Lexus Lexus LS Hybrid News & Information

The Bangkok Post has some engine variation rumors regarding the RX & LS:

Later this year, Japan’s top nameplate is set to offer a third engine variant of its RX sport-utility vehicle in the guise of RX270 with 2WD. For the first time, the new entry-level RX would be getting a four-cylinder petrol engine currently used in the Toyota Fortuner and Land Cruiser Prado.

Such a move would help widen the RX customer base, which currently has only two pricey options including the V6-powered RX350 and hybrid-driven RX450h, both of which are priced at over B5m due to 50% excise tax.

Earlier, Lexus had pledged to not build a four-pot motor for the RX in the form of RX240 (Toyota Harrier-style) fearing a diluted image.[..]

For long, Thai product planners have aspired for a six-pot unit for the flagship LS saloon which its parent firm in Japan refused to develop.

Sources say it is possible the next-generation LS could see a V6 option alongside the V8 (LS460) and hybrid (LS600h) so it can compete with the BMW 730i and Mercedes-Benz S300 on the B8m front. A hybrid version using the V6 petrol/electric combination of the RX450h and GS450h is also possible.

A RX 240 wouldn’t be entirely out of the question, after all, the ES 240 has been available in China since last year — however, I’m sure Lexus will wait to see how the RX 270 is received before making any decision.

As for the LS V6 rumor, it’s an older rumor, and it certainly makes sense given the import taxes placed on big V8s in some countries. More interesting is the thought of using the hybrid/V6 from the RXh, which would turn a V6 flagship sedan into something with much larger potential appeal.

LS 450h, anyone?

[Source: The Bangkok Post]

Lexus USA will be formally submitting their recall of approximately 138,000 Lexus vehicles next week with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The recall will apply to certain 2006, 2007 & 2008 GS, IS, and LS models equipped with 4.6 and 5.0L V8 and 3.5L V6 engines. Here’s the full breakdown:

• GS 350: 2007-2008
• GS 450h: 2007-2008
• GS 460: 2008
• IS 350: 2006-2008
• LS 460: 2007-2008
• LS 460 L: 2007-2008
• LS 600h L: 2008

The recall is due to the possibility of foreign material contaminating a small number of valve strings in the engine, which may cause abnormal engine noise or idling, and in extremely rare cases, the engine may stop while the vehicle is being used. However, Lexus estimates that “the likelihood of a customer vehicle experiencing this condition is two-tenths of one percent (0.2 %)”, and that no accidents or injuries have been reported due to this issue.

For some additional background information, I recommend this recent Autoblog article, which included this photo of the offending part:

Finally, some logistics for owners:

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.

[Source: Autoblog & Lexus]

Toyota has announced today that they may be recalling 270,000 Lexus cars after discovering a problem with the 4.6L V8 and 3.5L V6 engines used throughout the lineup — from the Wall Street Journal:

The auto maker has found a problem with the valve spring of 4.6 liter V8 engines and 3.5 liter V6 engines installed in the Lexus LS460, Lexus LS600h, Lexus LS600hL, Lexus GS350, Lexus GS450h, Lexus GS460 and Lexus IS350 and the Toyota Crown.

The problem could cause the engine to stall, the Toyota spokeswoman said.

Of the 270,000 vehicles powered by the affected engines, 90,000 were sold in Japan and the rest overseas.

Toyota has received 200 complaints about the engine problem, the spokeswoman said, and no related accidents have been reported.

It’s important to note the 270,000 units would only account for a fraction of vehicles with the 4.6L V8 and 3.5L V6 engines, meaning this recall is likely due to a temporary manufacturing issue. This is backed up by a Voxy NZ article:

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.

Even more than that, here’s a quote from Mike_TX of Club Lexus, who was affected last year by what seems to be the same issue:

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.

At this point, it’s all speculation, but more details are sure to be released shortly.

Once and a while, I get very focused on a specific car — right now, it’s the Lexus LS, and it all started after watching this 10-minute video a couple weeks back:

This video does a great job at capturing that quiet, subtle luxury that’s so appealing about Lexus’ flagship sedan — and somehow manages to touch on what possessed me to start this website in the first place. Love it.

This LS 600hL commercial from Lexus Taiwan has a special surprise at the end:

Just in case you missed it:

As the Lexus Taiwan website describes, this is a limited edition mountain bike built by Fuji cycles, and will retail for 180,000 元 ($3,300 USD). Expensive indeed, but not out of line with the rest of the Fuji lineup — too bad it wasn’t a production version of the HB Bicycle concept that debuted at the Tokyo Auto Show last year.

[Source: Lexus Taiwan]

Here’s a video demonstrating the steering issue that made the current Lexus LS recall necessary:

All in all, this LS steering issue looks to be relatively non-critical — something that should be fixed and deserving of a recall, to be sure, but of minor importance to anyone outside of the affected owners.

Still, good on Lexus to treat this as it would a more serious issue (issuing multiple press releases, freezing current inventory affected by the recall) — it should be a great relief to all Lexus owners to see the company responding in such a strong way.

Update: This post has been reworked for clarity’s sake.