Toyota Learned of Window Switch Defect Four Years Before Recall
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Toyota Motor Corp. first learned in 2008 about a defect in power-window switches that this week prompted it to recall 7.43 million vehicles worldwide for fire hazards, according to documents filed with U.S. regulators.
Toyota, based in Toyota City, Japan, received a report in September 2008 from the U.S. about “an unusual smell” from the power-window master switch and “thermal damage” to the switch, the company said in a report posted yesterday on the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.