WASHINGTON - Honda Motor Co. is recalling nearly 700,000 Fit and other compact vehicles around the world over concerns the engine could stall.

The recall includes 97,201 2009-2010 Fit vehicles sold in the United States, the Japanese automaker told federal regulators.

The recall also covers versions of the vehicle sold as the Freed and City in markets around the world. Honda said the problem stems from a spring in the engine that can crack and cause noise - and in a worst case cause the engine to stall without the ability to restart it. That could increase the risk of a crash, reported by The Detroit News.

Honda said it got its first complaint of engine noise in July 2008 from Japan and got the first claim of an engine stall in North America in August 2008.

In January 2009, Honda said it determined the problem wasn't serious enough to demand a recall.

"The occurrence trend of the failure was low and vehicles could be stopped safely, so (Honda) determined market action was not necessary, and implemented one year market monitoring," the company told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In November 2009, Honda changed the specifications of the spring to prevent future problems.

But in June 2010, Honda noticed an uptick in problems of vehicles at least a year old, which prompted Honda to reopen its investigation.

Honda said recall notices to U.S. owners will be sent starting March 7.

The company will inspect and replace, if necessary, lost motion spring assemblies.