Lexus Recall Hs250h Models

[Wallace]

Just seen on the news that Lexus has recalled tis HS250H hybrid model along with the Prius from Toyota. Never new this animal existed.

http://wot.motortrend.com/6638922/recalls/...uded/index.html

[el_gencer]

yeah japan and usa only model i think. doesn't look too nice on the outside.

i don't know why the media and people are jumping up and down over this toyota recall lark. it's not like ford never built a car that didn't explode or chevy never built a car that was catastrophically dangerous and french cars in general.

[MarkLex]

yeah japan and usa only model i think. doesn't look too nice on the outside.

i don't know why the media and people are jumping up and down over this toyota recall lark. it's not like ford never built a car that didn't explode or chevy never built a car that was catastrophically dangerous and french cars in general.

:D Love that bit about 'French cars in general'! Now that makers are coming up with those 'stop start' things - where the engine cuts out when you're in a line of traffic and restarts when you start moving again - how long before we see long queues of cars with an old Peugeot or renault at the front having not re-started!

[Gunther]

All manufacturers have some sort of recall all the time. Watch/listen to that you tube video of the Lexus in the USA, where 4 people died due to a stuck accelerator. it is harrowing.

It's more than cars exploding this time or one not starting. Potential for accelerators to get stuck "open" on some and and brakes failing on others....this is serious stuff.

Honda have announced issues with their airbags too.

[Parthiban]

I think it's the size of this recall and the potential severity of the fault that's caused the media circus - and rightly so in my view, an accelerator that sticks open is something I never want to experience.

[dazed]

I notice that they have a rather unfortunately named blog on that site called 'Wide open throttle'.

http://wot.motortrend.com/index.html

Am I allowed to laugh or would that be considered poor taste?

[fjcfarrar]

I think it's the size of this recall and the potential severity of the fault that's caused the media circus - and rightly so in my view, an accelerator that sticks open is something I never want to experience.

Very true, but I think that accidents provoking recalls wil become increasingly common as drivers assume absolute perfection and allow commonsense to desert them to the extent that simple problems cause easily preventable accidents.

A sticky throttle is mainly an accident threat to those who have not noticed it getting stiffer for months - and for whom an oilcan is as likely to be one of their possessions as a brain-surgery kit - with its use an equally closed book. Similarly, carpets tangling with pedals should be obvious and initially sorted out by any driver not needing care in the community - even in the USA.

I take the view that drivers have a major responsibility to gain enough very basic knowledge to recognise if their car is fundamentally fit to drive before using it. If they find anything has changed or is abnormal; they should do SOMETHING - like take it to the dealer or temporarily sort obvious things themselves until they can - rather than wait for horrific, sad accidents to spark recalls. Because so many drivers lack this fundamental knowledge or can't be bothered, accidents occur which are really as much their fault as the manufacturer's.

At the same time, manufacturers need to take more note of customer feedback and act more quickly to address issues. The Prius brake charactersitics are not a sudden, new problem, they affect all of them right from initial production. It may or may not pose a safety threat; but drivers have repeatedly expressed that it bothers them, yet it only this far down the line that Toyota has acted to improve it.

Regrettably, the stance of all manufacturers seems to be to insist that problems just don't exist until the Media force the issue - usually because people have died. Toyota has acted to resolve the recent issues - maybe not as well as it could have bearing in mind the number of cars affected; but at least they have acted (albeit in a blaze of adverse publicity).

This has seriously dented Toyota/Lexus's reputation. It is the nature of the media to now seek out any other issues trivial or otherwise to further damage this before the story goes cold; yet they still probably retain exactly the same position in tables for both safety & reliability, but will have to try much harder to restore the perception. Because of this concentrated effort; is there going to be another brand with better reliabilty or safety?

[Gunther]

"Very true, but I think that accidents provoking recalls wil become increasingly common as drivers assume absolute perfection and allow commonsense to desert them to the extent that simple problems cause easily preventable accidents.

A sticky throttle is mainly an accident threat to those who have not noticed it getting stiffer for months - and for whom an oilcan is as likely to be one of their possessions as a brain-surgery kit - with its use an equally closed book. Similarly, carpets tangling with pedals should be obvious and initially sorted out by any driver not needing care in the community - even in the USA"

I understand what you're saying, but it's not that simple - try telling the family of those killed in the Youtube video that it was their fault that they hadn't noticed the throttle getting harder to push, and they could have avoided it! Our thoughts have to be with them.

We all know that a lot of these accidents can be avoided if your brakes fail, or the throttle gets stuck open. But in the real world, people may panic and make the wrong decision, and in a split second lives get lost.

So I'm sorry, but whilst people can do their bit, responsibility for a fundamental design issue has to rest with the manufacturer and there is seldom an excuse for it.

I suppose the other thing is that US car industry is struggling, and Toyota (and Honda) is seen as the no1 threat in the USA for their sales slipping. Even though Toyota have factories there, some US people will be seeing this whole thing as a blessing in disguise as people might start buying Buicks again!!

[el_gencer]

At least Toyota have held their hands up and the head honcho has publicly apologised for recall. How many other companies would have their top man do that ? It's a two way argument tbh, people really need to maintain their cars. I mean how many times do you see a car with no tyre tread or running flat, head light on one side out etc etc ? As for the manufacturers a bit more r&d before these essential parts are put into a live environment.

I just don't like the way the media is handling the story, its too much of "famed for their reliability and look at them now" style reporting with some scaremongering thrown in for good measure.

@MarkLex. i aint convinced by those start stop features. used to be a time when we were told it was bad for the engine. and after the fiascos my friends have had with french cars thats one feature on them i wouldn't want.

[dave1]

I understand what you're saying, but it's not that simple - try telling the family of those killed in the Youtube video that it was their fault that they hadn't noticed the throttle getting harder to push, and they could have avoided it! Our thoughts have to be with them.

Does that particular case not ring any alarm bells with you? As far as I can make out the guy driving was an off duty police driver who you would expect not to panic. It's all on cam as he shouts to pray. Appears to be no attempt to shift it out of gear and brake. Why has this been raked up again after 6 months ......maybe to further damage Toyota/Lexus.

[dave1]

I just don't like the way the media is handling the story, its too much of "famed for their reliability and look at them now" style reporting with some scaremongering thrown in for good measure.

Well said! The Honda recall (ref. potential for Jazz model? to catch fire) doesn't appear to be getting any real media attention.