Toyota still needs to get regulatory approval for a proposed repair in the U.S. and in Europe before a fix can be made.
The recall is to correct a problem that could cause the gas pedal, as it ages and becomes worn, to stick partway down under certain circumstances. Toyota recalled 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. for this problem this week, although no repair procedure had yet been put in place.
The European recall involves eight different models, several of them not sold here. The precise number of vehicles involved in that recall is still under investigation but it could be as many as 1.8 million, Toyota said in a statement.
The gas pedal recall is separate from an earlier one, begun in November to fix a problem in which the gas pedal can become caught on the edge of the removable floormat.