The Lexus recall was announced on July 5, and includes a number of 2006-2008 GS, IS, and LS Lexus vehicles sold in the United States. Some of the vehicles have been found to have a faulty engine valve spring that can fail after a few years of operation. This may cause the engine to die while the vehicle is in use, potentially leading to an automobile accident.

Globally, 270,000 Toyota and Lexus cars will be affected by the recall, including 90,000 Lexus and Toyota Crown sedans in the company’s native Japan. There have been no injuries or accidents reported in connection to the defective engine valve springs.

The recalled Lexus vehicles include the following models: the 2007 and 2008 GS 350, 2007 and 2008 GS 450h, 2008 GS 460, 2006-2008 IS 350, 2007 and 2008 LS 460 and LS 460 L, and the 2008 LS 600h L. All of the affected vehicles in the U.S. are run by 4.6 or 5.0 liter V8 or 3.5 liter V6 engines.

Registered owners affected by the Lexus recall will be contacted by mail, officials for the auto maker said. Vehicles with defective engine valve springs may have abnormal engine noise or idling, and there is a small chance the engine will fail while in operation. The company says that owners can continue to drive their vehicles while waiting for the problem to be fixed, but should bring the vehicle to a dealer if they begin to experience uncharacteristic engine noise. Any Lexus owners with questions can go to www.lexus.com/recall.

Toyota told the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it has received reports about the problem from Japan since at least 2007.

The admission comes at a time when the auto maker is already under fire for what some NHTSA officials claim is foot dragging on other recalls. Last month, the agency announced that it was launching a criminal probe over the company’s recall of Toyota trucks and SUVs in 2005 due to steering problems. Documents have come to light that indicate that the company was aware of the problem for 11 years before taking action.

The probe and latest admission comes as Toyota is still reeling from the recall of millions of vehicles due to problems with sudden acceleration, which also involved allegations that the auto maker delayed acting on safety concerns. As a result of the recent recalls, Toyota faces a criminal probe, has received hefty government fines and dozens of new Toyota lawsuits over injuries and deaths have been filed.

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The Lexus recall was announced last week shortly after Consumer Reports gave the vehicle a “Don’t Buy” recommendation for safety reasons. Test drivers at Consumer Reports say that under certain conditions, the rear of the vehicle may slide going around turns, increasing the chances of a Lexus rollover accident.

The Lexus GX 460 recall affects the 2010 model year, including 9.400 vehicles in the United States and about 3,600 more vehicles worldwide.

Problems with the Lexus GX 460 are known as trailing throttle or lift-throttle oversteer. According to test drivers at Consumer Reports, if the driver takes his foot off the gas while the vehicle is driving through a sharp turn, the rear end of the vehicle may begin to slide. On most vehicles, the electronic stability control system would detect the slide and stop it from happening, but it does not seem to be responsive enough to the problem on the Lexus SUV.

Test drivers said that it is a common maneuver for drivers, which may occur when they take an off-ramp too fast, or realize they are in a sharper turn than they expected. Testers at Consumer Reports said they wouldn’t allow their families to ride or drive in the vehicles in their current condition. Consumer Reports said that the problem could cause a driver to lose control and pose a risk of serious personal injury or death.

The last time Consumer Reports issued a “Don’t Buy” warning was 2001, for the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Limited.

The low rating came at a sensitive time for Toyota, which is still reeling from accusations that they covered up problems with sudden acceleration in many different Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Toyota has recalled about 8 million vehicles due to the gas pedal problems and has paid a fine of $16.4 million to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Toyota quickly halted sales of the Lexus GC 460 following the negative recommendation by Consumer Reports. Now officials in Toyota’s Lexus division said that they have developed a fix that requires an update of the SUV’s Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system. All Lexus dealers will have the updated software by the end of April, according to the press release on the Lexus recall (pdf).

Toyota officials urged owners of the vehicles to return them to their dealers to get the update, which should not take much longer than an hour, depending on the dealer’s schedule. Owners of affected vehicles will begin receiving letters in early May alerting them to the problem and the fix.

