Local Toyotas in world-wide recall

FRESH from a global recall of its Prius petrol electric hybrid, Toyota has instituted a world-wide recall of its popular Corolla, RAV4 and Echo vehicles.

The recall affects 1,413,328 vehicles globally and involves cars manufactured and sold in Australia between May 2000 and July 2002.

A total of 69,848 vehicles are affected in the Australian market.

Toyota said that, on these vehicles, there was a risk that the headlight dimmer switch contact points may overheat due to high internal electrical resistance.

In the worst case, this overheating may cause the headlights to flicker or to become inoperative.

However, Toyota spokesman, Peter Griffin, said no reports had yet surfaced in Australia of this problem.

Also, there are no reported cases of injuries or accidents as a result of this condition in any country.

Owners of the vehicles involved in this campaign in Australia will be notified by mail from November 1, advising them to contact their local Toyota dealer to arrange for repairs to be made.

The headlight dimmer switch will be replaced at no cost to the customer. Repairs will take about 30 minutes.

Last month, the Corolla became Australia’s best-selling car for the month, according to VFACTS industry sales figures.