270,000 FaultyLexus/Toyota Engines, potential recall (valve spring replacement)
06-30-10, 10:29 PM
#1
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
270,000 FaultyLexus/Toyota Engines, potential recall (valve spring replacement)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-0...-to-stall.html
Link above says it all. Faulty engines that may stall in the following cars sold worldwide: Lexus GS 350, GS 450h, GS 460, IS 350, LS 460, LS 600h, LS 600hL, and the Toyota Crown.
Link above says it all. Faulty engines that may stall in the following cars sold worldwide: Lexus GS 350, GS 450h, GS 460, IS 350, LS 460, LS 600h, LS 600hL, and the Toyota Crown.
06-30-10, 10:59 PM
#3
According to this BusinessWeek link, it is for a defective valve spring. This sounds familiar to longtime LS forum members, we've had 2 threads on LS owners dealing with it:
There are 2 threads in the LS forum where owners were driving, the Check Engine light came on, they pulled over and the engine stopped; both were found to have defective valve springs, which is what I extrapolate the recall is about. A 'weaker' valve spring which may eventually fail over time. Originally, as some members have experienced, they were going to replace it on a case-by-case basis, but now seems they will replace all of them just to be sure. Update-recall confirmed:
This further supports the earlier inference that the defective factory robot is to blame for this recall.
According to them, there is a set of robots that assemble these engines. In late 2007/early 2008, one of the robots was found to be out of adjustment, such that when it installed the spring, it scraped it and caused a "score" mark on it. That small score mark created a weak point that can cause a failure of the spring after thousands of cycles.
By the time they discovered the adjustment problem, a large number of engines had been assembled and put into cars, which had been shipped out over the world. It was not known if it would be a problem or not, nor when it might result in a failure, so Lexus had to deal with it when/if a spring failed. IOW, on a case-by-case basis. It wasn't practical to recall a ton of engines just because a spring "might" someday fail.
By the time they discovered the adjustment problem, a large number of engines had been assembled and put into cars, which had been shipped out over the world. It was not known if it would be a problem or not, nor when it might result in a failure, so Lexus had to deal with it when/if a spring failed. IOW, on a case-by-case basis. It wasn't practical to recall a ton of engines just because a spring "might" someday fail.
Lexus To Replace Valve Springs In Premium Vehicle Models
http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/lexus...models/5/53823
Thursday, 1 July, 2010 - 17:36
Lexus New Zealand is to assure trouble-free motoring for 185 owners of its premium V8 and GS450 hybrid vehicles by replacing their engine valve springs.
Routine long-term reliability tests in Japan have discovered a manufacturing flaw in some springs, which could cause abnormal engine noise or unstable idling.
Debbie Pattullo, National Manager for Lexus New Zealand, says the springs will be replaced over the next few months, purely to remove the possibility of future problems.
http://www.voxy.co.nz/national/lexus...models/5/53823
Thursday, 1 July, 2010 - 17:36
Lexus New Zealand is to assure trouble-free motoring for 185 owners of its premium V8 and GS450 hybrid vehicles by replacing their engine valve springs.
Routine long-term reliability tests in Japan have discovered a manufacturing flaw in some springs, which could cause abnormal engine noise or unstable idling.
Debbie Pattullo, National Manager for Lexus New Zealand, says the springs will be replaced over the next few months, purely to remove the possibility of future problems.
Last edited by encore888; 06-30-10 at 11:42 PM. Reason: add confirmation of valve spring replacement
07-01-10, 03:09 AM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
WOW!!! Now its all of their higher end models. Does this Toyota cloud ever clear. They look horrible and they will look worse if they don't do anything for the owners of these high end models
07-01-10, 07:08 AM
#7
What about 06? They need springs, too, don't they.
I know I have the symptoms of it feeling like it's going to choke out once in a while. Actually I'm waiting on my dealership to hear back from Lexus Technical Assistance about it right now. They need to just crack every car open that has been experiencing problems and just get them all fixed ASAP to maintain their reputation. At the end of the day, people really do understand that sometimes crap happens but what will scare us away from buying future toyota/lexus products would be if crap happens and they no longer stand behind their product 100%.
I know I have the symptoms of it feeling like it's going to choke out once in a while. Actually I'm waiting on my dealership to hear back from Lexus Technical Assistance about it right now. They need to just crack every car open that has been experiencing problems and just get them all fixed ASAP to maintain their reputation. At the end of the day, people really do understand that sometimes crap happens but what will scare us away from buying future toyota/lexus products would be if crap happens and they no longer stand behind their product 100%.
Last edited by BinaryJay; 07-01-10 at 07:19 AM.
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07-01-10, 08:35 AM
#9
I guess this would explain why my idle is really rough at stops, and why my idle RPM will drop down below 500. Of course, my Lexus dealer said they couldn't find a problem. They also said that my knock and rattle on start up was normal for my engine (or is this a known PROBLEM with my engine?), and that it was JUST piston slap while the oil pressure was building (no big deal right? – ha!).
