Japanese car manufacturer Honda has announced it is recalling 410,000 cars in the US because of complaints about their brakes.

The recall is of 344,000 Odyssey models and 68,000 Element vehicles made between 2007 and 2008.

Honda said it had received complaints of brake pedals that felt soft or gradually needed more pressure to work.

The action follows the much larger recall by Toyota of eight million cars worldwide over safety fears.

Honda said the brake problems were due to the gradual accumulation of air over time in a part of the braking system.

Although not all cars being recalled had been affected by the problem, the company said it was recalling "all possible units to assure all customers that their vehicles will perform correctly".

Affected customers in the US will be notified by Honda from April.