Toyota recalls LS, other models for valve spring replacement
06-16-15, 02:31 PM
#586
Pole Position
People can not tell me that this forum is not incredible in a multitude of ways!
Where else can you be informed, have gentleman discussions/disagreements, laugh and learn about the very car you drive/may purchase..and most of all, all of this with pretty classy people!
Quite a place...
Lastly, Double, I know your car is only one of thousands, but it needs to be recognized that your car is an absolute work horse! And beyond that, its a testament to outstanding quality.
There is a guy that's in my office that has a Pontiac G6, 07 or 08 with 60k miles on it and he was telling me just a few hours ago that even though its paid off, he feels as though he still has a monthly payment because he has something going wrong nearly every month...
Shame..
Where else can you be informed, have gentleman discussions/disagreements, laugh and learn about the very car you drive/may purchase..and most of all, all of this with pretty classy people!
Quite a place...
Lastly, Double, I know your car is only one of thousands, but it needs to be recognized that your car is an absolute work horse! And beyond that, its a testament to outstanding quality.
There is a guy that's in my office that has a Pontiac G6, 07 or 08 with 60k miles on it and he was telling me just a few hours ago that even though its paid off, he feels as though he still has a monthly payment because he has something going wrong nearly every month...
Shame..
Your friend would be wise to get rid of that G6. He'll be putting an intake manifold gasket in that thing soon enough (if he hasn't already). And that's just the start of it...control arms, struts, alternators, serpentine belts and tensioners, cooling system problems, ac compressors. And I can't remember if that car has the hydraulic steering system or if they went to the electric steering - if it's the hydraulic system he is doomed. Guaranteed that rack needs replacement...along with the pump...and lines. Those cars are pieces of crap.
06-16-15, 08:22 PM
#587
MB didn't fix them if they failed out of warranty (60K) and wouldn't recall them. They got sued (class action) and the settlement was full reimbursement or repair if it failed before 80K miles. Between 80 & 125K miles they'll pay a %. Over 125K it's nothing.
Who expects to make an engine where you tell people that it should not be expected to last more than 125K miles nowdays? For a lux car maker like Mercedes to say their car shouldn't be expected to last longer than that for a core engine part is amazing to me. I grew up when the stories of Mercedes cars making a million miles were not uncommon. Now they give medallions out for making 150K. That's how not to take care of an issue.
06-16-15, 08:57 PM
#588
06-17-15, 07:32 AM
#590
That's the key. I have a Mercedes E350 that has defective camshafts. They built a bunch of engines with a bad supply of cams that didn't have proper heat treating. Over time the cams wear down and need to be replaced. That requires the engine to be pulled, split and neutered. Running rate is about 8-9K for a repair or a swap of a used or reman engine.
MB didn't fix them if they failed out of warranty (60K) and wouldn't recall them. They got sued (class action) and the settlement was full reimbursement or repair if it failed before 80K miles. Between 80 & 125K miles they'll pay a %. Over 125K it's nothing.
Who expects to make an engine where you tell people that it should not be expected to last more than 125K miles nowdays? For a lux car maker like Mercedes to say their car shouldn't be expected to last longer than that for a core engine part is amazing to me. I grew up when the stories of Mercedes cars making a million miles were not uncommon. Now they give medallions out for making 150K. That's how not to take care of an issue.
MB didn't fix them if they failed out of warranty (60K) and wouldn't recall them. They got sued (class action) and the settlement was full reimbursement or repair if it failed before 80K miles. Between 80 & 125K miles they'll pay a %. Over 125K it's nothing.
Who expects to make an engine where you tell people that it should not be expected to last more than 125K miles nowdays? For a lux car maker like Mercedes to say their car shouldn't be expected to last longer than that for a core engine part is amazing to me. I grew up when the stories of Mercedes cars making a million miles were not uncommon. Now they give medallions out for making 150K. That's how not to take care of an issue.
Engineering is not an exact science and there are so many unusual things never seen before that can effect components.
On the good side of it all companies like Toyota have gone the distance and not only perfected but are also a leader in quality assurance. Our blocks are X-rayed and CT scanned for voids in the casting process and there are a few master craftsman that are instrumental in the casting process and using a stethoscope to determine if every engine is assembled to tolerance.
This is the near equivalent of buying a AMG or M hand built engine.
The same engine blocks assembled in the US do not get this level of quality assurance yet they are more likely to under go far more stress. We should do some research on some of the Toyota truck forums to see how well they have fared after almost 10 years of severe duty.
Anyone suggesting that Toyota is trying to cut costs is out of their mind or is a confused fox trying to attain sweet high hanging grapes that they deemed sour.
I see the new LS retaining the UR engine. I believe it will be the same or slightly modified engine that is used in the ISF. Usually when there are new engine technologies from Toyota we get clues from patents and other filings which haven't turned up.
Last edited by Devh; 06-17-15 at 07:37 AM.
06-17-15, 07:54 AM
#591
Lexus Fanatic
Has anyone figured out why, there are problems like this now? Especially on supposed over engineered cars like Lexus. The old Gen 1's and Gen 2's never had engine problems like this, some have even made it to the million mile mark with no major work other than recommended maintenance. There is a key reason for this. Anyone have any idea?
These kind of recalls happen, and as long as the manufacturer steps up, recognizes and issue, and repairs customers cars you can't fault them.
06-17-15, 09:09 AM
#592
Lexus Fanatic
Exactly. My 7 series was an absolute mechanical and technical nightmare that was widely and well documented, yet BMW refused to acknowledge or compensate for any of it. No recalls, NOTHING. I could care less if my LS gets recalled monthly because at least I feel like I'm being looked after.
