Toyota recalls more than 6.5m cars

Toyota is recalling more than 6.5m cars worldwide to fix a variety of problems, including faulty steering wheels and seats.

The company said there had been no reported accidents or injuries relating to the problems identified. Some 27 Toyota models are affected, including the Corolla, RAV4, Hilux, Yaris, Tacoma, Urban Cruiser and Scion xD. More after the cut.....


The global recall tally is a huge blow to the world's biggest selling car maker that has seen its reputation battered by a string of damaging recalls.
Since early 2012, the company has recalled around 20m vehicles and sold 18.7m. The latest recall is not even the biggest in a single day: in October 2012 it was forced to call back 7.43m cars, mostly the Yaris and Corolla models to fix faulty window switches.
Toyota's reputation has not fully recovered since a faulty accelerator pedal led to it taking 10m cars off the road in 2009-10. The company later admitted the faults were caused by over-hasty expansion, and last month was fined $1.2bn (£720m) by US regulators over an investigation into misleading statements the company had made about safety problems with its cars.
"Each announcement puts another dent in Toyota's efforts to recover its reputation and resurrects questions about the impact of its strategy of rapid expansion on previously enviable standards of design and production quality," said Peter Shervington, an associate specialising in product liability and recall at Eversheds law firm.

Stream of recalls continues to damage the reputation of Toyota, which since 2012 has recalled around 20m vehicles and sold 18.7m