2020 Model Year Lexus ES 300h Recalled for Engine Issue

[krew]

Certain 2020 Lexus ES 300h sedans are being recalled due to a potential engine block issue that could cause the vehicle to stall, overheat, or even catch fire.
This manufacturing error may cause the engine to leak coolant or oil. Initially, this would cause increased engine noise, smoke, and visible warning lights on the instrument panel. In some cases, this could lead to the engine overheating and possible internal mechanical damage.
For all involved vehicles, Toyota and Lexus dealers will inspect the engine block casting serial number. All vehicles matching the faulty batch of engines will have their engine replaced at no charge.
A combined 44,191 Toyota & Lexus vehicles are part of this recall, though only 250 of that number are expected to be affected.

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[Md Shaikat]

What the heck is wrong with Lexus? So many recalls have been announced recently. This is terribly bad for the brand renowned for attention to detail and reliability

 

[FamilyLexus]

I Never trust Any Hybrid Engine

 

[Will1991]

What the heck is wrong with Lexus? So many recalls have been announced recently. This is terribly bad for the brand renowned for attention to detail and reliability

One thing doesn't mean the other in my opinion...
Lexus still is reliable (only 250 units are expected to have replacements) and high attention to detail (they will call 176 times the number of cars they think are affected).
Toyota and Lexus are different from almost everyone else because of this, they always want to be sure everything is OK throw recalls (even post warranty period) when almost everyone else always tries to keep it shut until warranty is over.

I Never trust Any Hybrid Engine

Why is that? Millions of Hybrids prove every day how reliable they're... At least, the one from Toyota and Lexus.

 

[LordByronUK]

The sooner we all move to EVs the better, so so so much less to go wrong! Lexus are sadly just way too late to the party, and I fear it will cost them dearly over the next few decades, especially as one of the main reasons to buy a Lexus is not to have these types of problems. I reckon another reason why car manufacturers don't like the idea of moving whole sale to EVs yet (yes Lexus too) is that there will be less to distinguish the luxury brands in the future, as build quality is quite good in most modern cars now let's be honest about it, and Lexus/Toyota are also massively behind the game on infotainment too. Big changes coming next few decades and I'm certain not all car brands are going to survive the switch to EVs, and things are really not looking good for Lexus right now, despite what the sales figures say today, as that can change at the drop of a government policy hat! Be prepared Lexus, or prepare to fail...

 

[Ian Schmidt]

EVs are not a reliability panacea, as Tesla buyers have discovered. What's a top cause of issues with modern ICE cars? The wiring and electronics. What do EVs have a lot of? Wiring and electronics.

 

[LordByronUK]

I don't completely disagree and even an EV can be very unreliable of course if poorly made (even explode...) . However, my point is that with an EV it is easier to make the car much more reliable (literally hundreds-thousands less parts). And even though I've no doubt Lexus/Toyota EVs will be the most reliable, there won't be the big reliability gap like before, and hence less to separate them from the crowd.

 

[mikeavelli]

Guys it’s like 240 cars.

 

[suxeL]

So would like someone with expertise to chime in here,

Mfging at this point has become a very precise job, and they have narrowed it to 240 replacements, why are they inspecting 44,000 units though?

Is the defect present in all the rest of the 44k units, but the remaining units are past a certain quality tolerance thats ok to exist but not upto design spec?

 

[Sulu]

I Never trust Any Hybrid Engine

Why? The engine used in a Hybrid vehicle is mechanically the same as the engine used in its equivalent non-hybrid vehicle. The Hybrid's engine is not in any greater stress than the normal car's engine; in fact, it is under less stress because it runs less often, and it is under much less stress than a turbocharged engine.

I can understand if you do not trust the Power-Split Device hybrid vehicle transmissions used in Toyota and Lexus hybrids, since they are truly unique and not used in normal, non-hybrid vehicles; but a "Hybrid Engine" is the same as a "Non-Hybrid Engine".

So would like someone with expertise to chime in here,

Mfging at this point has become a very precise job, and they have narrowed it to 240 replacements, why are they inspecting 44,000 units though?

Is the defect present in all the rest of the 44k units, but the remaining units are past a certain quality tolerance thats ok to exist but not upto design spec?

I read further, into the Toyota press release. The recall affects the 2.5-litre 4-cylinder engine used in a wide-range of Toyota (the Camry and RAV4; Camry, RAV4 and Avalon Hybrids), and Lexus (ES Hybrid).

It is not just the engine used in Hybrids that is affected, all of the 2.5-litre 4-cylinder engines (totalling 44,000) are affected. I am assuming that out of that 44,000, there are 240 ES Hybrids affected.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Mfging at this point has become a very precise job, and they have narrowed it to 240 replacements, why are they inspecting 44,000 units though?

I'm guessing they want to inspect the other units to make very sure there's no problem, and it's less of a PR hit if they do one recall instead of doing one and then having to do another.

 

[internalaudit]

EVs are not a reliability panacea, as Tesla buyers have discovered. What's a top cause of issues with modern ICE cars? The wiring and electronics. What do EVs have a lot of? Wiring and electronics.

And then that Taycan in Florida going up in flames inside the garage over the weekend.

I think I will wait for solid state batteries -- more durable, safer, potentially higher energy density (and less need for super advance cooling system I just read).

Update:

While perusing insideevs this morning, there were a few comments from someone who seemed knowledgeable that cooling systems are probably not durable enough because those high-end computers with liquid cooling usually don't fare well and they are not even subjected to vibrations and shocks like cooling systems in BEVs.

With SSBs, the cooling systems may be much simpler (battery pack more compact) if the risk of thermal runaway is much lower and if lithium's Melting point of Lithium is 180.5°C

 

[Trexus]

A member of ours in China had issues with his brand new ES h. He thinks it might be the fuel pump issue. Lexus will take care of all these issues recently popping up...I'm still waiting for the letter from Lexus which should arrive mid-May...

 

[Ian Schmidt]

My LS is due for regular maintenance, so I'm going to see if they can do the fuel pump thing at the same time (I haven't gotten the notification yet).

 

[spwolf]

I don't completely disagree and even an EV can be very unreliable of course if poorly made (even explode...) . However, my point is that with an EV it is easier to make the car much more reliable (literally hundreds-thousands less parts). And even though I've no doubt Lexus/Toyota EVs will be the most reliable, there won't be the big reliability gap like before, and hence less to separate them from the crowd.

I mean Tesla's are most unreliable cars out there, so I am not so sure why wouldnt there be a gap.

It is a great story to tell - EVs have much less movable parts, and they are much less likely to break, hence you reliability wont be important. Reality is that with biggest and most important EV manufacturer out there, quality and reliability is really low.