Toyota Oz recalls more than 335,000 cars

Toyota Australia has issued a safety recall to remedy a potential fire hazard in 324,123 Toyota Corolla, Prius, Prius v and Rukus vehicles built between October 2008 and February 2015.

It joins another recall of almost 500,000 Mitsubishi cars in Australia this week.

An additional 4600 Lexus CT 200h models built between October 2008 and February 2015 are potentially affected by the same fuel tank issue, bringing the total to 328,623.

Yesterday's recall comes on the same day as a separate recall in which 4560 Toyota Prius vehicles and 2185 Lexus CT 200h vehicles were recalled to fix potentially faulty curtain airbag inflators that could rupture and injure occupants.

That recall affects previous-generation Prius cars built between April 2009 and April 2012, and current CT 200h cars built between September 2010 and April 2012.

Yesterday's recall of 335,468 Toyotas was followed by a Mitsubishi recall in which up to 500,000 vehicles were recalled this morning to repair a litany of electrical problems in a wide range of Australian vehicles.

The recall affecting Toyota's Corolla – Australia's top-selling new car – as well as the Prius, Prius v and Rukus is due to the possibility that a crack may develop on the fuel suction plate assembled to the fuel tank.

"If this occurs, the crack could expand over time and fuel may eventually leak when the vehicle has a full tank of petrol. Fuel or fuel vapor in the presence of an ignition source could increase the risk of a vehicle fire," said Toyota.

Toyota says there have been nine reported cases in Australia of a crack developing in Corolla vehicles, but so far no injuries or fires as a result.

It said that once parts become available, which is expected to happen in August -- it will contact all affected vehicle owners by mail to advise them to make an appointment at their preferred Toyota dealer.

For all affected vehicles, Toyota dealers will remove, disassemble and replace the fuel suction plate. The repair will take approximately two hours to complete and will be carried out free of charge.

The majority of models affected are previous-generation Corolla hatchbacks built between March 5, 2007 and July 23, 2012, and Corolla sedans built between March 5, 2007 and September 30, 2013, although other Corollas are involved, in addition to previous-generation Prius, current Prius v people-mover and discontinued Rukus models.

Affected customers can contact the Toyota recall campaign helpline on 1800 987 366 for more details.