arguments Monday in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana.” The Times adds that the jury began deliberations on Tuesday in the case, which “was brought against Toyota by Roger Hogan, one of the largest Toyota dealers in Southern California, who alleges that after he began sounding alarms about the problem Toyota retaliated against his dealerships in San Juan Capistrano and Claremont.” To the Times, “The lengthy trial involves a highly unusual battle over safety allegations between an auto manufacturer and one of its top dealerships.”