Japanese automaker Subaru has revealed in a recent statement that it will be recalling nearly 200,000 vehicles in the US because of a defect which can potentially result in the corrosion in brake lines.

With the recall to largely affect the 2005-2009 models of Subaru's Legacy sedan and Outlook wagon, a recall notice from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has revealed that the brake lines on affected vehicles face the likelihood of corrosion over time if they are splashed by salt water through a gap in the fuel tank protector.

About the issue which can lead the brake lines in the affected vehicles to corrode, Subaru's parent company Fuji Heavy Industries said in a regulatory filing that it has been found that salt water "could splash on the brake lines through a gap in the fuel tank protector, resulting in excessive corrosion of the brake lines."

The regulatory filing further said that the defect can lead to leakage of brake fluid, thus increasing the risk of a crash, with "longer distances being required to slow or stop the vehicle."

Noting that the recall will initially be a "regional recall", limited only to the affected Legacy and Outlook models registered in Washington DC, and 20 states that rely heavily on road salt, Subaru spokesman Michael McHale said that the exact number of cars affected by the recall is still being calculated by the company, though the figures presently hint at the 200,000 mark.