Washington, Nov 10 (IANS): Automobile giant Toyota Motor Corp. has said it was recalling about 550,000 vehicles worldwide, including 420,000 in the US, for a potential steering problem.

In the US, the automaker was recalling 283,200 Toyota brand cars, including the 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna and Solara, the 2004 Avalon and the 2006 Highlander HV.

Its recall of 137,000 Lexus vehicles includes the 2004 and 2005 ES330 and RX330 and 2006 RX400h, Xinhua reported.

Toyota's US unit said in a statement that there was a possibility that the outer ring of the crankshaft pulley may become misaligned with the inner ring, causing noise or illumination of the discharge warning light.

If this condition was not corrected, the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley and the driver may notice a sudden increase in steering effort, according to the company.

Toyota has received a total of 79 reports about the defect dating back to 2007, said company spokesman Dion Corbett. There have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the problem, he said.