Honda Motor Co. is recalling roughly 489,000 CR-V crossovers in the U.S., Europe and Africa after discovering a potential fire risk.

The automaker said it would recall the 2002 to 2006 model years after finding that water may enter the vehicles' power window switch on the driver's door, which could ultimately cause the switch to melt and catch fire.

Honda and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) initially announced the recall on Saturday, Oct. 6, for 268,000 vehicles in the United States. On Sunday, Oct. 7, Honda spokeswoman Akemi Ando said the company is also recalling 220,000 CR-V vehicles in Europe and 98 in Africa for the same issue.

While no injuries or crashes have been reported in relation to this problem, Ando said five fires have been reported in the U.S. and one in England. In those cases, the switch and the cover around it overheated, caught fire and melted, said the spokeswoman.

The NHTSA recommends owners of CR-Vs from those model years to wait until the recall is performed and keep the cars parked away from their home to avoid any property damage. A fire could start even when the CR-V is parked and the ignition is off.

Honda agreed that CR-V owners should park their vehicles away from structures that could catch fire. Spokesman Ed Miller, however, highlighted that a switch is unlikely to catch fire unless someone spilled liquid on it or a large amount of rain entered the vehicle through the driver's side window.

The automaker will start contacting owners next month and will repair the affected vehicles free of charge. According to Miller, Honda will install a cover place inside the switch to prevent any liquid from seeping in. All of the recalled vehicles were manufactured at a Honda plant in Great Britain.

The Japanese automaker usually sits near the top in J.D. Power and Associates' annual rankings of vehicle quality, but now Honda has issued third major recalls in a week.

Earlier this week, Honda announced it was recalling 820,000 Civic compact and Pilot SUVs from the 2002 to 244 model years because of an issue with the headlights. CR-Vs were recalled for that same issue earlier this spring. Also this week, Honda said it was recalling 600,000 Accord midsize vehicles because a faulty steering house could leak and cause a fire. That recall covers Accord vehicles with V6 engines from the 2003 to 2007 model years.

Moreover, the NHTSA announced earlier this week that it is looking into complaints that Honda Odyssey minivans and Pilot SUVs can roll away after the ignition key is removed. The NHTSA's investigation into that matter involves vehicles from the 2003 and 2004 model years.