06-17-15, 11:33 AM
#593
Lexus Champion
To get a history of Lexus recalls, you can visit this web page:
http://www.japanesesportcars.com/recalls/lexus/page/1
You can also look up other Japanese car manufacturers. As has been stated, no car make/model is bulletproof. It's how the manufacturer responds that counts. To add some perspective, Lexus estimates a 0.2% failure rate for the valve spring problem. I'm glad they did the recall, but in my non-professional opinion, a 0.2% failure rate doesn't make for an unreliable car.
It's probably already been posted, but you can see the press release announcement of the valve spring recall here:
http://www.lexus.com/pdf/Lexus_Valve_Spring.pdf
http://www.japanesesportcars.com/recalls/lexus/page/1
You can also look up other Japanese car manufacturers. As has been stated, no car make/model is bulletproof. It's how the manufacturer responds that counts. To add some perspective, Lexus estimates a 0.2% failure rate for the valve spring problem. I'm glad they did the recall, but in my non-professional opinion, a 0.2% failure rate doesn't make for an unreliable car.
It's probably already been posted, but you can see the press release announcement of the valve spring recall here:
http://www.lexus.com/pdf/Lexus_Valve_Spring.pdf
Last edited by Gbp; 06-17-15 at 12:29 PM. Reason: Added press announcement link.
06-17-15, 01:06 PM
#594
To get a history of Lexus recalls, you can visit this web page:
http://www.japanesesportcars.com/recalls/lexus/page/1
You can also look up other Japanese car manufacturers. As has been stated, no car make/model is bulletproof. It's how the manufacturer responds that counts. To add some perspective, Lexus estimates a 0.2% failure rate for the valve spring problem. I'm glad they did the recall, but in my non-professional opinion, a 0.2% failure rate doesn't make for an unreliable car.
It's probably already been posted, but you can see the press release announcement of the valve spring recall here:
http://www.lexus.com/pdf/Lexus_Valve_Spring.pdf
http://www.japanesesportcars.com/recalls/lexus/page/1
You can also look up other Japanese car manufacturers. As has been stated, no car make/model is bulletproof. It's how the manufacturer responds that counts. To add some perspective, Lexus estimates a 0.2% failure rate for the valve spring problem. I'm glad they did the recall, but in my non-professional opinion, a 0.2% failure rate doesn't make for an unreliable car.
It's probably already been posted, but you can see the press release announcement of the valve spring recall here:
http://www.lexus.com/pdf/Lexus_Valve_Spring.pdf
Pressing the point that recalls are not an indication of overall quality as some seem to suggest. If some what to use that as a metric then the LS 460 is the car with the least amount of recalls on the whole.
Every LS model from it's inception has a recall. Then after 2010 there are no more recalls.
Furthermore we don't have the leaking capacitor issues, vacuum leaks or transmission issues that plague the older cars millage for millage.
We do have a limited amount of brake actuator issues and control arm problems up to 2010 which are small potatoes and replaceable with upgraded parts from Toyota. I would rather have that problem then some of the other troublesome diagnostic problems that plague the older Lexus models.
These cars have gotten better not worse.
Last edited by Devh; 06-17-15 at 01:11 PM.
06-17-15, 01:28 PM
#595
Pole Position
To get a history of Lexus recalls, you can visit this web page:
http://www.japanesesportcars.com/recalls/lexus/page/1
You can also look up other Japanese car manufacturers. As has been stated, no car make/model is bulletproof. It's how the manufacturer responds that counts. To add some perspective, Lexus estimates a 0.2% failure rate for the valve spring problem. I'm glad they did the recall, but in my non-professional opinion, a 0.2% failure rate doesn't make for an unreliable car.
It's probably already been posted, but you can see the press release announcement of the valve spring recall here:
http://www.lexus.com/pdf/Lexus_Valve_Spring.pdf
http://www.japanesesportcars.com/recalls/lexus/page/1
You can also look up other Japanese car manufacturers. As has been stated, no car make/model is bulletproof. It's how the manufacturer responds that counts. To add some perspective, Lexus estimates a 0.2% failure rate for the valve spring problem. I'm glad they did the recall, but in my non-professional opinion, a 0.2% failure rate doesn't make for an unreliable car.
It's probably already been posted, but you can see the press release announcement of the valve spring recall here:
http://www.lexus.com/pdf/Lexus_Valve_Spring.pdf
All cars have problems, but I think the LS 460 has gotten a bit of a bad rap do to uninformed people and a few customers that had bad luck. By the way, my car was in the green on every angle imagninable...and it's been two years and 40k miles since my last alignment. Not bad for a car with "control arm issues".
06-19-15, 01:03 AM
#596
Exactly. My 7 series was an absolute mechanical and technical nightmare that was widely and well documented, yet BMW refused to acknowledge or compensate for any of it. No recalls, NOTHING. I could care less if my LS gets recalled monthly because at least I feel like I'm being looked after.
06-19-15, 07:45 AM
#597
Pole Position
Yes, especially on my 05 LS430. I had quite a few small problems that shouldn't have occurred.
06-20-15, 05:34 AM
#600
Don't worry, I don't take it personally. You have to be in total delusional denial to not realize the 460 has been plagued with much more serious issues then the 430 has ever had. Don't believe me, go to your local Lexus dealer and talk to the master techs. But I'm not interested in flaming the fires and my comment was not in regard to Lexus. I was referencing BMW and Mercedes particularly.