Toyota has an excellent reputation for reliability, but not always, and three Lexus products under recall are evidence that even the Japanese automaker’s luxury products can sometimes fail. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 14 products across three models and eight model years have issues with their fuel delivery systems, with low-pressure in-tank fuel pumps that may fail. Altogether, Toyota says 9,139 vehicles are potentially saddled with the issue, and because it’s a hardware problem, customers will need to visit their local dealers to have it rectified. Let’s take a closer look at which cars are under recall.
Three Lexus Vehicles Recalled
Lexus
According to the NHTSA recall report, 856 examples of the 2022 Lexus IS, produced between May 17, 2021, and February 15, 2022, have the fuel pump issue. The 2015-2022 Lexus RC coupe is also named in the recall, naming 5,879 examples produced between June 10, 2014, and February 11, 2022. Finally, the Lexus GS is also impacted, with 2016-2020 model years made between July 14, 2015, and July 29, 2020, named. 2,404 examples of the midsize luxury sedan are impacted. So what’s the exact problem? Toyota says the recalled vehicles’ fuel pumps have impellers made of a certain resin that may swell, thus interfering with surrounding components and eventually causing the pump to stop delivering fuel, particularly if the fuel reaches high temperatures.
If this happens, the car may fail to start or suddenly lose fuel pressure while driving, causing the engine to stall and thereby increasing the risk of a crash. The problem is expected to cause a check engine light, so even if owners don’t notice stuttering from the engine, the cluster will tell them that there’s a problem. If your vehicle is one of those named in the recall, it’s best not to wait for this CEL to appear, as an engine starved of fuel can develop other problems. This issue may sound familiar, as a recall in 2020 for failing fuel pumps impacted over 6 million vehicles globally.
Lexus Customers Must Wait Several Weeks for a Fix
Lexus
Unfortunately, while the recall will be taken care of with a no-cost fuel pump assembly replacement, and while dealers have already been notified of the recall in preparation for a fix, Toyota only expects to be ready to inform owners of the problem next month or even in June; the planned remedy owner notification date is May 25-June 8, 2026. Of course, if your car is already showing symptoms and you decide to get it repaired before you receive a recall notice, Toyota will reimburse you for the associated costs. However, the recall documents do not indicate that applicable VINs are yet searchable, so it’s tough to be proactive in this case.
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