Toyota Motor to recall 423,500 vehicles in the US over issues on windshield wipers

Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corp yesterday said that it would recall about 423,500 RAV4 SUVs in the US over issues related to windshield wipers.

The recall includes about 421,000 units of 2009-2012 RAV4 crossover SUV and about 2,500 units of its electric models RAV4 EV from 2012-2014.

The car maker said that the water can drop onto the windshield wiper link, causing corrosion and wear. The wearout occurs at the joint that connects the wiper motor to the wiper link, which can cause the wiper arm to separate from the motor crank arm.

This could reduce driver visibility during rain or snow, increasing the risk of a crash.

Toyota said that once owners receive recall notices in the mail, they'll be able to take their vehicles to Toyota dealers, who will replace the wiper link, wiper motor crank arm, and water channel at no cost.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has recently come down heavily on car manufactures for not reporting defects, and now carmakers issues a recall the moment they detect a potential problem in order to avoid paying heavy fines.

Toyota, last year, paid a record $105 million fine for its poor handling of acceleration recalls.