TOKYO — Toyota is recalling nearly 1.7 million cars worldwide to check fuel-pressure sensors to prevent gas leaks, in the latest in a series of damaging recalls by the world’s largest automaker.
Most of the affected vehicles, nearly 1.3 million, are in Japan, but the recall includes 245,000 Lexus GS and IS models sold in the United States, Toyota said Wednesday.
It said fuel pressure sensors connected to certain fuel delivery pipes — those with nickel-phosphorus plating — can loosen over time, allowing fuel to leak .
Toyota said it didn’t know of any accidents caused by the problem, but it had received 140 complaints in Japan and 77 abroad.
Dealers will inspect the vehicle for leaks. If there are none, they will tighten the fuel-pressure sensor. If there is a fuel leak, a gasket between the sensor and the delivery pipe will be replaced and the sensor will be tightened.
The worldwide recall will cost Toyota about $240 million and have little impact on earnings, Koji Endo, an auto analyst at Advanced Research Japan in Tokyo, told The Associated Press.
“But there is that perception of ‘here we go again,’ and that hurts Toyota’s image, especially in North America,” he said.
Toyota has become aggressive in recalls to prevent problems from escalating, so this recall doesn’t signal a deterioration in quality, Endo said.
Toyota agreed in December to pay the U.S. government $32.4 million to settle allegations that it had been slow to recall vehicles. It was fined $16.4 million in May for being slow to issue a recall.
Since the beginning of 2009, Toyota has recalled 13 million vehicles in the United States. Its biggest recalls were to prevent unintended acceleration.
, an automotive research firm, said some U.S. car buyers are avoiding the brand. In December, 17.9 percent of car shoppers considered Toyota vehicles — 2.3 points below December 2009. “Toyota needs to overcome not just the PR damage sustained by last year’s recalls but also the reality that its models are stale,” said Jessica Caldwell, director of pricing and industry analysis at Edmunds.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
