TOKYO — Toyota cruised back to profit in the latest quarter as the world's top carmaker cut costs and hitched a ride on the global auto sales recovery while fighting to salvage its reputation for quality.

But the automaker's top executive and analysts alike said Toyota is still far from a full recovery while another potential blow to its image looms after U.S. federal authorities launched a fresh investigation into a steering recall.

Toyota said Tuesday that January-March profit totaled $1.2 billion compared with a 766 billion yen loss the year before.

Toyota is forecasting even better results for the fiscal year through March 2011, projecting annual profit to rise 48 percent to $3.3 billion.

An Associated Press investigation found Toyota waited nearly a year to issue a U.S. recall in 2005 over defective steering rods in trucks and SUVs, despite a similar recall in Japan and dozens of reports from American motorists about rods that snapped without warning.The gap between the Japanese and U.S. recalls triggered a new review by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which could fine the automaker up to $16.4 million.NHTSA has linked 16 crashes, three deaths and seven injuries to the steering defect.Toyota claimed initially after the 2004 Japanese recall it had little evidence of a U.S. problem. But the AP found the automaker had received at least 52 reports from U.S. drivers.

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh's five-star LeMont Restaurant on Mount Washington was damaged by a kitchen fire that will close the business for at least a day.Allegheny County fire marshals are investigating the blaze reported just before midnight Sunday, though initial reports are an electrical problem might have been the cause. Nobody was in the restaurant, which closed earlier that night, and there were no reports of firefighters injured. The fire was confined to the kitchen by the building's sprinkler system and was relatively small when firefighters arrived.The restaurant was closed Monday, and it was not immediately clear when it would reopen. Most of the damage was caused by water.

PITTSBURGH — Members of the United Mine Workers of America are picketing outside U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh where Massey Energy is bidding for the rights to buy a southwestern Pennsylvania mine.Massey owns the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W.Va., where 29 miners were killed in an explosion April 5.The UMWA and other unions are picketing to raise awareness that Massey wants to buy the nearly 1,300-acre Mathies Mine in Union Township, Washington County, from bankrupt Mon View Mining. Mon View is headquartered in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park.