JAPANESE car maker Toyota is to recall 2.77 million vehicles from around the world in its second mass vehicle recall in just over a month after problems with steering and water pumps emerged.

The manufacturer has said the flaws, which affect some of the popular hybrid Prius model, have caused no accidents and could be fixed in an hour or so, although analysts estimate the recall could cost hundreds of millions of dollars in repairs.

Although the recall is on a global scale and affects several million cars, the defects are less major than the ones which prompted mass recalls in 2009 and 2011, when acceleration problems in Toyota vehicles were the suspected cause of fatal crashes in the United States.

The firm has battled to restore its image following the 2009 and 2011 recalls, which saw 10 million vehicles recalled worldwide, but analysts do not expect the firm’s brand image will be damaged in the same way this time.

The manufacturer is recalling 2.76 million vehicles worldwide to fix a steering component that could be damaged by wear and tear, and 630,000 gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles to replace water pumps. Many vehicles are targeted by both recalls, resulting in overlap.

Deutsche Securities analyst Kurt Sanger said the extent of the recall suggested a more aggressive stance by the company to address defects after its recall crisis a few years ago.

"They seem to continue to be obsessively monitoring these things and looking for potential problems before they arise," Mr Sanger said.

The car firm has given no figures on the estimated cost of the latest recall, but Mr Sanger said it was likely to amount to between £240m and £315m.

However, he said it was unlikely to damage Toyota’s reputation.

"There doesn't seem to be much brand risk around this, given that there haven't been injuries and excessive complaining leading up to the product action and recall,” he said.

Shares in Toyota ended down 0.8 percent at 3,060 yen on Wednesday, underperforming the Nikkei benchmark index, which ended flat.