We doubt that many of our readers will be running to the phone for this one, but Lamborghini is recalling 428 2007-2008 Murcielago LP640 and LP640 Roadsters. The cause of the recall is a potential fire hazard that exists due to a faulty fuel tank. Specifically, a fuel leak could develop when tank vibration and movement of the gas inside the tank partially detach the fuel pump support. If an external ignition source is present, this leak could result in fire. So far, no actual fires or accidents have been reported from this problem.

Lamborghini is expected to begin the recall next month. Owners with questions can contact Lamborghini at 508-808-9562. [via InsideLine]

Toyota probably doesn’t have a surplus of Benjamins this year, but they’re going to have to reach down deep in the coffers and come up with $16.4 million to pay a fine imposed by the U.S. government, the largest penalty ever imposed on an automaker. The fine was issued earlier this month for Toyota’s failure to notify regulators about safety issues with accelerator pedals and for their slow response in issuing a recall.

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The NHTSA announced that Honda is recalling 1,854 ZDX models (model year 2010) for an issue with the front passenger side airbags. The airbags may have problems deploying due to the dashboard material, according to the NHTSA. No actual incidents of the problem have yet been reported.

According to the NHTSA’s summary: “”During the manufacturing process, the dashboard covering material may have not been properly laser scored to allow complete deployment of the front passenger’s SRS air bag.”

Honda will notify owners of the recall on April 21 and will replace the dashboard material on affected vehicles.

Back in February, Honda recalled over 400,000 vehicles including Civic, Accord and CR-V models for a separate airbag issue. [via Inside Line]

The floor mat issue plaguing certain Toyota models has received more than a lot of attention over the past half year or so, and it doesn’t look like the end is yet near. Today, Toyota recalled 12,984 Camry, Camry Hybrid and Lexus ES 350 models in South Korea for floor mat acceleration interference.

According to reports, the reason that the South Korean recall comes so much later than others is that the floor mats involved were different. Whoever is responsible for picking out floor mats for Toyota better have been fired–two faulty floor mat styles is just ludicrous. [via Inside Line]

Toyota has been pretty insistent that the cause of unintended acceleration within its recalled vehicles is not and never will be due to electronics. A group of British engineering consultants disagrees and believes that electromagnetic interference in the electronic throttle-control system is the cause of the problem. Parts of the throttle system and pedal assemblies are not shielded from interference, according to the engineers. They also stated that Toyota’s intended fix, a brake override system, will not be effective in addressing the issue.

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Just a day after James Sikes’ infamous Prius incident, a 56-year-old in New York crashed a Prius into a stone wall. As has become customary, the incident was originally attributed to unintended acceleration. The driver was not seriously injured.

After investigations, both police and U.S. regulators that looked at the 2005 Prius concur that the incident was caused by driver error not mechanical or electronic failure. Regulators reported last week that they had found that the throttle was open and the brakes were not applied. Today, police involved in the case came out in agreement with this assessment, stating that the gas pedal was fully depressed at the time of impact and the brakes were not engaged.

Despite the perpetual bad press, Toyota has finally won a couple. [via Detroit News]

The term ‘soft’ is definitely not what one wants to hear modifying the term ‘brake pedal’. No matter how you interpret that, it’s not good. Honda realizes this and is recalling 412,000 vehicles for what it’s calling soft brake pedals. The issue is caused by air flowing into the hydraulic brake lines when the vehicle stability assist modulator performs a self-test on start-up. Once this air builds up, it makes brakes less responsive, requiring a harder push to get the vehicle to stop.

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Toyota’s North American President Yoshimi Inaba was present and accounted for at U.S. Congressional hearings on the Toyota recall crisis three weeks ago. In fact, during Akio Toyoda’s invite runaround, he was scheduled to be the top dog at the hearings.

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After federal investigators failed to replicate any problems with James Sikes’ Toyota, and the entire news world and blogosphere has been questioning his integrity, we really didn’t expect that Toyota would be the party to finally unveil a discernable mechanical issue. And indeed, it hasn’t.

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