Toyota Motor Co yesterday said that it is recalling 7.4 million vehicles worldwide, including 8,700 in India over a defect in the power-window switches that can pose a fire risk.

This is the largest recall the Japanese carmaker has announced since it started a series of recalls over unintended acceleration in 2009-2010, and is the biggest single recall since Ford Motor Co recalled 7.9 million vehicles in 1996 over defective ignition switches that could have caused engine fires.

Toyota said that the driver's side 'power window master switch' (PWMS) may experience a ''notchy'' or sticky feel during operation and may become inoperative. This can be due to wear and tear over-time, of specific contact points in the PWMS.

The recall affects the Toyota and Scion brands that the carmaker is undertaking worldwide to fix the problem.

In India, the carmaker is recalling the Altis models manufactured between 30 July and 31 December 2008 and the Camry models made between 1 September 2006 and 31 July.

Toyota's Indian subsidiary, Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM), said in a release that it will notify owners of the affected vehicles, and dealers will inspect and replace any faulty part at no charge.

''The recall remedy will involve an inspection, switch disassembly, and application of special fluorine grease,'' and added that the repair is expected to take approximately one hour, depending on the dealer's work schedule.

Apart from India, Toyota is also recalling 2.5 million vehicles in the US over the same issue. The recall covers Camry sedans, and Hybrids, RAV4 crossovers, Tundra pickups, Yaris subcompacts, Highlander SUVs and Hybrids, Scion xD and xA models, Sequoia SUVs, Corolla compacts and Matrix crossovers.

The remaining vehicles are being recalled in Europe, Australia, China and other parts of Asia and the Middle East.

Toyota is not the only carmaker to recall vehicles over faulty window switches. Last week Honda Motor said that it would recall about 489,000 CR-V crossovers in the US, Europe and Africa due to a faulty power window master switch that can potentially cause a fire (See: Honda to recall 489,000 CR-V crossovers over faulty power window master switch).