Toyota plans U.S. recall of Lexus vehicles

Washington Post ^ | July 3, 2010

[Proud2BeRight]

"Toyota said Friday that it intends to recall 138,000 Lexus vehicles in the United States to fix faulty engines, in the latest quality problem to afflict the Japanese automaker. The company said flaws in valve springs, a crucial engine component, could make the vehicle stall while in motion."

[Proud2BeRight]

More fine Toyota quality.

[Viking2002]

I used to have a Chevy Vega that did this.

Am I carbon-dating myself?

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away, for his name is Obama."

[AlexW]

What has happened to Toyota, and the others for that matter ?
I bought them from the 70s, into the 80s.
They were the cream of the crop.

This must be costing them a fortune.

[Spktyr]

Short answer: GM disease. It’s apparently communicable.

Longer answer: About a decade or so ago, a guy named Watanabe became CEO and decided to 1) up volume and 2) cut costs so Toyota would be the #1 manufacturer in the world. He cut all the sports cars, concentrated on hybrids and basically ignored quality problems. Sound familiar?

It didn’t work out and the Watanabe legacy keeps biting Toyota in the arse despite the fact that the Toyoda family fired him and put one of their own back at the helm.

[AlexW]

“Longer answer: About a decade or so ago, a guy named Watanabe became CEO”

Thanks for that info.
Since I left the USA, ten years ago, I have not kept up with the car market.
I have not even driven a car in over six years, even though I have driven at least one million miles.

[EGPWS]

Pretty soon, Obama will have to bail them out with money he doesn't yet have and take over operations for the good of the country.

[edcoil]

Our Saab rag-top two door has one recall in entire histor

Awesome car.

[ReformedBeckite]

The liberal democrat controlled media will probably make it sound like a million cars are affected. Cars are stalling out on the highway and thousands of people have been killed by them, you need to grab your kids and run for you life. The reality, they probably had problems with a hundred cars or so that stalled out at in peoples drive ways as they tried to leave home.

[ml/nj]

What has happened to Toyota, and the others for that matter ?

The Camry I bought in the summer of 2005 runs fine, just like the two previous Camrys I had. The MSM emphasizes what the government wants them to emphasize, and the government now owns a Toyota competitor or two. Anyone who want to judge for themselves can rent these cars when they travel. I always ask for a foreign car.

ML/NJ

[Spktyr]

Yes; to put this into perspective - as bad as the recent tsunami of Toyota recalls have been, that’s nothing compared to the recalls, ‘silent recalls’ and problems that GM alone has just plain ignored in cars built over the same time frame.

[Mere Survival]

Yah, I’ve got a Toyota Camry as well. It has 98,000 miles on it and has never had a mechanical or electrical problem. Not a single repair.

[paul51]

I’ve owned GM, Ford, BMW, Mercedes and Toyota products. Current is Toyota. Next one will be likewise.

[Tempest]

This must obviously be part of a government conspiracy to prop up unions and destroy capitalisim.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[Tempest]

So Toyotas engineers must be using design techniques that American engineers haven’t used for 40 years.

[Tempest]

So Toyotas engineers must be using design techniques that American engineers haven’t used for 40 years.

[calex59]

The old 409 Chevy used to float the valves when you wound it up tight.

[Richard Kimball]

I've owned one Toyota, an 82 pickup. I wasn't impressed. I'm just a Chevy pickup guy. That said, expectations about automobiles have changed, and automobiles are far more complex. Manufacturers now recall things that would never have been recalled thirty or forty years ago. In the sixties, if you got 100,000 miles out of a vehicle, you were da master mechanic man. Now, we expect 100K before we start having to service the vehicle beyond oil changes and topping up fluids.

On the complexity, I understood how every part of my 63 Chevy pickup operated, and could fix most of it myself. Today, beyond fluids, light bulbs and the serpentine belt, I would cause more damage than I'd fix.

[The Cajun]

The old 409 Chevy used to float the valves when you wound it up tight.

Had that trouble with my old 68 GTO between 130 and 135 MPH, aggravating as hell.

[bronxboy]

Had 2 Canrys. The first one the transmission went and I was told it is a one in a million defect. Bought another one and the car shorted out, wire under the seat. My next car a Malibu and not a single thing wrong with it. The Japs are where the Big 3 were in the 80’s. There cars crappy workmanship are finally being reported, and then they blame the customer. I will support the superior American products from now on.

[Flying Circus]

My Toyota Sienna has not been subject to any recalls... a very good minivan.
My Subaru Legacy has not been subject to any recalls... an excellent all weather car.
My Ford Escort has never been subject to any recalls... a reliable, if mostly uninspiring means of transportation.

In fact I’ve never owned a car subject to a recall during my ownership. Saabs on the other hand never have had a reputation for fantastic reliability— my researches on them tended to indicate they range somewhere between mediocre and abysmal for reliability.