2013 Lexus Gs Base 4dr Sedan on 2040-cars

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Toyota and Lexus recalling 235,000 hybrid CUVs and sedans over separate issues

When it rains, it pours. Toyota has announced a pair of separate but voluntary North America recalls covering approximately 235,000 vehicles built between 2006 and 2011. The larger of the two recalls targets Toyota's hybridized crossovers, the Lexus RX400h and Toyota Highlander Hybrid. 133,000 units, including 2006-2010 Highlander and 2006-2008 RX crossovers are covered in the campaign. The other recall affects 102,000 IS350 sedans, IS350C convertibles and GS350 sedans built between 2006 and 2011.
With the CUVs, the faults in the parallel circuits of the transistors can cause heat damage in the inverter assembly, triggering an abundance of warning lamps and sending the vehicle into limp mode. The Lexus sedans are being recalled due to loose bolts on the variable valve timing controller. Detected by unusual underhood sounds on startup, the issue can cause the engine to stop while driving. The inverter issue is also triggering similar recalls in Japan and Europe.
At the moment, it's unclear if any of these issues have caused any crashes or injuries. Toyota says it plans to notify owners of the recall via snail mail. Additional information for owners can be found on the recall sites for Toyota and Lexus or by calling Toyota's customer service line, at 1-800-331-4331. Scroll down for the complete recall notice from Toyota.

Toyota, Lexus to build more CUVs to meet surging demand

What was the biggest takeaway from the auto industry's 2014? Besides the fact that recalls are now a sad and mostly unremarkable part of a vehicle's life, it's that you can't be a competitive, mainstream brand in the US without a really strong line of crossovers, SUVs or pickups. We saw evidence of this as recently as Monday, when Hyundai unveiled its HCD-15 Santa Cruz Concept, and now we're seeing it again with Toyota. The company already has a comprehensive lineup of both mainstream and luxury CUVs and SUVs, although surging demand – sales were up 16 percent last year, Bloomberg reports – has led the company to increase its production tempo at the plants responsible for the RAV4 and Lexus RX. "The freeze is still in place until the end of March of 2016," Toyota's Jim Lentz told Bloomberg during this week's Detroit Auto Show, referencing the production bump at the Japanese and Canadian factories responsible for the models. "That hasn't changed. All indications are that it will lift, but right now it has not lifted." The increased sales are even spurring the brand to consider additional CUVs, including a compact that would slot in below the RAV4, Lentz told the business publication. Such a move would give Toyota a player in an increasingly competitive and important segment. In 2014 alone, mainstream brands, including Honda, Mazda, Chevrolet and Jeep, have announced brand new products destined for the compact CUV market. "We're going to have to look at how the market under RAV4 develops," Lentz told Bloomberg. "There's no question that it's going to. That's going to be the next growth spurt." Related Video:

Toyota applies to trademark Lexus LFR name in Europe

Less than a week ago, Toyota appealed to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to reserve the names Lexus LFR and LFR for "Automobiles and structural parts thereof," CarBuzz discovered. Starting with the usual disclaimer, we can't know what this will be applied to, nor if it will be applied to anything; automakers constantly reserve names that never find their way to production vehicles. Now for the fun part: The short money says this is for the production version of the Lexus Electrified Sport Concept shown in December of last year, successor to the LFA. Pulling back the nomenclature curtain, Lexus began its Lexus Future (LF) series with the LF-S sedan in 2003. The A in the LF-A concept that followed two years later was said to stand for Apex. Our guess is that what's coming is the Lexus Future Revolution. This is, after all, the car that will "destroy the spindle grille."  On top of potentially evolving from the concept name to LFR, if that's what it's called, the vehicle itself still appears to be in flux. The Electrified Sport was touted with an electric powertrain run off solid-state batteries, as targeting a 435-mile range or more, and having 1,000-horsepower guts enabling a 60-mph sprint in just over two seconds. In March, reports out of Japan said a version powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 hybrid would launch first, the EV not arriving until the end of this decade — a timeline that makes sense considering solid-state batteries aren't due in a Toyota until 2025, and only then in a hybrid. There's no reason to believe Lexus would want to run high-tech, high-voltage, high-risk experiments in its halo car. In July, another Japanese outlet refined the ICE rumor with gossip that what was then referred to as the LFA II would fit the 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8 from the Lexus LC 500 endurance racer and make around 700 horsepower. Supposedly, it would also become the "substitute for the GR010 Road Going version." The Gazoo Racing GR010 is Toyota's entry in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, powered by a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6. We're still not sure how these two vehicles could line up since the GR010 needs to be sold in at least 20 road-going versions within two years to satisfy class rules, each of which would need to use its V6 powertrain, not the 5.0-liter.  And in August, Lexus boss Koji Sato told Top Gear he's toying with a simulated manual transmission.