NEWS:    Toyota recalls 130,000 Yaris cars in US

Yahoo News -- January 28,2009 -- Toyota said Wednesday it will recall almost 1.3 million vehicles worldwide due to a defect that could cause a foam pad near the seat belt to ignite during collisions.

The Japanese automaker said the recall includes 134,900 model-year 2006 and 2007 Yaris subcompacts that were sold in the U.S. Toyota Motor Sales USA said it is working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall the vehicles.

Toyota spokesman said in "severe front-end collisions," the mechanism that tightens the vehicle's seat belt expels a gas that could cause a sound-insulating foam pad nearby to ignite. In a worst-case scenario, the problem could cause a fire, he said.

However, ... said no cases of either have been reported where this actually happened in the U.S., and no other vehicles are affected.

The recall affects about 1.28 million vehicles worldwide that are based on Toyota's Yaris platform.

MORE RECALL INFO:    Toyota Yaris

NEWS:   Toyota recalls vehicles over faulty engine part

The faulty part is the latest in a string of problems requiring recalls by Toyota, raising doubts over whether the automaker can maintain quality standards amid booming sales.

The recall affects about 150,000 cars sold overseas, mainly in the United States and Canada, Toyota spokeswoman ...said. These autos were manufactured in 2001.

In the United States, 24,490 cars sold under the name Echo and Yaris, as well as 8,476 Prius vehicles are affected by the recall.