Toyota to recall 1.75m vehicles globally over brake problems, fire risk
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 15 October, 2014, 10:21pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 16 October, 2014, 3:39am
Agence France-Presse in Tokyo
Toyota has pointed to three problems in several models, including its luxury Lexus. Photo: Reuters
Toyota is recalling 1.75 million vehicles globally over brake problems and other glitches that posed a fire risk, marking the latest in a string of call backs by the world's biggest carmaker.
The Japanese giant pointed to three problems in several models, including its luxury Lexus.
Among the issues was an improperly shaped part in the braking system that could change the "feel" of the brake pedal over time - a problem that affected 802,000 vehicles, mostly in Japan and China.
"The brake does not become ineffective, but brake performance could begin to gradually degrade," Toyota said.
A separate issue involving the fuel delivery pipe on 759,000 vehicles, including several Lexus models and the Crown Majesta, could increase the risk of a fire "in the presence of an ignition source". More than half of the affected cars were sold in the US.
A problem with 109,000 cars in Japan linked to the fuel-suction plate also posed a fire risk, the firm said. "Toyota is not aware of any fires, crashes, injuries, or fatalities" linked to the problems.
The announcement comes about four months after Toyota recalled 2.27 million vehicles globally over a defect that could see airbags fail to deploy in a crash and which also posed a fire risk.
The carmaker has recalled almost 11 million vehicles since the start of the year, dealing another blow to its once-stellar reputation for quality and safety.
Despite logging record sales and bumper profits, Toyota has been fighting to protect its reputation as US rival General Motors scrambles to contain a deadly ignition-linked scandal.
In March, Toyota agreed to pay US$1.2 billion to settle US criminal charges that it lied to regulators and the public as it tried to cover up deadly accelerator defects.