07 GS350
07 GS350
07-01-10, 08:43 AM
#10
Although these recalls are going to hurt the resale of our cars in the short term, I am VERY happy that Lexus and Toyota are taking proactive measures. They have acknowledged that they have made mistakes and they are going to fix all of them--even the small ones.
Many other auto companies would be scrambling to hide other defects after the sort of money Toyota has spent on other recalls. Instead, Lexus and Toyota are carrying out what seem to be very rigorous testing on all of their models and spending the money to make all of their cars right.
I could honestly see Toyota becoming a "good" case study in business communication and customer relations. They are going above and beyond to solve all of their problems.
Other manufactures would not recall something like a steering wheel that doesn't properly return to center for a short time (LS460) or a manufacturing problem that could lead to engine work (which would probably happen out of warranty). Just look at BMW and their HPFP. They really need to recall (maybe talk to lexus about sourcing from them--they've done the HPFP right) instead of increasing the warranty.
Many other auto companies would be scrambling to hide other defects after the sort of money Toyota has spent on other recalls. Instead, Lexus and Toyota are carrying out what seem to be very rigorous testing on all of their models and spending the money to make all of their cars right.
I could honestly see Toyota becoming a "good" case study in business communication and customer relations. They are going above and beyond to solve all of their problems.
Other manufactures would not recall something like a steering wheel that doesn't properly return to center for a short time (LS460) or a manufacturing problem that could lead to engine work (which would probably happen out of warranty). Just look at BMW and their HPFP. They really need to recall (maybe talk to lexus about sourcing from them--they've done the HPFP right) instead of increasing the warranty.
07-01-10, 10:05 AM
#13
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Although these recalls are going to hurt the resale of our cars in the short term, I am VERY happy that Lexus and Toyota are taking proactive measures. They have acknowledged that they have made mistakes and they are going to fix all of them--even the small ones.
Many other auto companies would be scrambling to hide other defects after the sort of money Toyota has spent on other recalls. Instead, Lexus and Toyota are carrying out what seem to be very rigorous testing on all of their models and spending the money to make all of their cars right.
I could honestly see Toyota becoming a "good" case study in business communication and customer relations. They are going above and beyond to solve all of their problems.
Other manufactures would not recall something like a steering wheel that doesn't properly return to center for a short time (LS460) or a manufacturing problem that could lead to engine work (which would probably happen out of warranty). Just look at BMW and their HPFP. They really need to recall (maybe talk to lexus about sourcing from them--they've done the HPFP right) instead of increasing the warranty.
Many other auto companies would be scrambling to hide other defects after the sort of money Toyota has spent on other recalls. Instead, Lexus and Toyota are carrying out what seem to be very rigorous testing on all of their models and spending the money to make all of their cars right.
I could honestly see Toyota becoming a "good" case study in business communication and customer relations. They are going above and beyond to solve all of their problems.
Other manufactures would not recall something like a steering wheel that doesn't properly return to center for a short time (LS460) or a manufacturing problem that could lead to engine work (which would probably happen out of warranty). Just look at BMW and their HPFP. They really need to recall (maybe talk to lexus about sourcing from them--they've done the HPFP right) instead of increasing the warranty.
07-01-10, 11:21 AM
#14
Driver School Candidate
What about 06? They need springs, too, don't they.
I know I have the symptoms of it feeling like it's going to choke out once in a while. Actually I'm waiting on my dealership to hear back from Lexus Technical Assistance about it right now. They need to just crack every car open that has been experiencing problems and just get them all fixed ASAP to maintain their reputation. At the end of the day, people really do understand that sometimes crap happens but what will scare us away from buying future toyota/lexus products would be if crap happens and they no longer stand behind their product 100%.
I know I have the symptoms of it feeling like it's going to choke out once in a while. Actually I'm waiting on my dealership to hear back from Lexus Technical Assistance about it right now. They need to just crack every car open that has been experiencing problems and just get them all fixed ASAP to maintain their reputation. At the end of the day, people really do understand that sometimes crap happens but what will scare us away from buying future toyota/lexus products would be if crap happens and they no longer stand behind their product 100%.
Some models with 4.6-liter and 3.5-liter engines have a problem with valve springs that may, in the worst case, cause the engine to stall, Takeuchi said.
07-01-10, 11:23 AM
#15
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i recently had mine completed
check engine light came on with alot of p301-306 misfires
took it to the dealership they cleared the codes and suggested a fuel injection
didnt fix the problem. engine bogged down hard and actually turned off a few times at red lights
it took them 6 weeks to complete but runs like a champ now
also got the cat converter replaced as well
check engine light came on with alot of p301-306 misfires
took it to the dealership they cleared the codes and suggested a fuel injection
didnt fix the problem. engine bogged down hard and actually turned off a few times at red lights
it took them 6 weeks to complete but runs like a champ now
also got the cat converter replaced as well