Porsche was recalling 100,000 of its Cayenne models worldwide to fix a headlight locking system that was at risk of becoming detached, the German car manufacturer said Friday.

It will be biggest recall in the history of the company.

Owners of the luxury sport utility vehicle, Porsche’s most popularmodel, were to receive letters asking them to take their cars to workshops for a free, 45-minute repair.

“The headlight locking system on current 2011 and 2012 Cayenne models is being reworked. In-house quality investigations revealed that in rare cases an incorrectly locked headlight module can become detached,” the Stuttgart-based company said.

A spokesman said there had been 40 cases where the module had become loose. “We’ve never had a recall on this scale before,” hesaid.

Half the 120,000 vehicles that Porsche sold worldwide in 2011 were Cayennes, with China now a major market for the model. 

(DPA)