Volkswagen recalls 20,000 cars in Mexico

The company said the recall in Mexico had been ordered over the "possibility that the rear wheel bearings could be insufficiently lubricated, causing then to make noise."

"If the situation is not addressed, it could cause the wheel bearings to lock," the company said in a statement released by its Puebla factory.

The company said it was recalling "approximately 20,000 cars," all of them Gol and Gol Sedan models, the statement said.

A day earlier, the company said it was recalling nearly 200,000 of its Novo Gol and Voyage model cars in Brazil over the same issue.

Volkswagen Brazil said on its website that 193,620 Novo Gol and Voyage cars were at risk of not having sufficient lubrication on its rear wheels, which "can cause noise and continuous use could lead to a blockage of the wheels."

"In extreme cases, the wheel can come off," it said.

The announcements follow a massive worldwide recall by Toyota over accelerator and brake problems, and another by rival Japanese maker Honda in North America, Japan, Taiwan and Australia of models with a dangerous airbag fault.