Toyota South Africa Motors has issued a recall for 518 vehicles in South Africa after a programming issue with their instrument-panel display was found to have the potential to prevent important vehicle information and warning indicators from being displayed.The recall, notified by the National Consumer Commission (NCC), affects certain RAV4 PHEV, Corolla Cross, Corolla Hatchback, Crown and GR Corolla models sold through Toyota’s dealer network nationwide.The affected vehicles are:RAV4 PHEV: 16 units, built from July 8 2024 onwardsCorolla Cross: four units, built from July 2 2024 onwardsCorolla Hatchback: 391 units, built from October 7 2022 onwardsCrown: 21 units, built from October 17 2022 onwardsGR Corolla: 86 units, built from February 16 2023 onwardsThe problem concerns the vehicles’ combination meter, which displays information such as speed and other gauges, warning and indicator lights, and vehicle messages on a 12.3-inch screen incorporated into the instrument cluster.According to the NCC, the combination meter may have been improperly programmed, resulting in unnecessary data being repeatedly written to a memory device while the system is operating.The repeated data writing can cause the memory device to deteriorate earlier than intended. If this happens, the combination meter’s display may fail to show information when the vehicle is started.The problem concerns the vehicles’ combination meter. (Toyota) The potential safety concern arises if a vehicle develops a malfunction while the instrument display is not functioning. In such circumstances, the driver may not see the corresponding warning or indicator light on the combination meter.The NCC says drivers may instead receive a notification on the vehicle’s centre multimedia screen. However, if they do not notice the notification, they may remain unaware of a vehicle malfunction.Depending on the nature of the malfunction, continuing to drive the vehicle could increase the risk of an accident.Toyota owners whose vehicles may be covered by the recall are advised to contact or visit their nearest Toyota dealership. The required repair involves reprogramming the combination meter assembly.The repair will be carried out free of charge for affected vehicle owners.