Toyota Recall News: 6.5 Million Vehicles to Be Recalled For Power Window Switch Defect
Toyota will recall 6.5 million vehicles globally for a defect in the power window switch that could create a fire hazard. Since 2009, a total of four Toyota recalls have been related to the power window switch.
Toyota announced through an email Wednesday that around 2.7 million of the recalled cars are in North America, 1.2 million in Europe and 600,000 in Japan, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The modules in the power window master switch may have been lubricated differently in some vehicles during the manufacturing process. Certain vehicles may experience wear from the electrical contact points, causing a short circuit. The switch assembly could end up overheating and melting which could lead to a fire, CNBC reports.
Several vehicles are subject to this recall. They include the Yaris, Corolla, Camry, Matrix, RAV4, Highlander, Tundra, Sequoia and Scion xB. These vehicles were produced between January 2005 and December 2010, according to Toyota.
Dealers will inspect the power window switches in vehicles affected by the recall. They will also apply a heat-resistant grease. The entire process should take about 45 minutes, Toyota estimates.
The Toyota recalls are in addition to a wave of recalls in the last year from the entire industry. Car companies have been urged to issue recalls faster when they learn of a potential problem.
Toyota said that it does not know of any crashes due to the window glitch, however there was one burn report from a U.S. Toyota owner. Additionally, there have been 11 reports of burned switches and door trims.
Toyota says that if a customer's window switch is not operating properly, the internal circuit board will be replaced.
The faulty window switches were supplied by Japanese parts company Tokai Rika Co. Tokai Rika will take a $121 million charge for the recalls. Shares of Tokai Rika were down over 1 percent in Tokyo.
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