Toyota announced on Monday that it was recalling about 9,400 Lexus GX sport utility vehicles due to the possibility of the vehicles rolling over.

"Toyota's objective is to provide a high level of safety and quality, while meeting or surpassing governmental regulations," said Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America. "Our engineers have conducted tests to confirm the VSC ( Vehicle Stability Control) performance issue raised by Consumer Reports, and we are confident this VSC software update addresses the concern."

The automaker said it had confirmed that 2010 models of the SUV could potentially roll under certain conditions while going into curves. The issue was first raised by Consumer Reports, which issued a rare warning advising people not to buy the vehicle.

Toyota suspended sales of the vehicles last week after Consumer Reports released the results of its testing.

Toyota will provide software update to Lexus dealers by the end of the month to help solve the problem with the luxury vehicle, which sells at more than 52,000 dollars each. The carmaker has sold more than 5,000 models in North America since late last year.

However, the recall will not dent the overall performance as the Lexus SUVs constitute only a small fraction of the products, analysts believe.

The recall is the latest in a series of public relations disasters for Toyota, which has recalled 8.5 million vehicles since November for problems including floor mats that get tangled with the gas pedal and gas pedals that stick, causing sudden acceleration.

(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2010)