i was concerned that the i would have to do a valve job too. i am not sure if the head gasket failure would necessarilly mess up the other head components. i just saw that those that had them at higher mileage also had the valves done. i recall that someone that had the problem at 65k just replaced the head gasket. at only 53k miles, my mechanic's opinion is that i probably wouldn't have to do it.

as to a recall - i checked alldata.com and there is no recall for the head gasket on my car.