Toyota to recall 82,220 Vitz compact cars in Japan

Thursday 22nd October, 07:07 AM JST

TOKYO —

Toyota Motor Corp will recall more than 82,220 Vitz compact cars in Japan due to a faulty window switch, the transport ministry said Wednesday.

The defective window switch could short out due to excessive lubrication, possibly causing it to catch fire, said ministry official Kazumi Furukawa.

The ministry has recorded 32 malfunction cases, including one fire, due to faulty window switches in the Vitz since 2007. No one was injured in the fire.

The recall in Japan will begin Thursday, Furukawa said. When a car maker wants to recall vehicles in Japan, it must inform the transport ministry of the plan.

Toyota’s Vitz subcompact, which is marketed overseas as the Yaris, is one of Japan’s top-selling cars.

The world’s No. 1 automaker announced last month it would recall some 3.8 million vehicles in the United States—Toyota’s biggest recall there—after four people were killed in August in a high-speed crash suspected of being caused by a floor mat jamming an accelerator.

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6 Comments

rajakumar at 06:54 AM JST - 22nd October

Automatic windows are big problems these days on Cars.

Bring back normal simple but save and no breakdown manual windows.
societymike at 08:49 AM JST - 22nd October

rajakumar, you CAN'T be serious... it's 2009
Smythe at 10:00 AM JST - 22nd October

Please bring back the older wind down or wind up car windows. I have the latest, as of some yrs ago, being the button switch that still drives me crazy in having to use it since purchase in '06. Friend of mine luckly purchase a Japanese built, or built in Canada, truck with the last of the original crank the window down or up.

It is a SAFETY FEATURE as well especially if someone ends up in deep water like a lake or river rather then needing a special tool, some place, to bust the window that cannot move, by button/switch, compared to the original crank handle which most people know how to use.

Way to many buttons to do this or that on present cars to trucks. Sometimes they do not work, because of another button accidently pressed.
Foxie at 10:11 AM JST - 22nd October

Well if you buy a Vitz, you get a Witz (German for joke). I wished they would put manual window back again.
tomatoflight at 01:20 PM JST - 22nd October

Whoa, that's my rental car now... Mine has manual windows though lulz.
mygrain at 07:41 PM JST - 22nd October

For those of you keeping score, Toyota’s troubles really started just about the time they were slapping themselves on the back for being the largest car maker in the world. Since then…

-122,000 cars recalled in China for defective power steering -700,000 cars recalled in China for faulty manufacturing in the power windows (a record mind you for recalls.) -95,000 cars recalled in the USA for faulty brakes. 3.8 million cars (yes, a record) recalled in the USA for possible design flaw, or probably worse, of the accelerator pedal. -Lawsuit in the USA claiming that Toyota chassis rust out prematurely. -Lawsuit in the USA claiming Toyotas rollover data for it’s SUVs has been doctored. -Lawsuit in the USA claiming Toyota batteries are being dumped on the US market. -Lawsuit in the USA claiming Toyotas hybrid engine utilizes American patented technology. -82,200 recalls in Japan over defective power windows.

Now the vast majority of these recalls and lawsuits have occurred in the past 6 months. Toyotas strategy appears to be to flood the various media outlets with “glitzy new cars” storys and meaningless “domestic awards” presentations. I mean just look at the vast array of stories about Toyota here at Japantoday, I mean you can’t be serious. For many of these news outlets like Consumer Reports, I would say your integrity is definitely at stake. Toyota is in self destruct mode right now, best stay clear till the dust settles.