Toyota->ke88 is at it again. Like the Ford Pinto in the 1970’s, which would leak fuel during a rear end collision, the Lexus HS250h->ke3317 is having the same problem. Lexus fileded a report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the recall. Around 17,000 Lexus’s will need to be taken back to the dealer for servicing.

The HS250h could leak fuel in the event of a rear end collision at speeds of 50 miles per hour or greater. Leaking fuel could cause a fire that may threaten the lives of the passengers. Needless to say, Lexus needs to get this issue resolved as soon as possible.

"Even though our own testing of the Lexus HS 250h shows full compliance with federal fuel system integrity standards, we are working intensely to duplicate the noncompliance issue that the NHTSA identified and to determine the reason behind the different test results," said Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America.

Lexus->ke47 has not advised the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about what steps should be taken. Call Lexus Customer Care at 1-800-25 LEXUS or 1-800-255-3987 or the NHTSA for further questions.

Hit the jump for the press release.

Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today filed a Noncompliance Information Report (NCIR) with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), informing the agency of the company's intent to conduct a voluntary safety recall of potentially 17,000 2010 model year Lexus HS 250h vehicles to address a compliance issue with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 301.

As part of its annual compliance testing program, the NHTSA recently conducted a test of the 2010 model year HS 250h. The test involved striking the vehicle with a deformable barrier from the rear at approximately 50 mph. The vehicle is struck by a moving deformable barrier with a 70 percent overlap. As part of the test, the vehicle was then rotated on its longitudinal axis incrementally to each successive increment of 90 degrees. During the rotation, the vehicle exhibited fuel spillage that exceeded the requirement in the standard.

During vehicle development, Lexus tested the HS 250h using the same protocol and found the vehicles to comply fully with the FMVSS 301. Lexus is currently working to identify the reason for the different test results and the cause of this noncompliance.

"Even though our own testing of the Lexus HS 250h shows full compliance with federal fuel system integrity standards, we are working intensely to duplicate the noncompliance issue that the NHTSA identified and to determine the reason behind the different test results," said Steve St. Angelo, Toyota chief quality officer for North America.

At the present time, Lexus has not identified a remedy to address this issue, but it is working hard to do so promptly and will notify owners as soon as one is developed. Until then, as required by federal law, dealers will not deliver any new vehicles in their inventory that are covered by this NCIR until remedied.

Detailed information about this recall is available through Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-25 LEXUS or 1-800-255-3987 or at www.lexus.com/recall.