Any Lexus GX 460 owners with questions can go to www.lexus.com/recall.

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The Lexus GX 460 problems are known as trailing throttle or lift-throttle oversteer. According to test drivers at Consumer Reports, if the driver takes his foot off the gas while the vehicle is driving through a sharp turn, the rear end of the vehicle may begin to slide. On most vehicles, the electronic stability control system would detect the slide and stop it from happening, but it does not seem to be responsive enough to the problem on the Lexus SUV.

Test drivers said that it is a common maneuver for drivers, like when they take an off-ramp too fast, or realize they are in a sharper turn than they expected. Testers at Consumer Reports said they wouldn’t allow their families to ride or drive in the vehicles in their current condition. Consumer Reports said that the problem could lead to Lexus rollover accidents and serious personal injury or death.

The last time Consumer Reports issued a “Don’t Buy” warning was 2001, for the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Limited.

Toyota, which has sold 4,787 GX 460s in the first quarter of this year, quickly halted sales of the SUV after the Consumer Reports warning, and before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) could become involved. The company claims that there have been no reports of Lexus GX 460 accidents related to the problem, and said they are determined to identify and correct the problem.

The NHTSA has said that it is in communication with both Toyota’s Lexus division and Consumer Reports about the problem. Toyota has said it has no plans to issue a Lexus GX640 recall for the vehicles sold, but will offer loaner vehicles to owners until they can fix the problem.

The problems with the Lexus GX640 are the latest in a serious of safety issues for Toyota, which has recalled millions of Lexus and Toyota vehicles in recent months over issues that may cause some cars to suddenly accelerate out of control.

Earlier this month, the government announced that it planned to fine the automaker more than $16 million for covering up the accelerator defects, which may have killed as many as 50 people. The company also faces a number of product liability lawsuits over the gas pedal problems, including several wrongful death claims and a number of Toyota class-action suits.

According to an order issued April 9, 2010, there are currently 11 Toyota sudden acceleration cases pending that involve sufficiently common questions of fact to support centralization in a multidistrict litigation, or MDL, for pretrial proceedings. In addition, the court knows of about 40 similar lawsuits which may be included in the MDL at a later date.

The consolidation of the Toyota recall litigation comes as federal regulators look for ways to penalize Toyota over what they say was an intentional cover up of problems with sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles that put lives at risk. Last week, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that it was fining Toyota $16.4 million. However, U.S. officials also sent a letter to Toyota saying that if it were not for statutory limits, they would have fined the company more than $13 billion, and are considering other fines against the company.

While the $16.4 million is minor for a company the size of Toyota, experts say the real damage could be the inclusion of the federal government’s fines, condemnation, and documentation indicating a cover up in the Toyota recall lawsuits. The DOT says it has internal memos indicating that Toyota sat on the gas pedal problem for four months before issuing a recall, which could make the company vulnerable to punitive damages.

Toyota has recalled nearly 9 million vehicles since September 2009, with 8.5 million recalled due to complaints that they can accelerate out of control. The acceleration recalls were done in waves, starting with 4.2 million recalled for problems involving the floormats, and then later recalls indicated that there was a mechanical or electrical problem with the gas pedals.

The gas pedal problems have resulted in a number of Toyota consumer class action lawsuits, Toyota injury lawsuits and Toyota wrongful death lawsuits filed by family members of people allegedly killed when their vehicles accelerated out of control.

The federal Toyota litigation will be centralized before U.S. District Judge James V. Selna for coordinated handling. The panel indicated that the district, where Toyota’s USA division is headquartered, was best suited to handle the potential flood of Toyota gas pedal lawsuits.

The panel stated that Selna has the proper experience with complex litigation to handle the case, and pointed out that many of the witnesses are relevant documents are likely located in this district. The panel also said that consolidation under Selna will avoid duplicate discovery, inconsistent rulings from different judges and to serve the convenience of the court, the parties and witnesses.

“Though these cases have attracted an unusual amount of publicity to the Panel’s work, in all relevant aspects, the issues here are neither dramatically different nor more complex than those we regularly resolve,” the panel stated in its transfer order.

