Toyota may have just won an international engine award at Engine Expo 2010 for the Prius Hybrid but it’s unlikely they’ll win anything but more bad publicity for the engines in their current crop of Lexus models.
Apparently there’s a valve spring problem in their 4.6-litre V8 and 3.5-litre V6 engines that are fitted in eight of their current models. Toyota says that the problem may cause the engine to stop in the worst-case scenario.
It looks as though Toyota will be recalling as many as 270,000 units worldwide to correct the problem.
The models that are fitted with the suspect engines include the:
- GS350
- GS450h
- GS460
- IS350
- LS460
- LS600
- LS600h
This recall follows hot on the heels of a recall of 50,839 2000 to 2001 Toyota Corollas in Japan for faulty airbags and seatbelts.
The airbag and seatbelt problem isn’t just Toyota’s … Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi are also recalling vehicles for the same issue.