Lexus Officially Announces Recall on U.S. Market Models to Fix Engines

Toyota today notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of its intention to recall certain Lexus models in the United States to fix faulty engines in the automaker's latest quality problem.
The recall affects 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. No vehicles from the current 2010 model year nor 2009 are affected.
"In the covered vehicles, due to slight variations during the manufacturing process, some foreign material may have contaminated a small number of the valve springs. If a vehicle is affected, there is a remote possibility that abnormal engine noise or idling may occur. In extremely rare instances, the engine may stop while the vehicle is in operation," Lexus said in a statement.
To fix the problem Lexus plans to replace the engine valve springs on the affected models.
The Japanese automaker said owners can continue to drive their vehicles, but it added that if symptoms such as vibration, rough idling, unusual engine sounds or poor performance occur, then they should take their car to a Lexus dealer for service.
Earlier this week, Toyota announced in Japan that it would recall a total of 270,000 Lexus models (plus the Toyota Crown) around the world to address the engine stalling issues.

Tesla Working on All-Electric Toyota RAV4 and Lexus RX Prototypes

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Electric car partners Toyota Motor Corp. and Tesla Motors will develop battery-powered prototypes of the Japanese automaker's Toyota RAV4 and Lexus RX crossovers according to a news report from Businessweek citing "a person familiar with the matter". Toyota declined to confirm the models.
Earlier this month, a Tesla executive announced that the maker of the electric Roadster will deliver two EV prototypes to Toyota by the end of July, without providing any specific details about the cars.
The unnamed insider added that while Toyota also plans to test an all-electric Corolla, the two SUV models "are better suited to the weight of Tesla's battery pack".
"We anticipate range and acceleration exceeding that of other announced electric vehicles of this class," Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla, said today in an e-mailed message to the news agency.
Toyota partnered up with Tesla in May 2010. As part of the deal, Tesla acquired Toyota's joint-venture NUMMI plant in California to build its Model S and other vehicles, while Toyota bought a US$50 million stake in electric-car producer.
Daimler AG, the company that owns Mercedes-Benz, also invested about US$50 million in Tesla in May 2009, however, the German company reduced its 10 per cent stake in the electric carmaker to around 5 per cent by selling part of the investment to Aabar Investments PJSC, Daimler's largest shareholder.

Source: Businessweek

New Toyota Recall for 373,000 Avalon Sedans and 39,000 Lexus LX470 SUVs in the States

Another day, another recall-nightmare for Toyota Motor Corp. This time, the Japanese automaker said it was recalling around 373,000 of its 2000-2004MY Toyota Avalons, and approximately 39,000 of its 2003-2007MY Lexus LX 470s in the U.S. for unrelated problems concerning steering parts that may be defective.
Toyota said in a statement that the Avalon sedan's problem involves the steering interlock system, which due to "improper casting", may develop a crack that can expand, making it difficult to unlock the steering system when stationary. The company said it is possible the steering wheel can become locked while the car is being driven.
The Japanese automaker said it will fix the problem by replacing the steering column bracket on involved vehicles free of charge. The procedure is said to take about two hours to complete. The recall will begin in late August.
Moving on the Lexus LX 470 SUV, the company said the problem here is that the construction of the steering shaft is such that the snap ring on the shaft may disengage if the vehicle hits a pothole or a large bump and the driver makes a hard turn, causing the loss of steering.
"The remedy for this condition involves replacing the snap ring with a newly designed one and the installation of an additional component to prevent separation of the steering shaft," said Toyota in a statement, adding that the fix will be free of charge.
The recall for the LX 470 SUV will begin in mid-August.

2010 Lexus Sports Cars LFA N2410 at Nürburgring 24h race

Lexus and Gazoo Racing compete together at Nürburgring 24h race for the beneft of LFA and other future Toyota & Lexus products. Playing a key role in helping to finalise the development of the LFA before it enters production in December, the grueling 24h race offers Lexus and Gazoo Racing the unique opportunity to not only foster the peerless quality, durability and reliability by pushing cutting-edge technology to the extremes of mechanical endurance but also to hone the technical skills of the personnel involved in the development of future Lexus and Toyota production vehicles.

