Thursday, May 20, 2010

Toyota will recall Lexus LS flagship on Friday

Ouch. This one is going to hurt: Toyota will recall its Lexus LS flagship, the super-premium car that is the only in its lineup to list for more than $100,000, over steering problems on Friday, the company just said.

Normally, the embarrassment might be considered just another recall. But atop all the other recalls that Toyota has had this year, including another congressional hearing tomorrow and a mood of general discouragement, this one could be painful.

In the U.S., it's only 3,800 cars. Worldwide, it's 11,500. Small numbers, but this is the ultimate Lexus, the one car that Toyota tries to make perfect. Toyota has tried its best to insulate its Lexus line from the raft of recalls involving its Toyotas:

The incident that sparked the nightmare, the crash near San Diego last year that killed a California Highway Patrolman and his family, was in a Lexus ES. Just last month, Lexus recalled and briefly stopped selling the GX 460 sport-utility vehicle after Consumer Reports said it posed a rollover risk. But Lexus sales never dipped like those of Toyota as a whole.

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