Toyota Motor Corp. on Wednesday announced that it has recalled more than 7.4 million vehicles—the biggest single recall in company history—due to faulty power window switches, which could trigger fire.
This massive recall affects more than 7.43 million vehicles spanning a dozen models globally. A quality issue related to such vehicles’ power window switch where grease wasn’t applied evenly could cause excessive friction and trigger a fire.
The issue affects 2.5 million cars sold in the United States from 2005–2009, including Corolla, Yaris, Camry, Matrix, RAV4, Sequoia, Highlander, Tundra, and Scion models.
No injuries have resulted from the power-window issue, but problems were reported in multiple markets including the United States and Japan.
“The recall remedy will involve an inspection, switch disassembly, and application of special fluorine grease. The switch inspection and repair will be performed at no charge to the vehicle owner,” Toyota announced in a statement Wednesday.
The Japanese automobile giant has faced multiple setbacks in the past few years. It recalled more than 10 million cars beginning in 2009 due to power steering and carpet issues. Last year, it was beset by environmental disasters in Japan and Thailand, which hampered production and logistics.
Prior to this recall, Toyota was on the comeback trail and recently regained its title of the world’s biggest automaker from General Motors Co. In the first half of 2012, the company sold 4.97 million vehicles.
The U.S. ADR shares of Toyota fell $1.60 to $74.46 per share on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday afternoon. Standard & Poor’s analyst Efraim Levy downgraded his rating of Toyota from buy to hold.
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