【英语科技】丰田汽车在日本召回9万多辆汽车

Toyota started recalling more than 90,000 luxury Lexus and Crown vehicles Monday in Japan over defective engines -- the latest setback for the automaker beset with quality problems.

Toyota Motor Corp. said recalls in overseas markets will follow soon.

Toyota told the Japanese government Monday it was recalling 91,903 vehicles for flaws in the valve springs, a crucial engine component, that could make the automobile stall while in motion.

The quality problem affecting top-of-the-line products comes as Toyota struggles to move on from massive global recalls that started in October. It already has recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles for various problems, including sticking gas pedals, braking software glitches and defective floor mats.

The world's top automaker was fined a record $16.4 million in the United States for responding too slowly when the recall crisis erupted.

The company announced the latest quality problems last week, estimated to affect about 270,000 vehicles around the world. Some 180,000 of the defective automobiles were sold overseas, 138,000 of them in the United States.

No accidents or injuries have been reported because of the defect. About 220 complaints have been reported.

Toyota said it was replacing the valve spring in the recalled vehicles, produced between July 2005 and August 2008 -- Lexus models GS350, GS450h, GS460, IS350, LS460, LS600h, LS600hL and Crown models.

Toyota also faces more than 200 lawsuits in the U.S. tied to accidents involving defective automobiles, the lower resale value of Toyota vehicles, and a drop in its stock value.

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丰田汽车（Toyota）周一开始在日本召回超过90,000辆豪华雷克萨斯（Lexus）和皇冠（Crown）汽车，原因是引擎故障，这是受质量问题困扰的丰田最新面临的挫折。

丰田汽车表示，很快将在海外市场召回汽车。

丰田周一对日本政府表示，将召回91,903辆在阀门弹簧这一关键引擎元件上有问题的汽车，这一问题使汽车在行驶时会突然熄火。

在丰田从去年10月开始的全球大规模召回阴影中努力走出之际，质量问题影响着丰田的最高端产品。丰田因为各种问题已召回超过850万辆汽车，其中包括加速器卡住、刹车软件问题和地垫问题。

丰田因为召回危机突发时反应过慢已在美国被罚款1640万美元，创下纪录。

公司上周公布最新质量问题时，估计将在全球涉及约270,000辆汽车，约180,000辆有瑕疵的汽车为在海外销售，其中138,000辆汽车是在美国销售的。

目前尚没有因为该缺陷而出现事故或人员受伤的报告，但已有约220例投诉。

这些召回的汽车是在2005年7月和2008年8月间生产的，丰田表示将更换这些召回汽车的阀门弹簧。这些召回汽车是雷克萨斯GS350, GS450h, GS460, IS350, LS460, LS600h, LS600hL和皇冠系列。

丰田在美国还面临着超过200项诉讼，这些诉讼与以下问题有关，即与汽车故障相关的事故，丰田汽车再销售价格下降以及其股价下跌。

本文译自美联社(Associated Press）