Toyota logo, a bumerang would have been more appropiate

Toyota is to recall 1.35 million automobiles, due to problems regarding safety belts and exhaust, in some cases both. These issues are not only safety-related at a complex level, but also highly easy to spot, hate and of course entail.

This recall regards some  525.000 units of the models Vitz, Belta si Ractis in  Japan and 833.000 units of Yaris Hutchback  and the popular Yaris Sedan, in Europe and North America.There is no official press statement from Toyota representatives at this point, but this information comes after Toyota had a meeting with transport ministry officials and authorities.

Safety Belt - always a concern for car manufacturers

Up to now, no accident was reported in Japan from the defective exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR) pipe, which could crack in the worst-case scenario and cause exhaust gases that fail to clear emissions standards to leak.

These are surely ill tidings for Toyota, whose global sales for 2008 had slipped 4 percent to 8.97 million vehicles.