By Martin Williams
Daily Post
LIVERPOOL, England — A faulty window switch drove Toyota to recall 7.4million vehicles globally, including 138,000 in the UK.
The Japanese car giant - which employs 500 people at its engine manufacturing plant on Deeside - made the decision yesterday over a faulty power-window switch.
It said the part may stop working in more than a dozen models produced between 2005 and 2010.
The company said the switch on the driver’s side did not have grease applied evenly during production, causing friction in the switch and sometimes smoke. No crashes or injuries have been reported in connection with the problem. In Europe, the Yaris, Corolla, Auris, Camry and Rav-4 are affected.
Spokeswoman Monika Saito said: “The process to repair (the power window switch) is not an extensive one.”
She added it would involve putting heat-resistant grease on the switches, or exchanging them.
Toyota declined to say how much the recall would cost, or what impact it may have on future earnings.
In North America, the models being recalled are the Yaris, Corolla, Matrix, Camry, RAV4, Highlander, Tundra, Sequoia and Scion models xB and xD. Recalled in Japan are the Vitz, Belta, Ractis, Ist, Auris and Corolla Lumimon. China, Australia, other Asian nations and the Middle East are also affected.
The voluntary move is the biggest single recall since Ford pulled eight million vehicles off the road in 1996 to replace defective ignition switches that could have caused engine fires.
Toyota has battled its way back from multiple difficulties since 2008, including a series of recalls involving more than 10 million of its vehicles in 2009-11, and crippled supply chains from last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan and floods in Thailand.
It posted its biggest quarterly operating profit in four years in April-June.
The firm regained its crown as the world’'s best-selling automaker in the first half year and expects to sell 9.76million cars and light trucks globally this year, including the Daihatsu and Hino brands.
More recently, though, Toyota - and other Japanese brands - have seen sales plummet in China, the world’'s biggest autos market.
It said on Tuesday its China sales fell 48.9% year-on-year in September.
The Daily Post reported last month how Wales’ First Minister Carwyn Jones was on hand to witness Toyota’s commitment to the region on a visit to the car giant’s Flintshire factory, in celebration of its 20th anniversary in North Wales.
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