Toyota recalls some 92,000 cars in Japan

(Updated 11:41 a.m.) TOKYO — Toyota started recalling more than 90,000 luxury Lexus and Crown vehicles Monday in Japan over defective engines — the latest setback for the automaker beset with quality problems. Toyota Motor Corp. said recalls in overseas markets will follow soon. Toyota told the Japanese government 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 massive global recalls that started in October. It already has recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles for various problems, including sticking gas pedals, braking software glitches and defective floor mats. The world's top automaker was fined a record $16.4 million in the United States for responding too slowly when the recall crisis erupted. The company announced the latest quality problems last week, estimated to affect about 270,000 vehicles around the world. Some 180,000 of the defective automobiles were sold overseas, 138,000 of them in the United States. No accidents or injuries have been reported because of the defect. 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 GS350, GS450h, GS460, IS350, LS460, LS600h, LS600hL and Crown models. Toyota also faces more than 200 lawsuits in the US tied to accidents involving defective automobiles, the lower resale value of Toyota vehicles, and a drop in its stock value. — AP