**UPDATED** Toyota's Car Safety Recall Does Not Affect Australia (there, was that so hard?)

Toyota -- Recall does not affect Australia! (At least, not at the time we wrote this). ©

Since mid to late January, 'Underground' readers will have seen myriad news stories - like this one - reporting on car manufacturer Toyota's mass recall of millions of its vehicles.

The recall, now affecting some 8 million cars (at last count), results from reports of at least four known possible defects: failing brakes; accelerator pedals sticking when pressed; cars accelerating of their own accord (without the accelerator being pressed); and floormats causing otherwise functioning accelerator pedals to become stuck.

Recalls have been issued for various Toyota brands - including at least Prius, Corolla, Tacoma, AYGO, iq, Auris, Yaris, Verso, Avensis and RAV4 - in the US, Canada, Europe, Japan and China.

THE RECALL DOES NOT AFFECT AUSTRALIA.

Would you have known that from most local news reports, though? Unfortunately, and incredibly, no. (!)

For days, it seemed, local papers were running syndicated foreign press reports on the Toyota recall like the one we've hyperlinked at the top of this story, apparently without making any effort to tweak the reports for local readers and clarify whether or not the recall applied in Oz. The result? Anecdotally - confusion, anxiety, and frustration for local drivers (and there's a freakload of Toyotas sold in this country, let's remember).

Even after Toyota issued a local press statement clarifying (albeit at least a week after the recall story was first widely picked up here) that the international recall did not apply to Australia, local press continued running foreign syndicated press articles without making any effort to include the clarifying information.

Local news consumers know many Australian news outlets are under assault, from declining circulation and reduced staffing. But was it really so hard to add in one little line: "The recall does not affect Toyota cars sold in Australia"?.

Surely not. (Not absolutely everyone got it wrong, by the way. SBS was one local outlet that somehow managed to bother making its local news relevant to local consumers).

Anyway, in case you missed it elsewhere, now you know once and for all -- as of right now, the Toyota car brand recall does NOT affect Toyota car brands sold in Australia.

We'll keep this one under close watch and update immediately if the situation changes.

Which, again, really won't be that hard...

UPDATE: The possibility has emerged, late this afternoon (Thursday 4 Februrary) of a global recall of the current (third generation) Toyota Prius, because of possible brake failure problems. While not yet clear, it would seem the recall, if it happened, would affect Prius cars sold in Australia. The latest on the developing story can be read here.

Again, we will keep 'Underground' users informed as quickly as possible.