Toyota recalls 6.5M vehicles due to power window switch flaw

Toyota has recalled 6.5 million vehicles, including 2 million in the U.S., because of a faulty power window switch.

The company announced on Wednesday the recall of vehicles released between the 2006 and 2011 model years that were found to have an insufficient amount of lubrication on power window switches. 

The faulty switches were found to short circuit and overheat in certain cases, according to the company. 

{mosads}Toyota said the recalls apply to its 2007 and 2009 Camry and Camry Hybrid; 2009-2011 Corolla; 2008-2011 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid; 2009-2011 Matrix; 2006-2011 RAV4; 2009-2011 Sequoia; 2009-2011 Tundra; 2006-2010 Yaris; 2009-2011 Scion xB and 2009-2010 Scion xD models. 

Toyota said it would repair the faulty parts in the recalled vehicles. 

“Owners of the involved vehicles will be notified by first class mail,” the company said. “Toyota dealers will inspect the switch and apply heat-resistant grease. If the switch is not operating normally, an internal circuit board will be replaced.” 

Toyota is the latest in a string of auto companies to issue recalls in recent years because of safety defects that have raised questions about U.S. car safety. 

Automakers — as well as highway safety regulators in the Obama administration — have come under fire after widespread recalls at companies such as General Motors and Takata beginning in 2014 that involved parts that were first found to be defective years ago.

The issue of car safety was brought back into the spotlight by recent revelations that German automaker Volkswagen has been cheating federal pollution emission standards to trick regulators into believing their cars are more fuel efficient than they actually are.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has said that he is considering calling the heads of the major U.S. auto companies to Washington to discuss the series of safety violations, which he has called “troubling.”

“We’re giving strong consideration to calling everybody in. There are a number of issues on the table right now that probably merit discussion across many of the manufacturers,” Foxx said during a meeting with reporters at the Transportation Department’s headquarters in Washington in late September. 

“One of them is ‘Look folks, we have millions of people rely on what you make every day to get from everywhere from work to putting their most precious cargo — their kids — in cars, and we need to have confidence that information that we get is real and accurate information,’ ” he added.