Multinational Toyota Recall

Faulty power-window switches on at least 7.43 million Toyota vehicles have prompted Toyota Motor Corp to announce a multinational recall in the U.S., Japan, Europe and elsewhere around the world.

Abduction of Europe (Photo credit: Bernt Rostad)

The Japanese automaker announced on Wednesday that the recall affects dozens of model products ranging from years 2005 through 2010. An uneven amount of grease that was applied to the power-window switch on the driver’s side during production has been reported to cause friction and sometimes smoke inside the vehicles.

According to reports, there have been zero crashes or injuries as a result of the defect. There have been more than two-hundred accounts related to the defect of owners witnessing smoke or odor from the window switch. Outside of the U.S. the amount of reports regarding the defect is significantly less. Japan has only had 39 reported cases according to Toyota spokesman Joichi Tachikawa.

At least 2.47 million vehicles are being recalled in North America, their models are: Yaris, Corolla, Matrix, Camry, RAV4, Highlander, Tundra, Sequoia and Scion models xB and xD. In Japan, about 460,000 vehicles are being recalled: the Vitz, Belta, Ractis, Ist, Auris and Corolla Lumion. Europe is recalling 1.39 million vehicles and their models span from: Yaris, Corolla, Auris, Camry and Rav-4. Other countries being affected by the recall include Australia, China and elsewhere in Asia and the Middle East.

Toyota has been fighting a long reputation battle after a massive recall regarding over 14 million vehicles in several years, which put a damper on Toyotas pristine, quality centered public image. Prior to the massive recall, the automaker was known to put attention to their craft. Workers were allowed to focus on quality control methodologies foreign to other major automakers.  

Recalls have been acknowledged by executives as a byproduct of overly aggressive and ambitious growth goals that deviate attention from the core quality of the product. Much of their market share in China has been on a tumults road as sales decline over Japan, China and Taiwan territorial disputes. Many Chinese simply refuse to purchase a vehicle made in Japan.