Following the global recall issued by Toyota Motor Corporation, which affects 1.7 million vehicles, Lexus Malaysia has announced a Special Service Campaign for a certain number of its IS 250 sedans.

In a statement, it said a total of 78 units of the IS 250 are involved in this SSC, and that the company is taking proactive measures to contact all the owners of the relevant vehicles.

The campaign is to address an insufficient tightening of the fuel pressure sensor which has been found on some IS 250 models produced from August 2007 to February 2009. There is a possibility that the pressure sensor could become loose, over time, and if this occurs, fuel may leak via a gasket that is used between the sensor and the delivery pipe connection.

Lexus Malaysia will inspect the vehicle for fuel leakage and if no leakage is found, the fuel pressure sensor will be tightened with the proper torque. If a fuel leak is confirmed, the gasket between the sensor and the delivery pipe will be replaced and the sensor will also be tightened with the proper torque.

No other Lexus or Toyota models sold by UMW Toyota Motor in Malaysia are involved in this campaign, the company said.

Two years after the facelifted version was introduced, the Lexus IS 250 sedan has received another update for 2011, and as before, there are two variants available, the IS 250 Luxury and IS 250.

No changes to the powertrain of the rear-wheel drive vehicle, which continues to the same 2.5 litre V6 with D4 injection offering 205 hp at 6,400 rpm and 252 Nm of torque at 4,800 rpm, or the 6-speed auto tranny.

As before, the exterior and interior tweaks are subtle – changes include a front grille that has been reworked to create more visual depth, while the front bumper and lower grille area now take on a bolder and more 3-dimensional feel. Additionally, each side of the lower grille area has an intake shape that is visually connected to the brake cooling ducts.

For the IS 250 Luxury, two different interior colours with wood trim are available, coordinated with the six exterior colours, one of which is new for 2011 – this is a unique finish known as Starlight Black, which has photoluminescent glass flakes to, as Lexus puts it, “give sparkles like a star-filled night sky.”

Unlike previously, where the HID headlamps were only specified with the IS 250 Luxury (the IS 250 came with halogens), both variants now feature HID as standard fitment, with a dark smoke coating around each headlamp giving a bolder look. New to the car is an arrowhead LED clearance lamp with Daytime Running Lights.

At the rear, there is stronger contrast between light and dark in the character of the bumper. The rear combination lamps now have a more unified colour tone with clear pink-smoked lenses on the indicators and reverse lamps. Also new is the tip of the dual outlet tailpipes, which is now circular and has thicker walls, as well as new 10-spoke design 17-inch alloy wheels, with staggered size rubbers (245/45 rears and 225/45 fronts).

Inside, the IS 250 now features a black metallic high-gloss coating on a number of trim panels, while the IS 250 Luxury continues to have genuine Bird’s Eye maple wood trim. Metallic ornamentation has been added to areas like the steering wheel bezel, meter rings and glove box door, and the steering wheel bezel gets a new silver surface coating, which is also to be found on the paddle shifters. Elsewhere, the speedometer and tachometer now wear new metallic rings.

Some revisions to the sound systems on offer – things have been scaled down somewhat; the IS 250′s standard audio system is a Lexus Premium system with a 6-CD in-dash changer and eight speakers (the 2009 facelift featured a 13-speaker system), with USB and AUX connection points.

Meanwhile, the IS 250 Luxury gets the aforementioned 13-speaker Lexus Premium Audio system. If you’re wondering where the Mark Levinson 14-speaker Premium Surround Sound system has gone, well, it’s now an option for the IS 250 Luxury, and if you opt for this, you’ll also have to install the optional Lexus Navigation package – with reverse camera and Bluetooth capability – as the 7-inch display screen is integrated.

Price wise, no change to the IS 250 Luxury, which continues on at RM305,000, while the IS 250′s features a slight increase, to RM 275,000, both on the road without insurance.

