TOKYO, July 2 (AFP) – Toyota Motor said Friday it would recall 270,000 vehicles worldwide because of an engine fault affecting cars including its luxury Lexus range and Crown sedans, in the latest blow to its reputation.

Toyota said faulty valve springs in certain engines could potentially lead to affected vehicles stopping while in operation.

It plans to submit a recall notice to Japan's transport ministry on Monday, with the latest action affecting 90,000 units in Japan and 180,000 overseas, the majority of which are in the United States.

''The recall is due to defective parts of valve springs, which may result in abnormal noise or idling. In a worst case, the engine could stop,'' said Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi.

Toyota Motor Sales USA said about 137,000 of the 180,000 would be recalled in the United States.

''We sincerely apologise to our customers for any inconvenience and request that they contact their nearest Lexus dealer,'' said Mark Templin, group vice president and general manager of the US Lexus Division, in a statement.

The world's largest automaker has been hit by a series of safety recalls and has pulled around 10 million vehicles worldwide since late last year, mostly due to acceleration problems.

Toyota's announcement comes as the company looks to improve its recall process following heavy criticism of the way it handled safety issues in the United States that have been blamed for more than 80 deaths.

The company said that the defective 4.6-litre V8 and 3.5-litre V6 engines had been installed in eight top line models including some hybrids – the Lexus GS350, GS450h, GS460, IS350, LS460, LS600h and LS600hL as well as Crown sedans. Toyota said it had not received any reports of accidents or injuries related to the issue.

While smaller than earlier recalls, the fact that the latest problem affects Toyota's luxury Lexus brand is a serious blow to the company's already battered reputation, said Tatsuya Mizuno, auto analyst at Mizuno Credit Advisory.

''It has renewed uncertainties surrounding the company,'' he said.

''The recall may bring a psychological impact as this has happened to its most luxurious models, which Toyota offered to customers with full confidence.''

In April the automaker recalled 6,000 Lexus sports utility vehicles in the United States due to potential stability problems after a consumer magazine slapped them with a ''Don't Buy'' rating.

In May it announced a recall of 11,500 other Lexus vehicles over steering issues.

Mizuno said that the latest recall ''may dampen consumer sentiment on its cars at a time when Toyota is still struggling to recover while it faces class action lawsuits in the United States.''

Toyota paid a record 16.4-million-dollar fine to settle claims it had hidden gas pedal defects in the United States, and US officials have refused to rule out the possibility of more fines as they review thousands of internal papers.