Toyota recalls around 92,000 cars in Japan
Toyota started recalling more than 90,000 luxury Lexus and Crown vehicles Monday in Japan over defective engines — the latest setback for the auto maker beset with quality problems. Toyota Motor Corp said in a statement that recalls in overseas markets will follow.
Toyota told the Japanese government on Monday it was recalling 91,903 vehicles for flaws in the valve springs, a crucial engine component, that could make the automobile stall while in motion. The quality problem affecting top-of-the-line products comes as Toyota struggles to move on from global recalls that started in October. It has recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles for various problems, including sticking gas pedals, braking software glitches and defective floor mats.
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The world's top auto maker was fined a record $16.4 million in the US for responding too slowly when the recall crisis erupted.
The company announced the latest quality problems last week, estimated to affect 270,000 vehicles worldwide. Some 180,000 of the defective automobiles were sold overseas, 138,000 of them in the US.
No accidents have been reported. About 220 complaints have been reported.
Toyota said it was replacing the valve spring in the recalled vehicles — produced between July 2005 and August 2008 — Lexus models and Crown models.