Toyota announced the recall of 2.5 million cars and trucks in the United States and 7.4 million vehicles worldwide as a result of faulty power window switches. The power window switches can stick, smoke, and potentially ignite a fire. No major injuries have been reported to date. The current recall is the largest recall by any auto manufacturer since 1996.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation in February following 32 complaints of smoking, overheating, and small fires related to the window switches. At that time, Toyota disclosed that it had received an additional 129 complaints. There were 10 reports of minor injuries.
Toyota originally blamed the problem on cleaning products used by dealers to resolve complaints of sticking windows. The NHTSA disagreed with Toyota’s assessment of the issue and upgraded its investigation in June.
Recalled vehicles include 2007-2008 Yaris, 2007-2009 RAV4, 2007-2009 Tundra, 2007-2009 Camry, 2007-2009 Camry Hybrid, 2008-2009 Scion xD and xA, 2008-2009 Sequoia, 2008 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid, 2009 Corolla and 2009 Matrix.
For more information on this and other recalls, contact the Ohio product liability attorneys at Clark, Perdue & List.
Source: Yahoo! Autos, Motoramic,“Toyota recalls 7.4 million vehicles for balky window switches in reversal,” Justin Hyde, October 10, 2012.