Washington ? Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday it will pay a record $16.4 million fine for its huge acceleration recalls and then moved to recall new Lexus SUVs to address potential rollover problems. Despite paying the fine, the Japanese auto giant denied violating any U.S. laws.

The penalty, the largest the Transportation Department could legally seek, was the equivalent of Toyota paying more than $2 for every vehicle it sold around the globe in 2009. Analysts said the penalty would have little impact on dozens of lawsuits, which have been combined before a federal judge in Santa Ana, Calif.

“In the court of public opinion, paying the fine speaks volumes. But at the end of the day, the fines are simply background noise in terms of the civil litigation,” said Richard Arsenault, a plaintiff’s attorney in Alexandria, La. “What’s really important are the facts that were the catalyst for the fines.”

Addressing more safety concerns, Toyota planned to recall the 2010 Lexus GX 460 to address a potential problem with the SUV rolling over, said a Transportation Department official familiar with the plans. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because a formal announcement had not yet been made.

The new recall affects about 6,000 vehicles that have been sold since the SUV went on sale in late December. Consumer Reports issued a “Don’t Buy” warning last week, saying the vehicle was susceptible to rolling over. Toyota responded by halting sales of new GX 460s and conducting tests on all of its SUVs.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Toyota “put consumers at risk” in the earlier recall by failing to promptly notify the government about potentially defective accelerator pedals on 2.3 million vehicles. LaHood said Toyota knew about the problem in late September but failed to issue the recall until late January, violating a federal law that requires an automaker to notify the government of a safety defect within five business days.

Toyota said it agreed to the penalty “to avoid a protracted dispute and possible litigation” but denied the government’s allegation that it violated the law.

“We believe we made a good faith effort to investigate this condition and develop an appropriate countermeasure. We have acknowledged that we could have done a better job of sharing relevant information within our global operations and outside the company, but we did not try to hide a defect to avoid dealing with a safety problem,” Toyota said.

The fine does not free Toyota from potential civil and criminal penalties. Besides civil lawsuits, federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission also are conducting investigations and may bring lawsuits.