As Toyota sudden acceleration lawyers file additional cases in the future over problems with Toyota vehicle gas pedals, the lawsuits will be transferred into the MDL. If the cases do not settle or otherwise resolve during pretrial litigation, they will be returned to the district where they were filed for individual trials.

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The condemnation by the U.S. Department of Transportation comes with a record civil penalty of $16.4 million against the Japanese automaker, which has issued a series of recalls over accelerator problems since September 2009. Transportation Secretary Ra LaHood said that Toyota hid the problem from U.S. regulators for four months.

“We now have proof that Toyota failed to live up to its legal obligations,” said Secretary LaHood in a press release. “Worse yet, they knowingly hid a dangerous defect for months from U.S. officials and did not take action to protect millions of drivers and their families. For those reasons, we are seeking the maximum penalty possible under current laws.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicates that it has obtained documents from Toyota suggesting that the company knew that there was a problem with Toyota gas pedals in some vehicles by September 29, 2009. The company allegedly sent instructions on repair procedures for the defective accelerator pedals to distributors in Canada and 31 European countries. According to the NHTSA, the document showed that Toyota was aware of the problem in U.S. vehicles as well.

However, the company did not issue a recall for defective gas pedals in the U.S., and did not notify the NHTSA as required by law. Instead the company issued a Toyota and Lexus recall for more than 4 million vehicles for having thick floor mats that could potentially jam under the pedals. They did not issue a recall for the actual problem with the pedals themselves until January 2010.

Over all, about 9 million Toyotas and Lexus vehicles were recalled between September 2009 and February 2010.

Federal investigators say that the $16.4 million penalty is the largest it can legally assess against Toyota for the gas pedal problem. However, the Transportation Department has not ruled out additional fines.

The Toyota gas pedal problems have been associated with dozens of accidents and a number of serious and fatal personal injury claims. The incidents have touched off a wave of Toyota product liability lawsuits, including several wrongful death claims, and a number of Toyota class-action suits.

Last month, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation heard arguments on whether to consolidate all federal lawsuits against Toyota into a multidistrict litigation (MDL), where the cases will be centralized in one federal court for pretrial litigation.

In February, Toyota became the target of probes by both federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Both federal investigators and the SEC are looking into how the company reacted to complaints about Toyota accelerator problems.

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The Japanese automaker currently faces at least 89 Toyota class action lawsuits sparked by recalls involving problems with Toyota gas pedals and brakes. An analysis done by the Associated Press estimates that the company’s legal bills on those cases alone could top $3 billion, and that does not include the costs of a number of individual Toyota accident personal injury lawsuits, product liability lawsuits and wrongful death lawsuits that have also been filed against the company.

Toyota has recalled about 9 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles since September 2009. About 8.5 million of those vehicles were recalled due to problems with sudden acceleration, which the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) says have been involved in as many as 52 deaths. More than 400,000 additional Toyota Prius and Lexus HS250h vehicles have also been recalled due to brake problems.

The Toyota class action suits, which could represent as many as six million different Toyota owners, allege that the company misrepresented the value of its vehicles by concealing the accelerator problem from consumers and investors. The lawsuits say that, as a result, the resale value of their Toyota and Lexus vehicles has plummeted. Toyota resale values are often used as a selling point of the company’s vehicles. If the company has to pay Toyota owners even as little as $500, the cost could quickly balloon in to the billions.

Later this month, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will decide whether to consolidate all federal lawsuits against Toyota into a multidistrict litigation (MDL), where the cases will be centralized in one federal court for pretrial litigation.

Last month Toyota became the target of probes by both federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Both federal investigators and the SEC are looking into how the company reacted to complaints about Toyota accelerator problems, and are questioning whether the company attempted to cover up or downplay the seriousness and number of incidents being reported.

The company’s woes over the gas pedal problems may not end there. Many critics have said that the Toyota acceleration problem is due to an electronics flaw, which the company has denied. It has developed fixes for the problems that included replacing floor mats and installing devices to prevent the pedal from getting physically stuck due to friction. However, the NHTSA says it has received at least 60 reports from Toyota owners who received the fixes, but are still suffering from sudden acceleration problems.

