Volkswagen AG is recalling its 2006 Jetta cars with 2.5-liter gasoline engines in the U.S. and Canada because a tab on the windshield-wiper fluid container can rub against a fuel line, possibly causing a leak and fire.

The recall affects about 58,900 cars in the U.S. and will begin in August, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its Web site. An additional 3,000 Jettas are being called back in Canada, Keith Price, a spokesman for the automaker, said today in an interview.

Dealers will remove the plastic tab on the fluid reservoir and, if necessary, replace the fuel line, Volkswagen's Auburn Hills, Michigan-based U.S. unit told NHSTA.

Volkswagen, Europe's largest automaker, sold 103,310 Jettas in the U.S. in 2006, the most among its models, according to Autodata Corp., a Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, company that monitors the industry. The Wolfsburg, Germany-based automaker sold a total of 235,140 Volkswagen-brand vehicles in the U.S.

The Jettas were built at a plant in Mexico from August 2005 through March 2006, during the "first production run of the Mark 5 body style," Price said.

Source: [url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-briefs7.3jul07,1,6164953.story?coll=la-headlines-business]Los Angeles Times[/url]