Toyota has issued a global recall covering approximately 655,000 Camry vehicles due to a display error that may deactivate critical safety indicators, including turn signals and hazard lights, the automaker announced on Tuesday.

The recall encompasses vehicles manufactured between December 2023 and July 2026 at production facilities in the United States, Japan, and Thailand.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 508,354 model year 2025–2026 Camry Hybrids in the U.S. are included in the recall.

The defect involves a 7-inch display combination meter that may go blank at startup. Only the LE, SE, and Nightshade trim levels are equipped with this smaller display. The XLE and XSE trims, which use a larger 12.3-inch driver display, are not affected.

When the meter is blank, turn signals, hazard lights, and several warning buzzers—including the seat belt reminder and the smart key reminder—may fail to activate on affected vehicles. The issue underscores how fundamental safety functions in modern vehicles are increasingly routed through digital displays and software, meaning a single firmware glitch can simultaneously disable multiple federally mandated safety features.

"The 7-inch combination meter may become blank at startup," Toyota said in a statement. "This can also deactivate the turn signal and hazard lamps and certain warning buzzer sounds (such as the smart key reminder and the driver/passenger seat belt reminder). This can cause the vehicle not to meet certain federal safety standards."

"If certain required information is not displayed in the combination meter, if the turn signal/hazard lamps do not function, or if certain warning buzzers do not activate, there can be an increased risk of injury or a crash depending on the specific situation," the statement added.

The NHTSA warns that these display issues elevate the risk of a crash, as drivers may be unable to see safety indicators while other road users would have no way of knowing a driver's intent to turn or signal a vehicle hazard.

The Camry has consistently ranked among the top-selling passenger cars in the United States, meaning a recall of this scale has broad reach across the American driving public. Toyota and other major automakers have seen a growing share of recalls in recent years tied to software rather than mechanical defects, as instrument clusters transition from analog gauges to screen-based systems.

Toyota Motor North America said it will notify owners of the affected Camrys so they can bring their vehicles to a dealer for a free software update. U.S. owner notification letters are scheduled to be mailed beginning September 21, with all letters expected to be sent by early October.

Source: Fox Business Markets