Even more Toyota troubles !

[renovation]

Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday about 270,000 vehicles sold worldwide, including luxury Lexus sedans, have faulty engines, but the company did not say whether it would recall the automobiles.

The world's biggest automaker said the defective engines could stall while the vehicles were moving.

Of the 270,000 vehicles, some 180,000 were sold overseas and the rest in Japan. They include luxury Lexus sedans and popular Crown models.
http://apnews.excite.com/article/201007 ... 11H80.html

[normalicy]

Jeez, what happened to the quality control department lately?

[EvilHorace]

Technically incorrect wording, "faulty engines" referring to a stalling issue. Stalling is caused by either a fuel or ignition system problem, not the engine itself. Needless to say, we've never seen one Lexus come in with a stalling problem unless they're talking about old vehicles with idle motor problems due to age, debris (happens with ALL makes eventually).

[FlyingPenguin]

"Faulty engine" is pretty darn misleading. Sounds like a regular service bulletin for some kind of ignition problem. All car manufacturers have dozens of service bulletins a month but the media wants to fan the flames because it's Toyota.

[Nitemare]

I have not previously disliked Toyota based on any of their previous issues but I am concerned now. My sister has a Solara, and I don't know if she is affected or not. Nothing on their website. In fact, there is no mention of the issue in their news section at all.

If I was a company on a recent downturn for my public relations fiascoes, and I know of any problem as small as the tire caps coming off when not properly screwed on by technicians, I am going to have something on my website saying how to fix it or resolve it.

[EvilHorace]

270,000 cars worldwide is not exactly alot of cars. As for it being Toyota, consider the #s of recalls involving other makes, say GM for example like cars that start on fire. Think that's not too serious?

[FlyingPenguin]

Nitemare: As with ANY car, you can call a dealer with your Vin number and they will lookup to see if there's a recall or a technical service bulletin on your vehicle. You can also look up recalls here: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/recallsearch.cfm

Since this is a very new issue, it may not be in the system yet though. Since Evil works on these cars and he hasn't heard about it yet I'd say that's the case.

With recalls the manufacturer is required to contact you, but not for technical service bulletins. Toyota has been mailing me a recall once a month for the gas pedal thing but I put it off until last week's oil change. They also changed an oil line that was prone to leaking and had a service bulletin on it.

Here's more info on the engine issue from a more reputable rag: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-201 ... 02642.html

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.

[EvilHorace]

I just checked Toyota's info system for current TSBs, nothing yet exists regarding valve springs and/or stalling. I surely hope it's not something regarding weak valve springs (can't see that causing a stall) as replacing those on the newer engines (especially the 460s) would truely suck.

[Nitemare]

Thanks for the info.

I honestly wanted to just eliminate her from the recall due to us moving with her car next week.

[b-man1]

#$%$%^#^%@^%...my model is in there. hopefully my VIN is excluded. i just finished a second round of recalls last month and am just tired of going to the dealership to get them done. never had an issue with the car (IS350), but it's just annoying at this point. in general, i hate dealership visits due to the random scratches and nicks somewhere that i always find later on. x2

[EvilHorace]

I'm hoping that this report's premature and/or inaccurate. The newer Toyota engines have a few potential issues but to me, a valve spring problem that might cause stalling doesn't make sense.

As for :

i hate dealership visits due to the random scratches and nicks somewhere that i always find later on

Where I'm at, the service writers have to do a walk around, mark every flaw when the car arrives. It's on the ROs and if techs notice other flaws missed by the writer, that's then added. By doing that, the dealer has proof what was, wasn't there before/after the visit because it's not uncommon for people to notice flaws after the car's repaired. Personally, I think that some people don't really notice things until after it's been somewhere for repairs as many maybe expect problems too.

[b-man1]

I'm hoping that this report's premature and/or inaccurate. The newer Toyota engines have a few potential issues but to me, a valve spring problem that might cause stalling doesn't make sense.

As for :

Where I'm at, the service writers have to do a walk around, mark every flaw when the car arrives. It's on the ROs and if techs notice other flaws missed by the writer, that's then added. By doing that, the dealer has proof what was, wasn't there before/after the visit because it's not uncommon for people to notice flaws after the car's repaired. Personally, I think that some people don't really notice things until after it's been somewhere for repairs as many maybe expect problems too.

one of my old hobbies was serious car detailing, so i'm still pretty anal about the appearance of my vehicles. i notice things right away, so it's painful to see swirls, scratches, leather creases, etc after a visit. i never have them wash it due to the rapage they cause. cratch

no walkaround done where i go (madison lexus). the other big problem is when they chip/scratch wheels when they take them off...little chips around the lug nuts, etc.

i should start taking my ride over by you!

[EvilHorace]

They started doing the walk around thing years ago because occasionally someone would say there was damage after the car was repaired, washed, etc and where I'm at, being Lexus and all, the dealer would then have to repair it, not argue with a customer (and w/o documentation, no proof either).
So b-man1, maybe try suggesting that your dealer does a walk around next time, noticing any flaws and then you walk around it when you pick up the car? You can also request a hand wash only as yeah, those brush type machines can damage paint. Unbelievably to me too, we still use one of those things with the brushes.

I'm surprised that they have a primitive tire machine that can scratch wheels. Most places today use one where only a plastic part touches the wheel edge thus can't scratch alloy wheels.

[EvilHorace]

Suckage!

It's now a recall. 270K Lexus's in the US. Don't know about Toyota's. Apparently something caustic got on valve springs and as a result, they can break. Removing cyl heads on newer Toyota engines is no easy thing, very time consuming.


Online report has different #s than ours but still:

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-201 ... 00593.html

[b-man1]

sigh. maybe i'll still get lucky and not have my VIN in there. i've now had the following done on it:

--accelerator pedal "updated" with smaller pedal
--ECU updated for fuel cutoff during braking at certain speeds
--"improved" floormats installed
--aluminum fuel rails replaced due to potential corrosion/leaking
--front brake pads replaced (TSB for excessive dusting)...new ones MUCH better

i think there was something else, but can't remember. never actually had a problem with the car yet...i guess that's good to remember.

funny how my 92 accord just gets oil and gas for the four years i've had it and is still running like a champ! hahahah