DETROIT -- Volkswagen AG will recall about 35,000 of its 1999-2000 model year Golfs and GTIs in the United States to inspect a fuel line and pump, which could leak and possibly cause a fire, a federal agency said.

The fuel line on the gas-powered cars could crack and leak, sparking a fire, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported on its Web site.

A VW spokesman said the recall only applied to vehicles sold in the United States, because the fuel line was placed differently than in the vehicles sold in other markets.

The recall is expected to begin on July 15. Dealers will inspect the fuel supply line and the fuel pump, and replace the parts if necessary, the NHTSA said.

Owners should contact Volkswagen at 1-800-822-8987.

The recall follows a similar problem with leaky diesel fuel pumps on the VW Beetle, Jetta, Passat and Golf from the 2004-2005 model years. That led to a recall late last year.

* VW recalls cars over risk fuel lines could chafe, leak

* Golf, Rabbit, Jetta and New Beetle covered

DETROIT Dec 15 (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) said on Wednesday it would recall over 413,000 cars in the United States and Canada for the risk that they could develop fuel leaks and potentially catch fire.

The recall covers the Golf, Rabbit, Jetta and Jetta Sportwagen models from the 2007 to 2009 model years.

The New Beetle from the 2006 to 2010 model years is also covered under the recall, VW said.

Of the total, 377,000 of the cars are being recalled in the United States with the remainder in Canada, VW said.

The automaker said that the Golf, Rabbit and Jetta models have a plastic tab on the windshield fluid container that could rub against a fuel line and cause a leak to develop.

VW had said in a statement from Frankfurt that it was recalling about 377,000 vehicles in North America.

A spokesman later clarified that total did not include the roughly 36,000 vehicles under recall in Canada.

In the case of the New Beetle, a fastening clamp that is part of the power steering system could cause the same kind of problem, the automaker said in a filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

All of the vehicles are manufactured in Mexico and shipped to the United States and Canada.

VW said it had not received any reports of fires, injuries or crashes related to the condition in either market.

Owners will be notified of the recall in January, VW said in its filing with U.S. safety regulators.

VW said it would pay for its dealers to inspect all of the vehicles covered by the recall and replace the fuel line if needed.

In addition, dealers will either remove the potentially risky plastic tab from the Golf, Rabbit and Jetta models or adjust the problematic clamp in the case of the Beetle, VW said. (Reporting by Kevin Krolicki, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

All of the vehicles are manufactured in Mexico and shipped to the United States and Canada.

In compliance with regulators in Europe, namely Germany’s Federal MotorTransport Authority, the Volkswagen Group will recall approximately 8.5 million vehicles across 28 European nations due to the ‘defeat device’ software used on the vehicles to fool emissions testing equipment. Details of recalls in other nations will be announced at a later date.

Here in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency needs to confirm whether any fix VW proposes is effective before it can issue a recall. Details of the fix are expected to be received by the EPA this week or next. Around 482,000 vehiclesare thought to be affected by the diesel scandal here.

Back in Europe, the recall is only on those models equipped with the older EA 189 diesel engine, meaning cars with the current EA 288 engine are unaffected. VW is also quick to point out that the recalled cars are still safe and roadworthy. The bulk of the recalled vehicles, approximately 2.4 million units, are in Germany.

The fix, which will be applied to the recalled cars starting from January, 2016, can involve software as well as hardware measures, VW states. The various measures are currently being developed for each affected series and each affected model year. Brands affected by the recall include Audi, SEAT, Skoda and VW.