Toyota to recall 136 000 cars over steering fault

Toyota on Thursday announced a recall of almost 136 000 compact cars in Japan and Europe to fix a steering problem.

The world’s largest car-maker, which was battered by a global safety crisis earlier this year, said it will recall 65 000 compact iQ and Passo cars in Japan and about 70 800 in Europe, all of them built between 2008 and 2010.

The recall was made after it was found that power-steering sensors could malfunction when driving over bumps, making steering more heavy, a spokesperson said, adding there had been no reports of accidents related to the issue.

The company said it would replace the necessary software on all cars.

Multiple recalls by Toyota this month have come after a series of mass recalls of about 10-million vehicles worldwide announced in late 2009 and early 2010 undermined the company’s once-stellar reputation.

The crisis snowballed, prompting US congressional investigations as Toyota was hit with a record $16,4-million fine to settle claims it had hidden accelerator pedal defects blamed for dozens of deaths.

Last month Toyota announced a global safety recall of about 1,5-million vehicles to fix a brake-fluid leak that it warned can gradually diminish braking performance.

Toyota in October said it had completed more than five million repairs on US vehicles affected by the series of recalls.—AFP