Sony Corp. is offering customers an at-home evaluation of its Bravia LCD HDTV televisions sold across the globe because of a defect that can trigger overheating, smoke and melting parts.

The company says has received 11 such reports of overheating in Japan, though none involved injuries or damage beyond the TVs.

The models subject to the recall in Japan are the Bravia KDL-40V3000, KDL-40VL130, KDL-40W3000, KDL-40WL135, KDL-40XBR4 and KDL-40XBR5 — and include 1.6 million LCD televisions sold globally.

The defective part — an inverter transformer used for LCD backlights — is also used in models sold overseas. But Sony says it has not received reports of similar problems.

Sony says the part may overheat and at times ignite inside of the television. "This could possibly result in a hole in a part of the cabinet ceiling," the company says in a statement.

"When a request [for an evaluation] is made, a Sony authorized service representative will promptly visit to evaluate your television and repair it at no charge if an affected component is found," Sony says.

With files from The Associated Press