According to the National Highway Transportation Authority (NHTSA), investigators are contacting Toyota drivers who are complaining that the fix, meant to solve problems with sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles, is not working. Toyota Motors Corp. officials said last week they had been made aware of the reports by U.S. authorities.

Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles since September 2009 due to problems with unexpected, sudden acceleration. The NHTSA says at least 52 people have been killed in crashes caused by Toyota gas pedal problems.

During the first wave of Toyota recalls in September, Toyota officials blamed the problem on thick floor mats that could jam under the pedal. However, the Japanese automaker later recalled millions more vehicles when it was discovered that, in some cases, the gas pedal itself was getting stuck without the floor mats. Consumers and some critics say they believe the problem is actually an electronics issue, but Toyota has dismissed such claims, saying that its own investigations have shown no sign that the acceleration problems are electronic in nature.

More than 60 people who received a gas pedal fix for their Toyota vehicle say that they are still experiencing unintended acceleration. However, most of the reports are unverified.

“If it appears that a remedy provided by Toyota is not addressing the problem it was intended to fix, NHTSA has the authority to order Toyota to provide a different solution,” the NHTSA said in a statement to news agencies.

The Toyota gas pedal problems have been associated with dozens of accidents and a number of serious and fatal personal injury claims. The incidents have touched off a wave of Toyota product liability lawsuits, including several wrongful death claims, and a number of Toyota class-action suits.

Later this month, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will decide whether to consolidate all federal lawsuits against Toyota into a multidistrict litigation (MDL), where the cases will be centralized in one federal court for pretrial litigation.

Last month Toyota became the target of probes by both federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Both federal investigators and the SEC are looking into how the company reacted to complaints about Toyota accelerator problems, and are questioning whether the company attempted to cover up or downplay the seriousness and number of incidents being reported.

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The Nissan recall, issued last week, affects certain 2005-2010 Infiniti Qx56, Xterra, Pathfinder and Armada SUVs, Titan and Frontier pickup trucks and Quest minivans. The company reports that in some of the models, a manufacturing error can cause the brake pedal pin to disengage from the pedal. The company has received at least three reports of the pins becoming partially disengaged, resulting in a loss of braking ability. However, there have been no injuries reported in connection with the defective brakes.

Some of the vehicles are also being recalled because Nissan found that the fuel gauges were giving incorrect readings on vehicles with high mileage. The problem could lead to drivers being unaware that they are low on fuel, causing them to unexpectedly run out of gas.

The Nissan fuel gauge and brake recall affects 539,864 vehicles worldwide, with 418,865 of those vehicles in the U.S. The brake problems affect 2008-2010 Infiniti QX56 and Armada SUVs, the Titan pickup truck and the Quest minivan. All of the same vehicles except the Quest are affected by the fuel gauge problem. A recall is also being issued for 2005-2008 Pathfinder and Xterra SUVs, as well as the Frontier pickup, due to the fuel gauge problem.

The recall hits Nissan, the third largest Japanese auto maker, as Toyota, Japan’s largest car manufacturer, is still reeling from recalling about 9 million of its vehicles due to gas pedal and brake problems. The Toyota recalls included pulling 437,000 Toyota Prius and Lexus HS250h’s from the streets due to brake problems caused by the hybrid vehicles’ software.

Nissan has sent recall notices to registered vehicle owners. The company warns that the brake problem could result in a crash and injury. The company suggests that vehicles with the fuel gauge problem face no real danger, and recommended that drivers of those vehicles keep the gas tank at least half full at all times until they can take the cars in to be fixed.

The company estimates that dealers will be ready to start taking vehicles in to inspect and repair them by March 22.

The case was filed over an August 2009 accident that killed off-duty California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, his wife Cleofe, their 13 year-old daughter Mahala and Cleofe’s brother, Chris Lastrella.

