The information coming from Toyota was pretty vague, as the autmotive producer only mentioned that the affected engines, which can be found on multiple Lexus sedans and on the Toyota Crown) have a valve springs issue that can lead to engine stalling while the vehicle is moving.
However, it appears that the issue, which affects the company’s 3.5 liter V6 engine, as well as 4.6 liter and 5.0 liter V8 powerplants, is not a new one, as autoblog reports.
Lexus dealers have been familiar with the problem for a few years now, with the issue being that the valve springs breaks at about three quarters of their length. This allows the springs to keep the valve retainers in place, making the difference between a minor damage and serious cylinder damage.
However, if the problem occurs while the engine is high in the rev range, the valve can come off and seriously deteriorate the powerplant, with the repair bill reportedly playing in the $10 to 15,000 league (it is unclear if the owners were asked to pay for the damage of if Toyota covered the costs).
According to the aforementioned source, Toyota’s usual treatment for the problem has been to replace all the springs in an affected engine, regardless of the number of those that were damaged.
Update: Lexus has announced a recall in the U.S. for 138,000 vehicles affected by the problem.
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