Mass vehicle recall hurts Toyota

Toyota is already recalling more than a million vehicles

Toyota is recalling nearly 250,000 vehicles in Japan over concerns about engine parts, not long after it had to take a million cars off the road.

The latest scare involves Crown sedan and Hiace van models in Japan.

Toyota will consider whether it should withdraw more than a million similar models exported to Thailand, Indonesia, India and Australia as well as Europe.

The Japanese firm recalled a record 1.41 million vehicles last month to repair a separate electrical defect.

Corrosion worry

The latest recall came after drivers complained about unusual noise and vibration and vehicles stopping unexpectedly.

No accidents have been reported.

Toyota said it was investigating possible corrosion of parts within the engines of certain models manufactured between 1998 and 2005.

Affected models include the Crown Chaser Cresta and the Hilux and Dyna truck marques.

The company did not comment on the likely cost of the recall.

Toyota, the world's second largest carmaker, is expected to sell about 8.5 million vehicles this year.