Toyota to recall yet more cars

Already with a major black eye for this design defect, Toyota Motor Corporation said it may call back vehicles in Europe for a faulty accelerator pedal, after recalling 2.3 million cars and light trucks in the US for the defect.

A decision on a European recall will be made "as soon as possible", Etienne Plas, a spokesman for Toyota Motor Europe in Brussels, said in a telephone interview. He declined to comment on the number of vehicles potentially affected.

Toyota, the world's largest automaker, last week said it would recall vehicles in the US and Canada because of a potential flaw in parts made by CTS Corporation that could, "in rare instances, mechanically stick in a depressed position or return slowly to the idle position."

In November, Toyota recalled a record 4.3 million vehicles to reshape accelerator pedals to prevent them from getting stuck by driver-side floor mats.

News reports from Japan have said about 2 million autos in Europe may be affected by the pedal recall, citing people who were not identified.

Brian Lyons, a spokesman for Toyota's US sales unit in Torrance, California, said Monday that the Toyota City, Japan-based company is still investigating the pedal design and hasn't yet determined the specific steps it will take to fix the flaw.