Toyota Alerts NHTSA, Dealers of Newest Lexus Recall
TORRANCE, Calif. — Toyota Motor Sales late last week notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration via a noncompliance information report about yet another voluntary safety recall that currently is without a remedy.
The latest installment is connected with potentially 17,000 Lexus HS 250h vehicles from the 2010 model year stemming from mixed rear-crash test results.
The directive means that as required by federal law, the automaker instructed its dealers not to deliver any of the vehicles in their inventory that are covered by this report until a remedy is determined.
The automaker indicated the issue stems from a compliance issue with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 301 concerning excess fuel spillage that arose from rear-crash testing. Federal officials said recent testing on the Lexus HS 250h took place where the vehicle's rear was struck with a deformable barrier at approximately 50 miles per hour.
NHTSA examiners continued the testing by rotating the vehicle in a successive increment of 90 degrees and determined the vehicle exhibited fuel spillage that exceeded the requirement in the standard.
During vehicle development, company officials emphasized Lexus tested the HS 250h using the same protocol and found the vehicles to comply fully with the FMVSS 301. They went on to stress 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," stressed Steve St. Angelo, Toyota's chief quality officer for North America.
At the present time, brand officials indicated Lexus has not identified a remedy to address this issue. They declared their team "is working hard to do so promptly and will notify owners as soon as one is developed."
The company shared that detailed information about this recall is available through Lexus Customer Satisfaction at (800) 255-3987 or at www.lexus.com/recall.