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2013 Lexus ES earns five stars from NHTSA

The 2013 Lexus ES has earned a five-star crash rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The 2013 ES 350 and ES 300h hybrid earned the highest ratings in each of the government's crash evaluations, including overall driver safety, frontal crashes and overall side impacts, save one. The sedan only achieved a four-star rating in the NHTSA rollover protection test, but that fault wasn't enough to keep the vehicle from earning a five-star designation overall.
The announcement doesn't mention the recent Consumer Reports claim that the ES comes with a faulty emergency trunk release that can be easily broken in a panic situation.
As you may recall, the 2013 ES 350 carries an MSRP of $36,100, plus an $895 destination fee and offers buyers a 268-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 good for 248 pound-feet of torque, as well. The ES 300h, meanwhile, stickers at $38,850 plus the same destination charge.

Toyota recalls 370k Sienna minivans, 10.5k Lexus GS models over separate issues

The year of the recall continues, but this time it isn't from General Motors. Toyota is announcing two, separate recalls affecting a pair of its models.
First, Toyota is recalling 370,000 Sienna minivans from the 2004 to 2011 model years that are registered or originally sold in cold-weather states. The problem is that the spare tire carrier assembly cable can be splashed by water contaminated with road salt and cause corrosion. There is a splashguard in place to prevent this, but it sometimes gets lost in "normal usage," according to the company. If the cable does break, then "the spare tire may separate from the vehicle."
This is actually the second repair for this problem for some of these vehicles. In 2010, Toyota issued a recall on 600,000 Siennas from the 1998 to 2010 model years. At the time, it installed a new splashguard and sprayed the area with an anti-rust chemical. However, according to Toyota spokesperson John Hanson speaking to Autoblog, the campaign worked for the 1998 to 2003 models but wasn't sufficient for the newer ones. For the latest recall, the vehicles are getting the entire cable replaced with a stainless steel unit and a new splashguard.

J.D. Power study sees new car dependability problems increase for first time since 1998

For the first time since 1998, J.D. Power and Associates says its data shows that the average number of problems per 100 cars has increased. The finding is the result of the firm's much-touted annual Vehicle Dependability Study, which charts incidents of problems in new vehicle purchases over three years from 41,000 respondents.
Looking at first-owner cars from the 2011 model year, the study found an average of 133 problems per 100 cars (PP100, for short), up 6 percent from 126 PP100 in last year's study, which covered 2010 model-year vehicles. Disturbingly, the bulk of the increase is being attributed to engine and transmission problems, with a 6 PP100 boost.
Interestingly, JDP notes that "the decline in quality is particularly acute for vehicles with four-cylinder engines, where problem levels increase by nearly 10 PP100." Its findings also noticed that large diesel engines also tended to be more problematic than most five- and six-cylinder engines.