At the time of the crash, Saylor was driving a loaner vehicle from a dealership while his car was being repaired. The Lexus accelerated out of control, reaching speeds as high as 120 m.p.h. before slamming into another vehicle and careening off an embankment.

While the car was accelerating out-of-control, Lastrella called 9-1-1- from inside the vehicle to get help. In addition, witnesses reported that the car’s wheels burst into flames as Mark Saylor stood on the brakes in an attempt to stop the vehicle.

Following the crash, investigators determined that the floor mats were the incorrect size for the car and got jammed under the accelerator. They also found that the brakes were ineffective in slowing the car.

The Lexus wrongful death lawsuit was filed in San Diego Superior Court on Tuesday by Saylor’s family. It names Toyota Motor Corp. and other Toyota entities in the U.S., as well as El Cajon Luxury Cars, Inc. as defendants.

Approximately one month after the accident, on September 29, Toyota announced a floor mat recall impacting 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles that contained a certain type of floor mat on the driver’s side that could cause the accelerator to stick.

The Japanese automaker later recalled millions more vehicles when it was discovered that, in some cases, the gas pedal itself was getting stuck without the floor mats. The Toyota gas pedal problems have been associated with dozens of accidents and a number of serious and fatal personal injury claims. The incidents have touched off a wave of Toyota product liability lawsuits, several other wrongful death claims, and a number of Toyota class-action lawsuits.

Later this month, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will decide whether to consolidate all federal lawsuits against Toyota into a MDL under one federal court for pretrial litigation. Unless the Saylor lawsuit is transferred to federal court, it would likely remain a separate California state lawsuit.

Chris Lastrella’s mother, Fe Lastrella, testified before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last week during a hearing over the Toyota recalls. The company’s actions have been highly criticized, as documents and other evidence suggest that the company knew of the sudden acceleration problem long before the deaths and the recall.

During the hearing, Akio Toyoda, the company’s president and grandson of the company’s founder, personally apologized to Saylor’s family.

Last month Toyota became the target of probes by both federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Both federal investigators and the SEC are looking into how the company reacted to complaints about Toyota accelerator problems, and are questioning whether the company attempted to cover up or downplay the seriousness and number of incidents being reported.

The hearing is scheduled for March 25 in San Diego, and will give plaintiffs and defendants in the claims a chance to submit oral arguments for or against the centralization. If an MDL is formed, the cases will all be assigned to one judge for pretrial litigation to avoid duplicate discovery, inconsistent rulings from different judges and to serve the convenience of the court, the parties and witnesses.

A growing number of product liability lawsuits against Toyota have been filed in recent months after the Japanese automaker recalled millions of vehicles due to problems with uncontrolled acceleration. The Toyota gas pedal problems have been associated with dozens of accidents and a number of serious and fatal personal injury claims.

The request that the Toyota litigation be centralized came from plaintiffs Heather A. Lane and Daniel Weimer, Jr. However the plaintiffs disagree on where the cases should be handled. Lane wants the cases consolidated in the Central District of California, which currently has the most cases under consideration by the panel. Weimer is seeking to have the cases consolidated in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Toyota has recalled nearly 9 million vehicles since September 2009, with 8.5 million recalled due to complaints that they can accelerate out of control. The acceleration recalls were done in waves, starting with 4.2 million recalled for problems involving the floormats, and then later recalls indicated that there was a mechanical or electrical problem with the gas pedals.

The Toyota gas pedal recall has resulted in a number of individual personal injury and negligence lawsuits, class action lawsuits, and several wrongful death lawsuits filed by family members of people allegedly killed when their Toyota or Lexus vehicles accelerated out of control.

The judicial panel is currently considering a request to consolidate 11 lawsuits from federal courts in California, Florida, Louisiana, and West Virginia. However, the ruling would also impact all future lawsuits filed over the Toyota gas pedal problems.

Last month Toyota became the target of probes by both federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Both federal investigators and the SEC are looking into how the company reacted to complaints about Toyota accelerator problems, and are questioning whether the company attempted to cover up or downplay the seriousness and number of incidents being reported.

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