Lexus Australia has announced a nationwide product safety recall for more than 14,000 vehicles, all of which are at risk of catching fire.
A total of 14,270 vehicles are involved in the recall, including multiple variants within the Japanese luxury car-maker’s IS sedan, GS sedan and RC coupe model lines.
Affected vehicles were all built between 2012-2018 and include the IS 200t (ASE30R), IS 250 (GSE30R), IS 300h (AVE30R), IS 350 (GSE31R), GS 200t (ARL10R), GS 250 (GRL11R), GS 300h (AWL10R), GS 350 (GRL10R and GRL12R), GS 450h (GWL10R), GS F (URL10R), RC 200t (ASC10R), RC 350 (GSC10R) and RC F (USC10R).
Lexus says the design of the fuel tank vent tube assembly could cause a stress-related crack to form, which could then expand and allow fuel to leak from the crack.
“A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source may result in a vehicle fire,” says Lexus in its safety notice, adding that affected owners will be contacted to have the fault rectified at their local Lexus dealer free of charge – but only when replacement parts become available.
In other recall news this week, Mercedes-Benz has recalled 13 examples of its current V-Class people-mover due to a manufacturing defect that could also result in a vehicle fire.
Affected vehicles include V-Classes built between 2020-2022 (V250M), in which the interior wiring harness may become chafed due to being incorrectly routed through the centre console.
This may cause a short circuit that could result in a vehicle fire, says the German manufacturer, which will contact affected owners to organise free repairs.