Prius (Toyota)

On April 29, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it has opened an investigation of two fatal crashes involving Ford's Blue Cruise partially automated driving system, used in Mustang Mach-E vehicles on freeways in nighttime lighting conditions.

The agency says the investigation will evaluate how Blue Cruise performs driving tasks as well as its camera based driver monitoring system.

The probe includes 130,050 2021-2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which already is investigating the February 24 San Antonio crash, determined in a preliminary report that it was operating on Blue Cruise.

The Texas crash occurred on Interstate 10 in San Antonio, where the NTSB says the Mach E struck the rear of a 1999 Honda CR-V that was stopped in the middle of three lanes around 9:50 p.m., killing its driver.

The second crash involving a Mach E killed two people around 3:20 a.m. March 3 in the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, where the Mach E was in the left lane as it struck a stationary Hyundai Elantra that earlier had collided with a Toyota Prius.

The Mach E hit the Hyundai, pushing it into the rear of the Prius, killing each of those two drivers who were outside of their vehicles at the time. 

A police news release on the crash says a criminal investigation is underway and a charge of homicide by motor vehicle while driving under the influence is possible against the 23-year-old woman driving the Mach E.

(Detroit News and other sources on April 29, 2024) (NHTSA report on April 25, 2024)

On April 17, Toyota announced it is conducting a safety recall involving 2023-2024 model year Prius, Prius HEV (Prius Prime) vehicles in Japan, North America, Europe and Asia. 

Water can enter and short circuit the electronic rear door latches in the involved vehicles, enabling them to open while the vehicle is moving or in a crash, thereby increasing the risk of injury to occupants.

Approximately 211,000 vehicles are involved in this recall in total, with approximately 130,000 in Japan and 55,000 in the U.S.

The affected vehicles have an electric rear door lock system with components manufactured by Tokai Rika Co., Ltd.

For vehicles involved, Toyota dealers will replace both right and left rear door opener switches with improved ones, free of charge.

Until the remedy is available, to help prevent the door opening if a short circuit occurs, customers in the U.S and Canada will be asked to ensure that the feature automatically locks the doors when shifting from Park is activated.

Customers will be notified about this issue through the mail by early June 2024.

(Toyota USA release on April 17, 2024)

On April 11, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that the driver of a 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E involved in a February 24 fatal crash in Texas was using the company's BlueCruise partially automated driver-assist system before the wreck.

The crash is one of two recent fatal wrecks involving Mustang Mach-Es that are under investigation by the NTSB and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

While the NTSB can only make recommendations, NHTSA has the authority to take action including seeking recalls for safety issues.

The Texas crash occurred on Interstate 10 in San Antonio, where the Mach-E struck the rear of a 1999 Honda CR-V that was stopped in the middle of three lanes around 9:50 p.m., killing the 56-year-old driver of the CR-V.

The other crash involving a Mach-E on March 3 around 3:20 a.m. on I-95 in Philadelphia, where it was in the left lane when it struck a stationary Hyundai Elantra that earlier had collided with a Toyota Prius, killing each of the two drivers who were standing outside their vehicles.

Ford’s BlueCruise system allows drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel while it handles steering, braking and acceleration on highways, but monitors drivers to make sure they pay attention to the road. 

(Detroit News article on April 11, 2024)