Lexus Suspends GX460 Sales Amid Rollover Concerns
Toyota has asked dealers to suspend sales of the Lexus GX 460 SUV after Consumer Reports issued a safety warning regarding it.
After tests done by Consumer Reports indicated a potential rollover problem with the SUV, it designated the vehicle with as, “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk.” The special designation hasn’t been used since 2001 when Consumer Reports gave it to the Mitsubishi Montero Limited.
In response, Toyota has suspended sales of the 2010 GX 460 and is offering a loaner car to any of the 5,000 people who have already purchased one, “until a remedy is available.”
Toyota maintains that the GX 460 meets or exceeds all government safety regulations.
Consumer Reports found the defect in a test for “lift-off oversteer.” In the test, the driver enters a sharp turn and lifts his foot off of the accelerator. Tests showed that the GX 460′s rearend, “slid out until the vehicle was almost sideways before the electronic stability control system was able to regain control.”
The test simulates a driving condition such as when a driver takes an exit and suddenly encounters an obstacle, for example. Natural impulse is to suddenly take one’s foot off of the accelerator.
With the rear of the vehicle skidding out so dramatically, it is likely that the rear tire will strike a curb or leave the pavement, inviting the rollover risk.
The Toyota 4Runner shares the same platform as the GX 460, but it passed similar tests done by Consumer Reports.
