More than 400 Toyota and Lexus cars are being recalled in Ireland as part of global recall by the car maker of more than 1.7 million vehicles worldwide.
Toyota Ireland said the move was precautionary and it would be writing to customers to inform them.
Some 253 Avensis models are being recalled to replace the fuel pipe and inspect the fuel pump check valve. The affected cars are 2.0 and 2.4 litre petrol vehicles produced between July 2000 and September 2008.
A further 186 Lexus IS250 petrol cars are also included in the recall, which will check the torque on the fuel pressure sensor. Those potentially affected were produced between August 2007 and February 2009.
"We will be writing to customers in the immediate future to arrange for them to make an appointment with their local dealer to have the repair procedure carried out at a time that is convenient and which ensures minimal disruption for the customer," said Toyota Ireland's managing director David Shannon.
The global recall is the the latest in a string that have ballooned to nearly 16 million since late 2009, further denting the carmaker's reputation for quality.
The latest recall will make it harder for Toyota to convince investors it has put its quality problems behind it a year after the car company went into crisis after massive recalls worldwide to fix faulty brakes blamed in the fatalities of several drivers.
"Toyota faces harsh competition from Honda, which is in a much better situation in the US market - this is reflected in its stock price which now stands at multi-year highs," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.
"That's why investors are a little nervous and sold Toyota when this negative news came out," he said.
Toyota was the only major car maker to see its sales fall in the United States last year, and just squeaked by General Motors to keep its spot at the top of the global sales ranking.
Toyota said it was also recalling around 335,000 Lexus units sold overseas, including about 245,000 sold in the United States, due to trouble with a fuel pressure sensor connected to an engine fuel delivery pipe.
The recall of the Noah models sold in Japan covers those manufactured between May 2000 and October 2008.
In two other filings today, Toyota said it would recall about 75,000 Crown models and about 6,200 Townace vans in Japan to fix the same fault found in Lexus cars sold in the US and elsewhere.
Toyota said in a filing to Japan's transport ministry that no accidents had been reported because of the defects.
Toyota declined to say how much the latest recalls would cost.
Toyota's last big recall was in October when it said it would fix 1.66 million Avalons, Highlanders and other models worldwide mainly for a defect in the master cylinder brake seal.
Shares closed down 1.9 per cent at 3,400 yen, underperforming a 0.6 per cent fall in the benchmark Nikkei average.
Shares of Honda, Japan's second-largest automaker, gained 0.7 per cent to 3,470 yen.
Additional reporting - Reuters
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