The move comes after Toyota issued a release earlier this week, informing us that 270,000 vehicles sold around the world, out of which 180,000 outside Japan, might experience engine stalling problems while in motion due to a valve springs issue(various Lexus sedans and the Toyota Crown were involved). The problem affects the automaker’s 3.5 liter V6, and 4.6 liter & 5.0 liter V8 engines.
The U.S. Lexus recall will include the 2007 & 2008 MY GS350, 2007 & 2008 MY GS 450h, 2008 MY GS460h, 2006 – 2008 MY IS 350, 2007 & 2008 MY LS 460 and LS 460 L, as well as 2008 MY LS 600h L.
The affected engines’s valve springs can break, causing the engine to vibrate, idle or even come to a stop. The faults of the valve springs have been caused by “slight variations during the manufacturing process”.
Lexus will send owners of the affected vehicles a recall notification via mail, with asking them to contact their dealers for diagnosis and service. The engine valves will be replaced free of charge.
The automaker says that owners can continue to drive their cars, but requests that they bring their vehicles to dealers if symptoms like vibration, rough idling, unusual engine sound or poor performance are noticed.
The company claims that the probability for a customer car to experience the aforementioned issue is 0.2 percent, adding that it is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the condition.
Toyota has not offered detailed information on the potential consequences of the issue (the engine damage), but you can get details here.
Google News