Toyota, a company once known for its safety, is in trouble again after government testing has forced the automaker to recall 17,000 of its Lexus hybrid vehicles. Although the newer Toyota models have been plagued by several safety issues, those looking for reliability and value may want to search for used Toyota cars on the pre-owned market.

According to the Los Angeles Times, independent testing by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration found that a rear impact at over 50 miles per hour could cause an excessive amount of fuel to leak from the vehicle, forcing Toyota to recall the model. The issue affects the 2010 Lexus HS250h hybrid sedan.

Toyota has said that it will stop sales of the model immediately and pull 4,000 units off of showroom floors. About 13,000 of the vehicles have already been sold, and owners will be forced to send the cars back until Toyota develops a fix for the design flaw.

The company is unaware of any incidents or accidents stemming from the problem.

Toyota has recalled 10 million cars since September. Last week, president Akio Toyoda apologized to investors for damaging the company’s previously stellar reputation for safety.

The Indian market is a quickly growing one in terms of auto sales, and Mercedes-Benz and BMW, who just recently expanded into the country, have announced plans to open up used car dealerships in the area soon.

According to Business Standard Motoring, Mercedes dominates the luxury market share in India, starting sales there in the late nineties. The company currently estimates that there are 30-35,000 Mercedes on the road in India.

BMW, while leading luxury sales worldwide, is far behind in India. The company only began selling cars there in 2007, and less than 8,000 cars are on the road, although the brand is rising in popularity.

India does not yet have an outlet for pre-owned luxury car sales. Both companies hope that selling lightly-used cars at a price comparable to popular new models like the Honda Civic will encourage drivers to switch to a used Mercedes or BMW and build brand loyalty.

“[The] used car segment is something that every car manufacturer in the country would like to explore, depending on the initial volume base. Now these two big luxury car makers in the country seem to have a desired car park to make the business viable,” Rakesh Batra, an industry expert at Ernst & Young, told the news source.

When the American auto industry partially collapsed in the wake of the economic downturn, one of the factors was a loss of sales to foreign cars, which many critics said had to do with the decline of quality American vehicles.

However, one area where Detroit’s big three automakers can claim victory are pickup trucks. Kelley Blue Book recently ranked the top five full-size pickups for 2010, and Ford, Chrysler, and GM took the top three spots over their Japanese rivals Nissan and Toyota.

The ever-reliable F-150 took home the overall top spot, with the news source calling it “strong and refined in every aspect.” The F-150 has been the best selling American-made car for 29 years in a row.

The truck was closely followed by Chrysler’s Ram 1500 in second and the Chevy Silverado in third. The Toyota Tundra placed fourth, with the Nissan Titan in last.

As GM and Chrysler look to pay back their government bailouts, news like this bolsters American’s confidence in their models.

Many of these pickup trucks have received acclaim for years beyond 2010. Those interested in buying a pickup might want to search for used Ford F-150 models at the pre-owned dealers.