Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp.'s Tundra pickup may be recalled for the second time in as many years after new complaints of suspension failures prompted U.S. auto safety officials to upgrade an ongoing investigation.

The inquiry covers 219,522 Tundras from 2003 and 2004, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said today. The agency is continuing a review linked to last year's recall of 775,000 Tundras and other vehicles. It also began a probe of 2004 and 2005 Sienna minivans because liftgates may fail.

The reviews mark the latest quality issues for Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota, the world's second-largest automaker. The company's brand image may be hurt by rising recalls, Fitch Ratings said on July 28, citing a worldwide recall of nearly 1 million Corollas and Prius hybrids.

``This tarnishes their reputation a little bit,'' said Eric Merkle, an analyst for consulting firm IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids, Michigan. ``Toyota is viewed as the pinnacle of quality. That isn't something they established in the last year or two. They did that over 30 or 40 years, and it doesn't go away overnight.''

A spokeswoman for Toyota, Ming-Jou Chen, said the automaker was cooperating with NHTSA ``in their investigation of both vehicles.''

Last year's Tundra recall was for the replacement of ball joints, a suspension component that may have been scratched during assembly. After four complaints of the same problem in other model years, NHTSA opened a safety review of 2003 and 2004 models earlier this year.

142 Incidents

The safety administration said today it has found 142 incidents of ball joint separations. The part fails nearly twice as often on four-wheel drive versions, compared with two-wheel drive models, the investigation summary said.

NHTSA's safety review is a three-stage process, beginning with a preliminary evaluation, like the one being done of the Sienna. Three of four of those reviews are closed without further action. The others are upgraded to a second step, called an engineering analysis. Seven in 10 of those upgraded probes lead to recalls.

The 2005 recall included Sequoia and 4Runner sport- utility vehicles, as well as Tacoma pickups. Eric Bolton, a NHTSA spokesman, said the ball-joint review is limited to the Tundra because the agency has gotten additional complaints only about the pickup.

Toyota on Aug. 4 said profit rose 39 percent, helped by higher U.S. sales that have put the company close to ending General Motors Corp.'s eight-decade run as the world's biggest automaker.

Growth Strategy

``They understand that it is a real issue for them that their quality has been slipping,'' Merkle said. ``They have to balance their growth strategy with quality. How do they keep this aggressive growth strategy and maintain quality at the same time?''

NHTSA began the Sienna investigation, covering 393,313 vehicles, after eight complaints and four reports of injuries. Toyota told dealers in March 2004 it was redesigning minivans' liftgate struts from that model year to prevent damage to a seal. Six of the latest complaints were for 2004 models, and two were for the 2005 version.

Japan's transport ministry ordered Toyota to improve operations after another recall, and 367,600 Highlander sport- utility vehicles were recalled last month in the U.S.

``For an investigation to start in the first place, there has to be a certain amount of incidents,'' said David Champion, director of testing at Consumer Reports magazine in Yonkers, New York. ``In some cases, there is no smoke without fire.''

The U.S. shares of Toyota fell $2.48, or 2.3 percent, to $105.66 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have gained 41 percent in the past year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ripley Watson in Washington at Rwatson3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 7, 2006 16:06 EDT