Lexus has issued a recall and stop sale on the HS 250h after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration discovered that too much gasoline leaks in a rear-impact test.
The recall, which will affect 17,000 vehicles in the USA, is a result of a test that involves striking the vehicle with a deformable barrier from the rear at approximately 50 mph, then struck by a moving deformable barrier with a 70 percent overlap. The vehicle is then rotated incrementally to each successive increment of 90 degrees. During this rotation, the HS 250h exhibited fuel spillage that exceeded the standard requirement.
From Lexus’ press release:
“Even though our own testing of the Lexus HS 250h shows full compliance with federal fuel system integrity standards, we are working intensely to duplicate the noncompliance issue that the NHTSA identified and to determine the reason behind the different test results,” said Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America.
There is currently no remedy for the issue — once a solution is found HS owners will be notified by mail and the sales stoppage will be lifted.
Update: Lexus General Manager Mark Templin has issued a statement regarding the HS recall:
“We want to assure our customers that their safety and satisfaction are our top priorities. We take the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) test results very seriously and appreciate the NHTSA bringing its concerns to our attention. Our engineers conducted similar testing during the development of the new HS 250h and the vehicle performed safely. While we are investigating and vigorously working to understand the different test results, we have stopped delivery of the involved vehicles. As soon as the issue is better understood and/or a remedy is developed, we will contact every owner.
“Customers who have any questions or concerns should contact their local Lexus dealer or Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-25LEXUS or 1-800-255-3987.”
The full Lexus press release follows after the jump.
Toyota Files Noncompliance Information Report on Certain 2010 Lexus HS 250h Vehicles
TORRANCE, Calif., June 25, 2010 – Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today filed a Noncompliance Information Report (NCIR) with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), informing the agency of the company’s intent to conduct a voluntary safety recall of potentially 17,000 2010 model year Lexus HS 250h vehicles to address a compliance issue with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 301.
As part of its annual compliance testing program, the NHTSA recently conducted a test of the 2010 model year HS 250h. The test involved striking the vehicle with a deformable barrier from the rear at approximately 50 mph. The vehicle is struck by a moving deformable barrier with a 70 percent overlap. As part of the test, the vehicle was then rotated on its longitudinal axis incrementally to each successive increment of 90 degrees. During the rotation, the vehicle exhibited fuel spillage that exceeded the requirement in the standard.
During vehicle development, Lexus tested the HS 250h using the same protocol and found the vehicles to comply fully with the FMVSS 301. Lexus is currently working to identify the reason for the different test results and the cause of this noncompliance.
“Even though our own testing of the Lexus HS 250h shows full compliance with federal fuel system integrity standards, we are working intensely to duplicate the noncompliance issue that the NHTSA identified and to determine the reason behind the different test results,” said Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America.
At the present time, Lexus has not identified a remedy to address this issue, but it is working hard to do so promptly and will notify owners as soon as one is developed. Until then, as required by federal law, dealers will not deliver any new vehicles in their inventory that are covered by this NCIR until remedied.
Detailed information about this recall is available through Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-25 LEXUS or 1-800-255-3987 or at www.lexus.com/recall.
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