Valve Springs
Toyota Motor Sales USA has filed a Defect Information Report (DIR) regarding approximately 138,000 Lexus vehicles, powered by 4.6 and 5.0 liter V8 and 3.5 liter V6 engines. 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 estimates that the likelihood of a customer vehicle experiencing this condition is two-tenths of one percent (0.2 %). Lexus has received no reports of accidents or injuries related to this condition. No vehicles from the current 2010 model year nor 2009 are affected.
Lexus will send owners of the involved vehicles a recall notification via first class mail. Owners are requested to contact their local Lexus dealer for diagnosis and repair after receiving their notification. The repair will involve replacement of the engine’s valve springs at no charge.
Owners can continue to drive their vehicles. If symptoms are noticed, such as vibration, rough idling, unusual engine sounds or poor performance, the vehicle should be brought to a Lexus dealer for service.
Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS)
Toyota has announced it will conduct a voluntary safety recall on approximately 3,800 Lexus late 2009 and certain 2010 model year LS 460 and LS 600h L vehicles in the U.S. equipped with Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS) to address a temporary steering wheel off-center condition that may develop under a specific driving maneuver. No other Toyota, Lexus, or Scion vehicles are involved in this recall.
The VGRS system enables easier handling during low-speed driving and provides better stability during high-speed driving than conventional steering by changing the gear ratio.
The VGRS system may exhibit a temporary steering wheel off-center condition after driving away quickly from a very tight turn where the steering was at full lock position. The steering wheel off-center position will automatically be corrected in approximately five seconds by the VGRS system as the vehicle is driven. The driver may notice the system auto correcting as the steering wheel slowly moves to the center position while driving straight during the VGRS correction.
Due to the specific driving circumstances, this condition will not occur during normal driving such as changing lanes or turning at intersections. Lexus recently received one customer report in the U.S. regarding this condition; no accidents or injuries have been reported.
As soon as the remedy parts are available, Lexus will begin sending notification letters by first class mail to owners of the involved vehicles. The letter will advise owners to bring their vehicle to a Lexus dealer to have the Steering Control computer replaced with a newly designed one at no charge. The computer replacement is expected to take less than one hour, depending on dealer workload.