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It was not that long ago that Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) was known for the safety of its vehicles, but the past year has been a nightmare for the Japanese automaker. And things took a turn for the worse Tuesday when it was forced to suspend sales of its Lexus GX 460.The decision to suspend sales of the Lexus SUV came after Consumer Reports hit the model with a rare "Don't Buy" rating due to rollover concerns.
The model does come with an electronic stabilizer that is supposed to regain control of the vehicle should the back end start to slide, but in tests conducted by Consumer Reports, the stabilizer did not kick in until the SUV had slid almost completely sideways.
Suspending sales of the SUV will not materially hit Toyota since it is a very small volume vehicle. However, the impact is made more severe in light of the car makers recent troubles over sudden acceleration, which led to a massive recall of over 8 million vehicles.
The GX 460 has only been on the market for around three months, and has a price tag in excess of $50,000.
While the tests did indicate that rollover risks were present, it should be noted that there have not yet been any reported accidents related to the problem.
Toyota issued a statement that the company's engineers were "vigorously testing the GX" and looking for ways to improve the vehicle's safety.
Consumer Reports stated that of the 95 SUVs involved in its current testing, no other vehicle slid as much as the Lexus model.
The "Don't Buy" rating is indeed rare, and the last time that Consumer Reports issued such a warning was on the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Limited.
If you have already purchased one of these Lexus SUVs, you can take it back to your dealer in exchange for a loaner vehicle until Toyota figures out a remedy to the situation.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-14-2010 @ 11:52AM
Leo said...
Take all that crap off the vehicles on all brands and get back to driving the it insted of it driving you.
If you use your brain you do not need airbags ABS - Babysitter video and voice comand this and that.
If you want to talk on the damn phone do it at home or the office-kids in vehicle shut up and look out the window.
pay attention to the road.
Also for my own entertainment put metal daskboards and thick stick out knobs back on the dash this can cull the heard quickly and make it safe for the rest of us.