Toyota received complaints about Lexus engine defect in 2007

Toyota Motor Corp. received complaints more than three years ago about engine problems that sparked recalls this week of more than 270,000 Lexus and Toyota vehicles in Asia and North America.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today released Toyota's "Defect Information Report" on the vehicles affected by the recall.

In the report, Toyota said it monitored U.S. field technical reports from March 2007 to August 2008.

"The number of reports of broken valve springs was relatively small, and the vast majority reported abnormal engine noise, rough engine performance, and no start conditions readily noticeable to vehicle operators," Toyota said in the four-page report.

Toyota said it received no reports of any crashes or injuries. But beginning in October 2009, the automaker received an increasing number of reports of "total engine failure" and of broken 3.3 mm diameter valve springs, according to the report.

On July 1, Toyota said it decided to recall the Lexus vehicles following an investigation that found "a possibility that the strength of valve springs with a wire diameter of 3.3 mm may be degraded by a micro-foreign object in the material of the valve spring, causing the spring to break."

NHTSA had no comment.

About 138,000 vehicles in the United States may be affected, according to the Toyota City, Japan-based company.

In Japan, the carmaker received the first customer complaints in March 2007 in Japan regarding defective valve springs that may cause engines to stall, Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said today. The recall in Japan covers cars built between July 2005 and August 2008.

The problem occurs when foreign substances enter the material used to make the part, causing the spring to weaken and break, Tokyo-based spokeswoman Monika Saito said. While Toyota decided to address the problem in August 2008 by altering the design of the valve spring and making it thicker, the company didn't feel that a recall was necessary given the rarity of the problem at the time, she said.

Toyota is working to restore its reputation for quality after recalling about 10.8 million vehicles globally since November. The company recalled about 13,000 Lexus GX 460 sport-utility vehicles in April after Consumer Reports labeled the model a “safety risk” because it could roll over. The designation was removed in May.

The company will recall 91,903 Lexus GS 350, GS 450h, GS 460, IS 350, LS 460, LS 600h and LS 600hL models and some Toyota Crown cars in Japan, the nation's transportation ministry said in a statement on its website yesterday. Recalls have been announced in China and South Korea, and the problem may affect as many as 270,000 vehicles worldwide, Toyota has said.

Toyota received 220 complaints in Japan and 210 from overseas, Saito said. The company decided to initiate a recall after acknowledging a rising trend in the complaints, she said.

U.S. regulators

Toyota, which paid a record U.S. fine of $16.4 million this year for not complying with auto-safety regulations, said last month it will recall the Lexus HS 250h sedan after too much gasoline spilled in U.S. government crash tests, posing a fire risk.

Lexus surges in March, passes Mercedes in '10 U.S. luxury race

Lexus -- the leading luxury-auto brand in the United States for the past decade -- used a 42 percent gain in March to inch ahead of rival Mercedes-Benz after the first quarter.

Lexus sold 20,219 vehicles last month and 49,523 for the year's first three months. Mercedes reported sales of 20,023 cars and SUVs for March, a 28 percent increase from a year earlier, and 49,229 for the quarter. The Mercedes tallies exclude Sprinter vans formerly sold by Dodge -- 1,337 of them in the first quarter.

Mercedes, helped by its revamped E-class sedan, had moved ahead of Lexus and BMW through 2010's first two months. The BMW brand posted a 3 percent increase in March to 18,060 and finished the quarter at 46,323.

Industrywide sales rose 24 percent in March, to push the market 16 percent ahead of a depressed 2009 after the first three months.

“The luxury market is doing pretty well,” said Jessica Caldwell, a senior analyst at Edmunds.com, a provider of industry data. “We assumed when times were tough that luxury sales would fall. It has held its share of the market.”

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus benefited from a tripling of sales of its redesigned GX mid-size SUV, as well as increases of 31 percent for the RX SUV and 29 percent for the IS car.

At Mercedes, sales of the E class more than doubled while the C class, its highest-volume model, rose 20 percent.

Not holding back

Mercedes expects more increases from the E class as it adds a convertible version in May and a diesel E-350 in October, said Ernst Lieb, CEO of the brand's U.S. unit.

“We're not holding back,” he said. “We have newer products than some of our competitors. We're going after whatever we can get.”

BMW intends to pass Lexus for the No. 1 rank in the United States by 2012 on the strength of new models, Jim O'Donnell, president of the North American unit, said Wednesday.

In March, BMW spent an average of $4,797 a vehicle on incentives, compared with $3,527 for Mercedes and $1,778 for Lexus, according to Edmunds.com.

“BMW has a lot of good lease deals,” Caldwell said. “They're trying to hold onto the market.” The brand's U.S. share has fallen a tenth of a point to 1.8 percent this year. Sales have risen 8 percent.

Rest of the pack

Among the March results for other luxury brands:

• General Motor Co.'s Cadillac reported a 42 percent increase to 11,639 as sales of the redesigned SRX crossover SUV surged more than sixfold. Cadillac spent a per-vehicle average of $4,307 on incentives, third among luxury brands behind BMW and Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln, according to Edmunds.com.

• Honda Motor Co.'s Acura brand gained 30 percent to 11,722 cars and SUVs.

• Lincoln sales rose 19 percent to 8,693.

• Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti sold 9,942 vehicles, a 37 percent increase from a year earlier and the brand's best month since August 2008.

• Volkswagen AG's Audi sold 8,589 vehicles, up 34 percent.

• Tata Motors Ltd.'s Land Rover increased 21 percent to 2,726 vehicles, while Jaguar dropped 16 percent to 983.

2002 lexus es 300 with a3.0 liter engine that has a trouble code p0031

2002 Lexus ES300

Question: I have 2002 Lexus es 300 with a3.0 liter engine that has a trouble code poo31 I would like to know which sensor this is ? I failed emission test want to know which 02 sensor needs to be changed Answer: this is a fuel metering problem....if the car is not idling right ..you may need to remove the IAC valve[idle air control] and clean the carbon out of the valve and the throttle body..then reinstall...usually this will fix this code......also check for a vacuum leak