Toyota Motors SA said yesterday that South African Toyota owners would be affected by a global recall of 7.4million cars.
Though the company could not confirm the number of cars affected in South Africa, it is likely to include several thousand Corolla, Yaris, Auris, RAV4 and Camry cars built between 2005 and 2010.
The problem is related to the lubricant used in the electric-window switches, "which can degrade over time", Toyota spokesman Leo Kok said.
Kok said there had been reports of smoke emanating from the switches but "there have been no fires or incidents, and no injuries as a result of this" and the recall was a "purely precautionary" measure.
The "pre-emptive" recall would involve Toyota contacting its customers and having their cars inspected, said Kok.
"If we find the fault, we'll replace the whole switch."
The company is recalling 1.39million vehicles in Europe, 2.47million in the US and 1.4million in China.
Toyota recalled 12million vehicles in 2009, after which it was hauled before US lawmakers and its boss, Akio Toyoda, offered an apology.