Toyota Motor Corp is to recall some 3.8 million vehicles in the United States because of the risk that a loose floormat could force down the accelerator, a problem suspected of causing crashes that have killed five people.
The recall includes the Prius hybrid and would be the largest-ever for Toyota, which has built a reputation for safety and quality that helped it surpass General Motors as the world's top automaker last year.
The company is checking whether the problem originates in the floor mats or the process of placing them in the vehicles.
Toyota and US safety regulators warned owners to remove all driver-side floor mats from eight Toyota and Lexus models manufactured in the last six years as an immediate safety precaution.
The recall comes at a critical time for Toyota as it scrambles to squeeze spending to bounce back from record losses forecast this year amid a broad-based slump in car sales.
"This is an urgent matter," said US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The US government said it has received reports of 100 related incidents that include 17 crashes and five fatalities involving Toyota vehicles.
Toyota said it was too early to provide a cost estimate for the move. Deutsche Securities auto analyst Kurt Sanger estimated the cost at a modest 5-10 billion yen ($50-$100 million), saying the bigger worry was its image.
The vehicles affected by the recommendation are Toyota's 2007-2010 Camry sedans, 2005-2010 Avalon sedans, 2004-2009 Prius hybrids, 2005-2010 Tacoma pickups, 2007-2010 Tundra pickups and Lexus's 2007-2010 ES 350 and 2006-2010 IS 250 and IS 350 sedans.
The US-built Camry is the market's best-selling passenger car, and the Prius is the world's most popular hybrid-electric model based on sales volume.
In Tokyo earlier today Toyota shares were down 1.1 per cent, underperforming a 0.2 per cent fall in the main Nikkei average and a rise in rival Japanese car stocks.
Agencies