TOKYO - GERMAN automaker Daimler AG has ordered a recall of nearly 65,000 Mercedes-Benz cars sold in Japan to fix potential fuel tank defects caused by parts with insufficient durability, according to transport and company officials.

The recall, announced on Tuesday, covers 64,550 E-Class sedan, station wagon and CLS-Class coupe models imported to Japan from February 2002 through April 2007, the company's Japanese subsidiary, Mercedes-Benz Japan, and the Transport Ministry said.

Inadequate quality of a plastic ventilation valve and a filtering pipe could easily wear down through repeated refueling and cause cracks or damage to the parts, the company and the ministry said in a statement, released separately.

In the worst case, over time, the defects may cause a fuel leak, they said.

No accidents were reported from the defects, but there were 142 customer reports of the defects, the ministry said. -- AP