Feds expand Toyota fire probe to 1.4M autos
Some Toyota models are said to have a driver’s-door power-window switch that can overheat and cause a fire — with 161 complaints so far. (April 20, 2008) Credit: Getty Images
The government has expanded an investigation into fires that can start in the doors of several Toyota models, adding 600,000 Camrys and other vehicles to the probe.
The investigation now includes 1.4 million cars and SUVs from the 2007 to 2009 model years. When the probe began in February, it involved some 800,000 Camrys and RAV4 SUVs from 2007.
Certain Camrys from the 2008 and 2009 model years, as well as some 2007 to 2009 Yaris subcompacts and all 2008 Highlander Hybrid SUVs, have been added to the investigation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its website Monday.
So far, Toyota and the government have received 161 complaints of fires involving the vehicles. Nine people have been hurt, according to government documents.
All the vehicles use the same power window switch in the driver's door. The switches can overheat and cause fires, the government said.
NHTSA has upgraded the investigation to a so-called engineering analysis, which can lead to a recall.
A total of 27,427 of the vehicles involved were registered on Long Island in April 2011, according to data compiled for Newsday by the auto data provider R.L. Polk & Co. They include 16,872 Camrys, 54 Highlander Hybrids, 8,068 RAV4's and 2,433 Yarises.
Owners of the Toyotas who smell smoke or feel heat in the doors should call their dealers or take them in for an inspection, Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons said.
Toyota's Camry midsize sedan is the most popular car in the United States, and the RAV4 small SUV also is a big seller. In December, the 2012 Camry received a five-star safety rating from the NHTSA, the agency's top rating.
Toyota's reputation has taken a hit over the past three years due to a string of recalls that ballooned to more than 14 million vehicles worldwide.
Federal safety regulators also are investigating a similar fire problem in the doors of 2006 and 2007 Chevrolet TrailBlazer SUVs made by General Motors.
-- AP, with Tom Incantalupo