Gallery after the jump.
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It’s highly unlikely that anyone who can spend just a shade under a million for a vehicle would really be that mindful of just how much that ride consumes, but here it is anyway, a hybrid luxury sedan that gobbles up less fuel and goes gentler on your wallet.

Okay, so maybe that’s not quite the way to look at it. How about a “doing your part for the environment while ensconced in the lap of luxury” bit then?

Well, how about both, since the Lexus LS 600 h L manages the above in equal measure, and in inimitable style at that. The flagship hybrid luxury sedan is Lexus Malaysia’s latest introduction into the market, and making it a double do for the higher-end hybrid movement is the introduction of the RX 450 h SUV as well. Which of course earns Toyota the bragging rights as the first player to have three hybrids in the country, two of them luxury units.

Full story and gallery of launch photos after the jump.
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Success begets success, it is said, and Lexus Malaysia will certainly be looking at that adage ringing true. Given that achieved by the RX 350 since its arrival here, the company is quietly hoping that a logical extension of the form – in this case a smaller engined, front-wheel drive variant with most of the trimmings kept on – will do equally well.

So it is with that premise that the RX 270 makes its debut here, with the vehicle being launched earlier this evening, as a slightly cheaper alternative to those who love what the Japanese luxury SUV is all about but think the bigger block and all-wheel drive is surplus to needs.

Lexus Malaysia says that this is the first time that the RX 270 is being officially offered in Asian markets and it’s also the first time that a front-wheel drive variant is officially available in Asia (front-wheel drive variants of the RX350 have been offered in North America with previous generations).

At the heart of the new variant sits a 2.7 litre 1AR-FE four pot, with Dual VVT-i and an Acoustic Control Induction System (ACIS), which alters the length of the intake pipe to improve torque delivery. Power figures for the unit are 185hp at 5,800rpm and a torque output of 252Nm at 4,200rpm (the 2GR-FE 3.5 litre V6 unit in the RX 350 turns out 273hp at 6,300rpm and 346Nm at 4,700rpm in comparison).

Features of the 1AR-FE include twin balancer shafts, resin gears, a rigid intake manifold and chain cover, multi-resonators in the intake system with a two-stage intake pass, all of which help to reduce noise and vibration. To keep internal friction low, the engine has roller rocker arms, less piston ring tension, lighter parts and a three-stage variable output oil pump. It’s tuned to run on RON 91 rated gas, so there should be nary an issue with RON 95.

If you’re thinking that less means less, well, that’s really not the case here with the RX 270. It comes with the same six-speed Super ECT with A.I. Shift auto tranny as found on the RX 350, as well as the four-wheel independent suspension with a compact trailing-arm double wishbone rear suspension and similar tyre and wheel sizes of the latter – 235/60 series rubbers sitting on 18-inch alloys.

Indeed, most of what’s to be found on the RX 350 is strapped on here, with the only differences – aside from the drive configuration and engine – being that the RX 270 doesn’t get the RX 350′s tilt/slide moonroof, the woodgrain mix in the interior panelling (it’s all leather here) and the adaptive front lighting system for the bi-xenon headlamps. Otherwise, it’s all par for the course – 10 airbags, Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) system and smart entry and start system, among others.

New to the car is an optional navigation system package, with an eight-inch LCD Electro Multi Vision (EMV) display. The package isn’t just about the nav and the screen – it also includes a remote touch controller, reverse camera, Bluetooth connectivity and a 12-speaker premium audio system. Lexus Malaysia is introducing the package to the rest of its model line-up (GS 300, LS 460 L and RX 350) in conjunction with its introduction here on the RX 270.

The RX 270 is available in six colour choices and two interior colour themes, both with Abyss Black painted panel finishing. It’s priced at RM340,000 on-the-road, without insurance, which makes it RM37,000 less than the RX 350. The optional navigation package goes for RM17,000.

Gallery of launch photos after the jump.
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