Toyota Recalls 7.4 Million Cars for Faulty Power Window Switch

VOA Breaking News
Voice of America
October 10, 2012 at 3:45 am (UTC-4)

Toyota is recalling more than 7.4 million vehicles worldwide because of a fire hazard caused by a faulty power window switch in over a dozen models.

The Japanese automaker said Wednesday the switch for the driver's side window did not have grease applied evenly during production, creating friction and sometimes smoke.

No crashes or injuries have been reported because of the flaw, which was reported in 14 models produced between 2005 and 2010. Impacted models include the popular Camry and Corolla, as well as Yaris, Matrix, RAV4, among others.

About 2.5 million of the vehicles will be recalled from the United States. Another 2.8 million will be recalled from China and Europe. The rest were spread around the world, including Japan, Canada, Australia, and the Middle East.

It is the latest in a series of recalls since late 2009 that have damaged Toyota's reputation for reliability and safety.

Shares in Toyota ended down 1.9 percent on Wednesday.