Toyota has agreed to pay a record fine in the United States of $US32.4 million over its handling of millions of car recalls.
It is the second big fine that the world's largest carmaker will pay the US National Highway Safety Administration, after agreeing on a $US16 million penalty in April.
The company said it was now pleased to have resolved these legacy issues, but did not admit any violations of US law.
Toyota has recalled more than 10 million cars worldwide since September last year, issuing 14 recalls in 2010.
The BBC reports the latest fine also refers to recalls made in 2005 concerning steering defects in nearly one million vehicles.
In September last year, Toyota recalled four million cars after fears that the accelerator pedal could get stuck on the floormat.
In January this year, it recalled a further 2.3 million cars to fix potentially faulty accelerator pedals.
In August, it recalled a further 1.1 million Corolla and Matrix models over an engine control system fault, and in October it called in more than 1.5 million cars over brake and fuel pump defects.
The carmaker was harshly criticised over the earlier recalls for not acting more quickly.
The NHSA said Toyota had not reported the defects to it within a stipulated time.
