The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has today notified consumers of a product recall affecting a specific batch of Lexus vehicles in South Africa
The recall applies to Lexus LX500d F-Sport and LX500d Overtail models bought between 13 March 2025 and 16 January 2026.
The NCC was alerted to the approximately 110 faulty units identified in the local market by Lexus South Africa Motors.
The affected vehicles are models equipped with a 10-speed automatic transmission that uses linear solenoids to control gear shifts.
“According to the supplier, if a solenoid failure occurs under certain driving conditions, the Transmission Electronic Control Unit (T-ECU) and the Engine ECU may not communicate the failure, resulting in the transmission over-revving in specific gears,” said the NCC
This failure could result in damage to the vehicle’s transmission, and a loss of power while driving at higher speeds.
“If certain damage occurs to the transmission housing, there is also the possibility for transmission fluid to leak from the housing. This could increase the risk of a crash or fire if an ignition source is present,” noted the NCC.
Consumers who own affected vehicles have been urged to report to an authorised Lexus dealership for reprogramming of their vehicle’s transmission ECU.
This work will be carried out at no additional cost to the owner.
These are two high-performance luxury offerings from Lexus, retailing for R2,608,700 and R2,628,900, respectively.
Yet another recall in 2026
In 2026, several brands have already issued major recalls, with issues ranging from seat cushion
frames, to handbrakes and airbags.
To start the year, Stellantis recalled several models from Citroën, DS, Jeep, and Opel sold between 2004 and 2019, affected by the global Takata airbag recall.
Following this, Chinese automaker MG recalled over 200 MG3 models for faulty driver’s seat cushion
frames, which could come into contact the seat adjustment unlocking mechanism during a collision.
Most recently, VW was forced to recall nearly 26,000 Polo Vivo units in South Africa as a result of the height of a rivet used in the handbrake level assembly.
In this case, the rivet may prevent the handbrake from engaing, or even cause it to disengage without warning.
Ongoing recalls represent a crisis in South Africa, with more than 50,000 individual units recalled locally last year, which was heavily criticised by the Automobile Association (AA).
“Although vehicle recalls currently serve an essential role in addressing latent safety defects, they are inherently reactive in their nature and therefore inadequate as a safeguard,” said the AA.
“What this system has proved is that recall notices often arrive too late, when defective vehicles are already in circulation, driven by unsuspecting motorists.”
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