Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Toyota car manufacturer has decided to withdraw about 1.7 million vehicles from around the world for fear that they could lose or fuel oil. At least 1.2 million will be withdrawn from Japan itself and affect the Voxy, Noah minivans and Isis models, as well as the RAV4 sport model. Toyota has decided to withdraw for safety even 240 000 Lexus models in the U.S. and 140 000 Avensis in Europe.
All of these vehicles – rolled out between May 2000 to October 2008 - present problems in easily broken fuel lines, which could lead to leakage of gasoline or oil. The Department of Transport has stated however that up to now there has been no accident because of this defect.
Today’s announced recall is the second largest in the history of Toyota, after the recall of millions of vehicles from the U.S. due to problems with the accelerator.
The car company is struggling to regain its reputation. In 2010 Toyota was the highest selling company, an increase in car sales of 8% over the previous year. Today, minutes before the close of trading, shares of Toyota were down to 75 yen.