Toyota issued a recall Wednesday for 340,000 hybrid Prius cars around the world because of a parking brake defect.
Toyota acknowledged receiving reports of crashes, injuries, and deaths, The Associated Press reported. The Japanese automaker refused to provide details, saying it was still looking into the reports.
Toyota said 212,000 of the Prius cars affected are in Japan and 94,000 are in North America.
The automaker said the parking brake cable can disengage unexpectedly, causing the brakes to stop working properly. So if the car is left in any gear other than park, it could start rolling away, and possibly crash.
Toyota said 17,000 Prius vehicles were recalled in Europe, and the rest in Australia and other regions. The problem models were manufactured from August 2015 through October 2016.
All Prius vehicles affected by the recall were manufactured at the company's Tsutsumi plant in Toyota city, Japan, the company's headquarters, one of a handful of plants around the world that make the Prius.