BEIJING(WSJ) -- Toyota Motor Corp. said it is recalling 688,314 cars in China because of faulty window-control systems, the Japanese auto giant’s largest recall in the country and one that risks tarnishing its image here after a recent recovery in sales.

The recall involves four popular models, including the Corolla and the Camry, Toyota said Monday. In affected cars, the driver’s side window-control device may short circuit, and overheat in some cases, because excessive amounts of lubricant were applied during manufacturing. Toyota Spokesman Hitoshi Yokoyama in Beijing said the flaw has caused the switch to melt in “a few rare instances,” but said there have been no reports of fire or injuries.
The number of vehicles in the recall exceeds the 585,000 total vehicles Toyota sold in China last year. The move comes four months after an unrelated China recall for a faulty brake problem in Camry sedans.
Toyota’s initial handling of that earlier safety issue was criticized by a Chinese consumer advocate, although the company said it did nothing wrong.
Toyota in recent years has stepped up efforts to reduce quality glitches.
In 2006, the company was so jarred by a surge of recalls and quality problems around the world that it decided to delay introductions of some new models by as much as half a year. The move was designed to give engineers more time to work thoroughly on vehicle and component design.
Benjamin Asher, business manager at JD Power Asia Pacific Forecasting, said there “will most likely be some negative impact on the brand” as a result of Monday’s recall. But he noted that the flaw does not affect critical safety systems, and said the situation could work out okay for Toyota if it resolves it quickly.
A Toyota executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it’s “plausible” that the latest China recall, combined with the April episode, could affect consumer confidence in Toyota in China. He noted, however, that sales of the car Toyota recalled in April have shown little effect from that issue, and overall sales have been recovering steadily after several sluggish months at the start of this year.
In April, China Central Television, the state-run broadcaster, reported on what it said was a faulty brake system in Camry sedans. The program featured an interview with a legal adviser from the China Consumers Association who said Toyota was “suspected of hiding” the problem. Three days after the program aired, Toyota said it was recalling 259,119 Camry sedans because of brake problems – then Toyota’s biggest recall in China.
Toyota’s Mr. Yokoyama said the accusation of hiding was “completely groundless,” and that the recall was not related to the CCTV report. Shan Yongliang, a salesman at a Toyota dealer in the southern city of Guangzhou, predicted little impact from Monday’s recall, since the April controversy didn’t have much impact. “We haven’t heard any of clients complaining or questioning” about the earlier incident, he said.
Lin Yin, a 29-year-old fitness instructor in Beijing who drives a Toyota, said the problem seems minor, and that Toyota’s willingness to recall so many products “made me feel that they are taking things very seriously.” Ms. Lin was not aware of the Camry recall in April.
Monday’s recall affects 384,736 Camry sedans made between May 15, 2006, and Dec. 31, 2008; 245,288 Corolla sedans made between May 17, 2007, and Dec. 25, 2008; 35,523 Vios sedans made between Feb. 18, 2008, and Dec. 25, 2008; and 22,767 Yaris sedans made between May 15, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2008, Toyota said. The vehicles were produced by Toyota and its joint-venture partners in Guangzhou and Tianjin.