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Toyota China Recalls 690,000 Vehicles

The Chinese branch of Japanese manufacturer Toyota, together with the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced today the recall of some 690,000 vehicles, affected by a problem with the vehicles' electronic window controls. This is the biggest recall made by Toyota in the country.

The problem in question affects the driver's side window, whose electronic controls may short circuit due to the excessive amount of lubricant applied during manufacturing. The lubricant may cause overheating and melting and, in extreme cases, melt even the interior door panel. The fault originated from only one supplier, Toyota said. So far, no estimate on when the recall will begin has been made.

The glitch affects the following models:

  • 384,736 Camry sedans, built between May 15, 2006 and December 31, 2008
  • 245,288 Corolla sedans, built between May 17, 2007, and December. 25, 2008
  • 35,523 Vios sedans, built between February18, 2008, and December 25, 2008
  • 22,767 Yaris sedans, built between May 15, 2008, and December 31, 2008

It is the second major recall announced by Japanese manufacturers following Honda's more life-threatening airbag issue on its US and Canadian Accord, Civic, Acura. According to the initial findings, the fault concerns the driver's airbag inflator, which could "produce excessive internal pressure" and "if an affected airbag deploys, the increased internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture."

Also originating from a single supplier, namely Takata Corp, the fault affected so far 440,000 of the aforementioned models and reportedly killed one driver during an accident in which the airbag deployed. The news was confirmed by Honda, but the driver's cause of death is still under investigation, according to a company spokeswoman.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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