Toyota Recalls 135,00 Compact Cars in Europe, Japan

VOA Breaking News (Voice of America)
November 4, 2010 at 11:00 am

Toyota Motor Corporation says it is recalling 135,000 compact cars sold in Japan and Europe because of a software defect that can make the cars hard to steer.

It is the latest setback for the world’s largest automaker, whose reputation for reliability has been battered by recalls affecting more than 10 million vehicles over the last year.

Toyota said Thursday it is recalling 65,000 iQ and Passo cars sold in Japan and more than 70,000 sold in Europe. All were sold after September 2008.

It says it will repair a defect that may cause the software to malfunction when the cars drive over a bump. The malfunction can make the power steering uncontrollably heavy.

Some information in this story was provided by AP and AFP.