Toyota recalls 246,000 vehicles

Toyota recalls 246,000 vehicles

Associated Press, Tokyo

Top Japanese automaker Toyota Motor said on Tuesday it will recall 246,592 vehicles in Japan, including Crown sedan and Hiace van models, produced between 1998 and 2005, due to possible corrosion of parts in the engine.

Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Hideki Fujii said the company is considering whether to recall about 1.05 million vehicles of the same models exported to overseas markets, including Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, India and European countries.

None of the models involved were exported to the United States and Canada, Fujii said.

The surface of a bolt in the engine will erode due to the remaining cleansing liquid, breaking the bolt and causing the vehicle to halt, according to Toyota's Web site.

Fujii said the company is now looking into safety standards of importing countries of the Toyota models affected because of different recall systems by country.

Toyota, Japan's largest automaker and the world's second biggest after General Motors Corp. of the United States, reported 169 complaints from Japanese users, including their vehicles stopping, unusual noise and vibration, but there were no reports of accidents related to the defect, according to Transport Ministry spokesman Naoto Takano.

Fujii said the company did not disclose repair estimates.

Last month, Toyota announced its largest recall ever, totaling 1.27 million vehicles from 17 car models, to repair an electrical defect that could cause the headlights to fail.

Models in the recall included Toyota's popular Crown, Mark II Chaser Cresta, Hilux van models and Dyna truck models.