Toyota Recalls 1.75m Cars Over Brake Worries

Toyota has announced another series of worldwide recalls, this time affecting 1.75 million cars which will be checked for flaws including defective brakes.

It is the latest setback for the Japanese firm as it attempts to restore its reputation for quality following costly recall programmes since 2009 affecting more than 20 million vehicles.

Issues with its cars to date have included unintended acceleration and faulty airbags - problems that have prompted safety regulators in the US to place the company under supervision.

Today's announcement marked the third major recall of 2014 for Toyota after it called back 1.9 million Prius hybrids in February over fears cars could lose power or shut down.

In April it recalled more than 6 million other vehicles for checks on five potential hazards.

Toyota said the majority of vehicles included in the latest recall resided in Japan and it was not aware of any accidents or injuries linked to the problems.

Toyota UK said only 9,637 UK-registered Lexus IS, GS (KSE: 078935.KS - news) and LS (KSE: 006260.KS - news) models came under the warning and mechanics would correct an issue with the delivery pipe which feeds fuel to the engine's fuel injectors.

It insisted all the cars were safe to drive and owners would be contacted in the coming weeks.

Its statement said: "Lexus has found that some pipes may have been produced with particles of the plating on the surface of the gasket seating where the fuel pressure sensor is located.

"This may cause the gasket seating to degrade between the fuel pressure sensor and the fuel delivery pipe, creating the risk of a leak.

"The driver may be alerted to the problem by the smell of fuel while driving, or on leaving the vehicle.

"The work will take about three to four hours to complete and will be carried out free of charge.

"Customers can check whether their vehicle is affected using a registration look-up function in the owners section of the main Lexus website."