Toyota Recalling Vehicles In South Korea

Automaker will recall nearly 13,000 vehicles in South Korea due to problems with floor mats, the government said Tuesday.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Toyota will recall nearly 13,000 vehicles in South Korea due to problems with floor mats, the government said Tuesday.

Vehicles affected are the Lexus ES350, the Camry, and the Camry Hybrid, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said.

Problems related to the fitting of rubber floor mats presented potential danger in safe operation of the accelerators, the ministry said. Toyota says no accidents related to the floor mats have been reported in South Korea.

"In the U.S., Toyota recalled its vehicles citing three different reasons," said Transport Ministry official Park Gwang-yul. "The defect found in Toyota vehicles in South Korea coincides with one of them."

Toyota Motor Corp. has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide since October, including more than 6 million in the U.S., because of acceleration problems in multiple models and braking issues in the Prius hybrid.

A total of 12,984 vehicles -- 11,232 Lexus ES350s, 1,549 Camrys, and 203 Camry Hybrids -- will be recalled in South Korea, the ministry said. It is Toyota's second recall in South Korea after 444 vehicles were recalled in February over defects in gas pedals and floor mats.

Lee Byung-jin, a Toyota spokesman, said the cars to be recalled are all Japanese-made but the floor mats are manufactured by Toyota's South Korean unit and added to vehicles sold in South Korea. The company said they will be repaired for free starting April 19.

Vehicles manufactured after January 2010 were found to be without fault, the ministry said.

Lee and the Transportation Ministry's Park said neither the floor mats nor the vehicle design were at fault but that there was a problem with the compatibility of the two when assembled.

The president of Toyota Korea said he was sorry for the recall.

"I sincerely apologize to our South Korean customers and the many parties concerned for all the worry we've caused," Hisao Nakabayashi said at a press conference.

More in Global