Toyota to recall 7.43 mil vehicles globally over fire risk in power-windows

So Toyota is back in trouble?? How long will it be before somebody here on JT, etc...tries to blame it on some American sabotage??

Wow, so no mention that this is a voluntary recall because of new EU standards and that Toyota, along with Honda, Mercedes and Nissan (I believe) are ALSO going to be recalling? Mercedes already is doing the recall from what I recall.

The issue is that the EU set a new safety standard and insisted on using a certain type of material (they thought it was more environmentally friendly) that is causing the issue. The companies caught in this are the ones that made the change over BEFORE they had to so were actually the good guys in this - who got burned (pardon the pun).

tmarie. Good point !

Just to even the playing field - -though it wouldn't matter bc no one here in Japan buys American cars anyway.

Ford Motor Co is recalling its newly launched 2013 Escape sport utility vehicle for a third time, citing an improperly installed part that could trigger a fire in the engine compartment. General Motors Co is recalling about 41,000 Chevrolet, Pontiac and Saturn cars in the United States because of concerns that a defective plastic part might cause a fuel leak. GM's latest move follows the company's recall of 473,841 Chevrolet, Pontiac and Saturns in September to fix a condition that could lead the cars to move when the drivers think they are in 'park'

Wow, a fire risk from just the power-windows? I never guessed it would create that much friction and heat to start a fire.

And I'm planning to buy a Toyota....

One of my best friends here in Japan WORKS for Toyota, so I get all the juicy details straight from the horses mouth, no Toyota for me amigos!

tmarie, that is right... but, I guess the EU standards will be mandatory only to the new releases and not for cars already in circulation... if that is so, put that number dozen times more!

Like the Japanese economie need this...

El, if you hav such a friend then you wouldn't need to ask if Toyota is in trouble. Clearly they aren't and the article is very misleading and missing a lot of info.

Ramires, Toyota and a few other companies made the changes earlier than they had to. This is a voluntary recall - and now all of them are going back to the drawing board in how to meet the new EU standards. This isn't major at all regardless of how the media is portraying it.

First of all, yes it is a massive recall, but it's for an incredibly minor thing. It just goes to show how much they care. NO one has died from having non-automatic windows. And this first was reported in 2008? Four years now...

Secondly, people need to do some research before bashing Toyota/Japan. Where do you think some of these models were manufactured? America. Canada.

Still one of the most reliable cars, folks.

Do we even need power windows?

I'm car shopping too right now! Well, I still like Toyota. But also considering Nissan this time. Did y'all hear about the counterfeit airbag issue too? Right, Toyota, Nissan, MANY others have airbags that are counterfeit! From China the report says... we shall learn more...

As a former employee of Gulf States Toyota, I can assure you that these types of recalls are done by all major automotive manufacturers. Customer feed back, and logged incident reports happen to all makes and models to every manufacturer on the planet. Toyota takes every claim very seriously, and if one is more frequent than others it is decided after a period of time to make a recall.

If a window motor or wiring harness running to the motor has an increased resistance (mechanically or electronically) , it will generate heat. If there are any types of low flash point materials in the door it will make the chance of a fire increase. It makes more sense for a wire to heat up than a mechanical part on the window track unless binding is occurring, which will raise the amperage of the wire that powers the window motor.

As far as the gas pedal comments go, I was there when that whole fiasco took place, and about 90 percent of the population are misinformed about what the actual problem was, and how the media and government made a mountain out of a problem that really didn't exist. You have to please someone somehow, and the whole situation was handled poorly by the government and Toyota, but Toyota did the best it could to remedy a solution to satisfy customers questions and worries.

Toyota has and always will build a reliable car that will go on for a long time treated properly, as well as Honda, Nissan, and Mazdas. When you go big, you need to improve QA, and sometimes expansion grows too fast for companies to hire and train better and more equipped staff.

The customer services director for Toyota GB, Steve Settle, apologised to customers for the anxiety the problem had caused, but reassured them that tests had shown there was little danger.

"What we're talking about is the power switch on the driver's door and there is a very, very outside chance that there could be melting inside the switch," he said.

"But there are some vehicle agencies around the world that interpret melting as fire. We've no evidence of fire and our engineer testing of this item doesn't reveal any chance of fire."

Wow, a fire risk from just the power-windows? I never guessed it would create that much friction and heat to start a fire.

According to the head of Toyota in the UK there is no risk of fire. There is a very small risk of a part melting - it's just that the AMERICANS class that as "fire", so they had to have a global announcement that complied with US regulations.

am i the only one missing the hand crank windows?

Not that the article mentions it but what did Toyota do in 2006/2007 that screwed up their cars? This time it's the driver side power window switch? So who makes the switch and where was it made? Finally why apply grease to an electrical component to "reduce stickiness"? Sounds nuts to me. Again so where did Toyota get all these failed components and why did they change from the previous design?

@tmarie: What is your source? The recall effects cars going back to 2007, so I'm curious when the EU standard came in. I can't find any info by googling. If it's a universal fault, and not limited to Toyota, as you indicate, then I want to know why all the other automakers are also not recalling millions of vehicles.

@semperfi: Those numbers you cite of various US cars don't even come close to the 7 million involving Toyota.

Jesse, great post.

Jeff, other makers use different things.

I can assure you that these types of recalls are done by all major automotive manufacturers.

Not quite. This is the third the largest recall in history, and the largest in Toyota's history.

other makers use different things.

So I take it that Toyota uses the wrong things. So why defend Toyota?

Interesting how so many people are jumping to the defense of a large corporation. Would people be doing the same if it were VW, I wonder?

This appears nothing to do with an EU ruling. This is particularly Toyota's problem. The mechanism that powers the window can overheat and melt the surrounding plastic. If plastic gets hot enough to melt, there is a clear chance of fire. It's OK Toyota trying to put a spin on it by saying "there is little chance" of that happening, but there should be no chance of that happening.

In this the wrong thing it seemed. At least they're fixing it. Others wouldn't and don't.

People are defending Toyota on this because the whole article poorly researched and missing a lot of info. I'm defending it because I know better to jump on the bandwagon and question the safety of Toyota cars.

Billy, who said anything about an EU ruling?

Right, Toyota, Nissan, MANY others have airbags that are counterfeit!

Not as factory issue....according to news sources,

Consumers are at risk if:

•They have had the airbag replaced in the last three years, at a repair shop not associated with a new car dealership

• Purchased a used car that had its airbag replaced.

•Own a car titled branded salvage, rebuilt or reconstructed

•Got a "too good to be true" deal for airbag replacement.

•Purchased their airbag from eBay, Craigslist or other non-certified outlet.

Because these faulty bags are not the fault of car manufacturers or dealers, this is not a mandatory recall and consumers would pay out of pocket to replace the airbag.

Billy, who said anything about an EU ruling?

you...this has nothing to do with new EU standards, Honda, Mercedes or Nissan

Wow, so no mention that this is a voluntary recall because of new EU standards and that Toyota, along with Honda, Mercedes and Nissan (I believe) are ALSO going to be recalling? Mercedes already is doing the recall from what I recall.

The issue is that the EU set a new safety standard and insisted on using a certain type of material (they thought it was more environmentally friendly) that is causing the issue. The companies caught in this are the ones that made the change over BEFORE they had to so were actually the good guys in this - who got burned (pardon the pun).

Standards are not rulings. Do someone actually have to explain the difference?