2010 Lexus Sports Cars LFA N2410

Furthermore, by participating in the 24 Hours Endurance Race Lexus and Toyota aim to showcase their dedication through Gazoo Racing to produce more emotional cars and becoming more attractive and desirable to a wider range of customers.

This year’s race marks the third consecutive entry of the Lexus LFA and, signifcantly, the frst participation of the car in standard production guise.

Competing in the SP8 (‘Near production’) class, the race version of the LFA does not differ substantially from the road car, particularly with regard to construction, engine and transmission. Mandatory safety equipment has been installed and other modifcations such as a refned aero package including a fxed rear wing and a larger fuel tank are made to refect the format of the 24h race and the Nürburgring circuit.

Led by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC)’s master test driver Hiromu Naruse, the Gazoo Racing team will make its fourth appearance at the Nürburging 24h race. It is a team comprised of engineers and technicians from TMC, and, whilst they’ve regularly come together over recent months to support the LFA in the build-up to the 24h race, their ‘day-jobs’ are within the TMC engineering community.This kind of virtual organisation ensures that the collective learning is transmitted directly back into the core of the engineering activity.

The driver line-up includes four Japanese and three German pilots with outstanding endurance and GT racing credentials, including three champions from the Japanese Super GT series. As part of the preparation of the cars and the drivers, Gazoo Racing entered the first three VLN races of 2010.

Consistently fnishing in leading positions in its SP8 class, the LFA has also demonstrated its competitiveness against track-prepared specialist racing cars, with a best fnish of 17th overall in VLN2.

2010 Lexus Sports Cars LFA N2410 at Nürburgring 24h race

Lexus and Gazoo Racing compete together at Nürburgring 24h race for the beneft of LFA and other future Toyota & Lexus products. Playing a key role in helping to finalise the development of the LFA before it enters production in December, the grueling 24h race offers Lexus and Gazoo Racing the unique opportunity to not only foster the peerless quality, durability and reliability by pushing cutting-edge technology to the extremes of mechanical endurance but also to hone the technical skills of the personnel involved in the development of future Lexus and Toyota production vehicles.

2010 Lexus Sports Cars LFA N2410

Furthermore, by participating in the 24 Hours Endurance Race Lexus and Toyota aim to showcase their dedication through Gazoo Racing to produce more emotional cars and becoming more attractive and desirable to a wider range of customers.

This year’s race marks the third consecutive entry of the Lexus LFA and, signifcantly, the frst participation of the car in standard production guise.

Competing in the SP8 (‘Near production’) class, the race version of the LFA does not differ substantially from the road car, particularly with regard to construction, engine and transmission. Mandatory safety equipment has been installed and other modifcations such as a refned aero package including a fxed rear wing and a larger fuel tank are made to refect the format of the 24h race and the Nürburgring circuit.

Led by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC)’s master test driver Hiromu Naruse, the Gazoo Racing team will make its fourth appearance at the Nürburging 24h race. It is a team comprised of engineers and technicians from TMC, and, whilst they’ve regularly come together over recent months to support the LFA in the build-up to the 24h race, their ‘day-jobs’ are within the TMC engineering community.This kind of virtual organisation ensures that the collective learning is transmitted directly back into the core of the engineering activity.

The driver line-up includes four Japanese and three German pilots with outstanding endurance and GT racing credentials, including three champions from the Japanese Super GT series. As part of the preparation of the cars and the drivers, Gazoo Racing entered the first three VLN races of 2010.

Consistently fnishing in leading positions in its SP8 class, the LFA has also demonstrated its competitiveness against track-prepared specialist racing cars, with a best fnish of 17th overall in VLN2.