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Toyota recalling 1.53 million cars globally

Play VideoAP Toyota recalls another 1.5 millionvehicles

AP FILE - The sign at San Francisco Toyota car dealership is shown in San Francisco,in this Jan. 26, 2010 By MALCOLM FOSTER, Associated Press Writer Malcolm Foster, Associated Press

Writer 1 hr 14 mins ago

TOKYO Toyota is recalling 1.53 million Lexus, Avalon and other models, mostly inthe U.S. and Japan, for brake fluid and fuel pumpproblems, the latest in a string of qualitylapses for the world's No. 1 automaker.

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday that it will call back for repairs about 740,000 cars inthe U.S. and 599,000 in Japan. The remainder are in Europe and other markets around the

world. Honda Motor Co. also said it would recall an undetermined number of vehiclesbecause of the same issue.

Over the past year, Toyota has recalled more than 10 million cars and trucks worldwidefor a variety of problems, from faulty gas pedals and floor mats that can trap accelerators,to braking problems in its Prius hybrid. In August, Toyota recalled 1.33 millionCorollasedans and Matrix hatchbacks in the U.S. and Canada because their engines may stall.

The majority of vehicles this time around need to be fixed for a problem with the brakemaster cylinder which could lead to weaker braking power, said spokesman Paul Nolascoin Tokyo. Some models in Japan and elsewhere but not in North America have an

electrical problem with the fuel pump which could cause the engine to stall, he said.

No accidents have been reported from the two defects, he said.

Nolasco said the recall decision was made underToyota's new quality control regimeinstituted over the last several months in response to criticism that the company was slowin dealing with the slew of safety problems earlier this year. Changes include naming a

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chief quality officer to head up regional quality control teams that have more autonomyand can contribute directly to decisions on whether recalls are required.

Toyota received initial complaints about both problems five years ago, but that didn'tmean there was documentation of a pattern that would trigger a recall, Nolasco said.

"It takes a while to compile the evidence for a recall," Nolasco said. Once the evidencepointed to a need for a recall, the company moved immediately to announce one, he said.

Analysts said the recall decision, coming just two months after the Corolla and Matrixrecall, seems to suggest that Toyota is trying to be more forthcoming about safety issues.American regulators hit Toyota with a $16.4 million fine for failing to promptly tell thegovernment about its car defects.

"Toyota's image suffered because it was slow and so it is trying to be quick with itsresponse," said Ryuichi Saito, auto analyst with Mizuho Investors Securities in Tokyo.

The models affected by the latest recall in the U.S. include the 2005 and 2006 Avalon,2004 through 2006 non-hybrid Highlander and Lexus RX330, and 2006 Lexus GS300,IS250, and IS350 vehicles, the company said in a statement from its U.S. headquarters inTorrance, California.

Toyota will notify owners around the world by mail to come for repairs at no charge,Nolasco said.

Honda said it would recall certain 2005-2007 model year Acura RL sedans and HondaOdyssey minivans from the 2005 to early 2007 model year due to brake fluid leaks. The

company did not immediately know how many vehicles would be covered by the recall.

In a letter to U.S. regulators, Toyota said it first received reports of leaking brake fluid inFebruary 2005, and found they involved aftermarket fluid that was different from theToyota fluid installed in new vehicles. Toyota attributed the problems to the fluid andchanged the rubber seals used in the brake's master cylinders to be the same as in otherToyota vehicles, it said.

From 2006 to 2010, Toyota said it received reports of the problem "sporadically" andfound in all cases that the rubber seals had curled and the brake fluid was not the originalToyota fluid. After receiving more consumer reports, mostly from Japan, Toyota found

that certain brake fluids contained only a small amount of polymers, which could causethe seal's lubrication to deteriorate, it said.

More tests last summer found the amount of leakage from the brake master cylinder was"very small," it said. Even if the brake warning lamp went off, Toyota said the vehiclecould be driven for another 185 miles (300 kilometers) before a driver noticed anydifference in the brakes. If brake fluid was not added, brake performance "could begin togradually decline," it said.

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Toyota said even with the problem, sufficient braking force remained to stop the vehiclesafely. It said after another 90 miles (145 kilometers), one of the brake circuits could stopworking but because of the location of the seal, no more leakage could occur that wouldaffect the other brake circuit.

Based on that assessment, Toyota said the condition didn't present an "unreasonablesafety risk." But since the condition failed to comply with a Japanese regulation thatprohibits leaking brake fluid, Toyota was required to conduct a recall in Japan.

"For other countries, including the U.S., although Toyota has not determined that asafety-related defect exists, in order to alleviate potential customer concerns and avoidconfusion, Toyota has decided to conduct a voluntary recall campaign in the U.S. andother countries," the automaker said.

The models affected in Japan include the Crown, Crown Majesta, Harrier, Mark X,Alphard, Kluger, Lexus GS350, Lexus IS250, and Lexus IS350. The production date of

the models ranges from May 2002 to November 2005.

Two models in Japan the Lexus GS350 and the Crown are affected by bothproblems.

In Japan, Toyota's image has taken less of a beating. And despite the safety woes, thePrius has been Japan's top-selling model this year.

From January through August, Toyota sold 5.6 million vehicles globally, up 13 percentfrom a year earlier.