The recall applies to some Toyota Prius and Auris hybrids made from October 2008 through November 2014. The vehicles were involved in an earlier recall that did not fix the previously unanticipated problem that is being addressed now, the company said in a statement.
Toyota said it would update the software of the vehicles for free, to remedy the problem.
The recall applies to 1.25 million vehicles in Japan; 807,000 in the U.S.; 290,000 in Europe and 3,000 in China, with the rest in other locations across the globe.
Toyota said that, by the end of September, it had received three reports in Japan related to the problem and had reported them to the transport ministry. The reported incidents did not involve accidents.
Toyota would not comment on incidents outside Japan, saying it was difficult to be certain about actual cases.
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