Lexus recalling 214,500 GS, IS, and LS models
Toyota is recalling around 214,500 2006-2008 GS300/350, IS250/350 and LS460/460L sedans over potentially faulty fuel delivery pipes.The Japanese automaker is working with NHTSA on the US recall, which centers around fuel pipes that can corrode, eventually resulting in a leak. The problem reportedly stems from certain ethanol fuels with low moisture content that can lead to rust, occasionally (but not always) triggering a dashboard indicator lamp indicating a system malfunction.
Affected GS, IS, and LS owners will be contacted about the recall via mail, and Lexus dealers will install replacement parts at no cost.
[Source: The Street; Image: Passionate Pursuit]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
KeatMP 3:42PM (1/17/2009)
My friends mom's GS hybrid had this problem several months ago. It just wouldn't start. They said something about the fuel lines. They flew engineers from japan over to look at it and gave her a $500 visa card for the troubles.
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Flashpoint 8:54PM (1/17/2009)
I've NEVER had a problem with my S-class, but, my sister's 750li had an engine/computer malfunction.
some guys from BMW came to her in an hour and used a laptop to restart the whole thing. They gave her a gas card.
big J 11:32PM (1/17/2009)
@flashpoint
congratulations would you like a cookie?
Randy 11:37AM (1/18/2009)
@KeatMP
No they didn't!
Randy 11:53AM (1/18/2009)
@KeatMP
I'm actually disturbed at that story! For starters (no pun intended) a fuel line is a hose. Toyota is either incredibly inefficient for flying engineers from Japan to see a hose (or) they just never heard of a small thin box that you could fit a one serving calzone in. They don't have anyone in the US to look at it? Did they bring their laboratory with them? If they had a local one, who uses it? Maybe they commute from Japan to the US lab everyday?
Are you a Fanboy of Lexus?
A picture of a fuel line! Ugh...
http://www.4wheeltoys.com/tacoweb043005d.jpg
tekd 6:53AM (1/19/2009)
@Randy
Toyota regularly flies in engineers from Japan for all kinds of stuff so they can see it on actual cars and figure out what's going on (whether other parts are causing it, etc.)
Otherwise it'd be like trying to diagnose a disease over the internet, it's really not optimal without being there yourself. Most of the engineers for the cars above are in Japan so it'd be harder for someone stateside to take care of it.
They fly in all the time though so they probably looked at all kinds of problems and hundreds/thousands of cars and didn't just fly specifically to this one guy's house to look at his car. You have to check hundreds/thousands of cars to figure out how often it's happening and why, just checking one isn't going to do it.
tekd 7:01AM (1/19/2009)
And yes Lexus does regularly fly in engineers from Japan:
http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx330-and-rx350-forum/102100-rx-330-noise.html (5th post)
Or flying a technician to alaska:
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060327/SUB/60322012/1003 (about halfway down the page)
Lexus really is that obsessive about things-that's the whole point of the brand. Just because Ford doesn't fly people out to look at "a piece of hose" doesn't mean Lexus wouldn't. Especially since this recall apparently affects the LS, which undergoes a ridiculously over the top and redunant quality check at the factory already. None of that stuff is neccessary but that doesn't mean Lexus wouldn't do it anyway.
pmiddle5 3:51PM (1/17/2009)
*waits patiently for the haters*
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firstplace 4:21PM (1/17/2009)
IM HERE!
notYou 7:24PM (1/17/2009)
(d@rn crappy forum code, didn't get replied in the right place originally...)
I love it when hater-hating anti-hater crowd rushes in to preemptively hate on not-yet-existent hate first.
Errr, what I really meant to say was preemptively and incessantly crying "hate!" at anything that's contrarily to your viewpoint really looks desperate, especially when it doesn't exist yet. Worse, it cheapens the legitimate point and ultimately rrenders it irrelevant (see "The Boy Who Cried Wolf.")
Domestic 6.0 12:44AM (1/18/2009)
OOO Hotdog !
Jim 1:56PM (1/26/2009)
I'm here too. If this were a Caddy the whole world would know this by now. The media would see to it.
Smegley 3:55PM (1/17/2009)
LMAO. This will be a fun thread.
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Axium 3:56PM (1/17/2009)
I'm not a fan of Lexus, but this is a genuine problem. There's no way any company can test every manufacturers fuel ethanol content. Those mixtures can change from station to station.
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Conundrum 10:49PM (1/17/2009)
You mean they cannot design thier cars to handle up to 15% ethanol without corroding? Most cars have been deemed capable of handling for this amount without trouble. The standard ethanol content of gas seems to be about 10% at most stations I have visited in the last few years (stickers right there on the pump).
Nissan, Ford, GM, and Chrysler produce fuel systems capable of operating on 85% ethanol without corroding.
axium 11:42PM (1/17/2009)
Maybe reading comprehension is too difficult for you.
"The problem reportedly stems from certain ethanol fuels with low moisture content that can lead to rust, occasionally (but not always) triggering a dashboard indicator lamp indicating a system malfunction."
Not every gas station that says it has 15% ethanol content is going to be honest. They can add their own chemicals into the mix as well.
Conundrum 11:46AM (1/18/2009)
RIGHT! and it ONLY affects Toyota/Lexus vehicles...nice conspiracy you have there.
More Koolaid please!
Sandeep 4:05PM (1/17/2009)
That's a surprisingly large recall for what I always perceived to be a lower-volume brand (mainly due to its luxury status). But I guess if you combine three entire lines over a span of 3ish years, you can pull numbers like that...
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Gardiner Westbound 4:28PM (1/17/2009)
Toyota is being less than forthright about the corroded gasoline fill tube issue. The problem is not new and predates gasohol. Our 1995 Camry's fill tube developed perforations and leaked gasoline around the sixth year necessitating replacement at our cost. Gasohol was not in widespread use in 2001.
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Sgt. Hulka 4:45PM (1/17/2009)
Shocking.
I wonder if Thomas Freidman of the New York Times is aware of this.
Afeter all, it was he who suggested that the Big 3 should just close their doors so that super-efficient Asian brands could take over the US market.
Putz.
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