Lexus Announces Intention to Recall Certain U.S. Market Vehicles to Replace Engine Valve Springs
TORRANCE, Calif. (July 2, 2010) — Lexus intends to file a Defect Information Report (DIR) regarding approximately 138,000 Lexus vehicles, powered by 4.6 and 5.0 liter V8 and 3.5 liter V6 engines in certain 2006, 2007 and 2008 GS, IS and LS models in the U.S. The formal report will be filed this week.

In the covered vehicles, a small number of the valve springs may be contaminated. If a vehicle is affected, the contamination could potentially result in abnormal engine noise or idling. In rare instances, the engine may stop while the vehicle is in operation.

Lexus estimates that the likelihood of a customer vehicle experiencing this condition is two-tenths of one percent (0.2 %). Lexus has received no reports of accidents or injuries related to this condition. No vehicles from the current 2010 model year nor 2009 are affected.

Lexus will send owners of the involved vehicles a recall notification via first class mail. Owners are requested to contact their local Lexus dealer for diagnosis and repair after receiving their notification. The repair will involve replacement of the engine’s valve springs at no charge.

Owners can continue to drive their vehicles. If symptoms are noticed, such as vibration, rough idling, unusual engine sounds or poor performance, the vehicle should be brought to a Lexus dealer for service.

Certain Lexus vehicles produced among the following models and years are covered:
2007 and 2008 GS 350
2007 and 2008 GS 450h
2008 GS 460
2006, 2007 and 2008 IS 350
2007 and 2008 LS 460
2007 and 2008 LS 460 L
2008 LS 600h L

Lexus has announced a new round of recalls for the 2010 Lexus HS 250h. During NHTSA crash tests, the car spilled fuel sparking Toyota to stop delivery and announce the pending recall of 17,000 vehicles.

The test, performed by an independent contractor, replicated “extreme conditions” and resulted in a “very small amount” of fuel to spill, according to Toyota.

In the test, the vehicle was struck from behind at 50 mph then mounted on a device that spun it around to simulate a rollover. The spill occurred while the vehicle was on its side.

Toyota has not announced a fix for the problem, stating that they will have to replicate the conditions to find out what went wrong before they can address the problem.

Toyota will announce a solution to owners when it becomes available. Owners can continue to drive the car, says Toyota, citing the extreme nature of the test.

In response to continued issues of unintended acceleration, Toyota has created a process for “quick evaluation of unintended acceleration reports.” The program, called the “SMART Business Process” (“Swift Market Analysis Response Team”) is intended to speed up the process by which Toyota deals with each report of unintended acceleration.

In each case, Toyota hopes to respond to customers within 24 hours to set up a “comprehensive on-site vehicle analysis.”

Toyota hopes to diffuse complaints caused by its poor handling of recent massive recalls- both from a legal standpoint as well as from a customer-satisfaction standpoint. It also hopes that the program will restore some faith in its quality.

It may be too little, too late once again for Toyota as it continues to trail behind its problems and customer concerns. Given the severity of this issue (from either a safety or even just a PR perspective), a 24-hour response time is something Toyota should have been doing some time ago. Advertising it may just seem disingenuous.

On January 16, 2010, as Toyota executives debated how to handle the question of sticking gas pedals. As the executives debated the situation, then Irv Miller urged his colleagues to make the information public.

“We are not protecting our customers by keeping this quiet. The time to hide on this one is over. We need to come clean.” Miller added, “We better just hope that they can get NHTSA to work with us in coming with a workable solution that does not put us out of business.”

As other executives argued that the problem should be kept quiet until a solution could be found, Miller expressed his concerns that the accelerator problem was a safety issue and that Toyota needed to act quickly in announcing that.

Miller was group vice president for environment and public affairs at the time. His February 1 retirement was announced on December 16. His e-mails are a part of the 70,000 pages of documents that the government has received from Toyota as part of its investigation of the automaker’s handling of its recall issues.

Toyota issued a statement saying that it, “does not comment on internal company communications and cannot comment on Mr. Miller’s email.”

Lexus is showcasing several vehicles at the New York International Auto Show. The centerpiece of Lexus’ exhibit is the Lexus CT 200h premium compact hybrid, which will be on display for the first time in North America. As the only dedicated hybrid vehicle in the premium compact segment, the CT 200h is expected to lead the class in fuel economy numbers and standard safety features including eight airbags.

The CT200h exhibit is entitled, “The Darker Side of Green,” a slogan that will appeal to a more aggressive buyer. Playing at the exhibit is a pulsing, flashing 60-second trailer for the vehicle on a multi-screen system. It is designed to appear to be a trailer more for an explosive action film than for a compact hybrid.

So it appears that Lexus’ intent is to produce a sensible car, but its marketing will attempt to downplay everything sensible and instead try to sell it as adventurous and sexy. This one will be aggressively eco-friendly- the rich man’s Prius.

Truly adventurous is the Lexus LFA, the automaker’s first world-class, 550 hp supercar, will also be featured. Only a limited number of these hand-built vehicles will be distributed worldwide. Visitors can interact with the “LFA Configurator,” which gives them an opportunity to build their own computerized dream car – with selected colors, wheels and calipers – and send the image to an email address or post to their favorite social media web site.

Toyota and the NHTSA have both released initial reports regarding the reported “runaway Prius” driven by Jim Sikes in a much publicized incident that occurred on March 8.

Sikes claimed that the accelerator in his Prius had become stuck and that he was unable to stop the vehicle. ToyoLand.com reported on that incident and then reported on inconsistencies that were present in Mr. Sikes’ story.

Now, the preliminary reports show that Mr. Sikes’ story is unlikely. The NHTSA reports that it has been unable to duplicate events as Mr. Sikes claims that they happened. Toyota takes it a step further, stating, “Toyota engineers believe that it would be extremely difficult for the Prius to be driven at a continuous high speed with more than light brake-pedal pressure, and that the assertion that the vehicle could not be stopped with the brakes is fundamentally inconsistent with basic vehicle design and the investigation observations.”

Toyoata’s statement adds, “These findings suggest that there should be further examination of Mr. Sikes account of the events of March 8.”

Analysis of the onboard computer shows that during the drive, there were repeated, quick applications of the brake and the accelerator- as if someone had intentionally “ridden” the brakes. A firm press of the brake would automatically cut the accelerator- a design issue with the Prius (all hybrids) because pressing both pedals would ultimately cause the electric engine to overload and seize up.

In fact, data indicates that the brakes were pressed more than 250 times during the incident and that they worked normally each time.

Brake wear on the Prius seemed to support the electronic testing, as front brakes were found to have overheated from being partially depressed but were still functional. Rear brakes were undamaged.

All systems in the Prius that would have prevented unintended acceleration in the vehicle were working and there was no indication of mechanical or electrical interference with the accelerator.