Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Toyota Suspends Sales of Lexus GX 460

Toyota is suspending the sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 worldwide. Consumer Reports labeled the Lexus GX 460 as unsafe ("Don't Buy: Safety Risk"), which prompted Toyota to ask Lexus dealers to suspend sales of the SUV. One of the problems Toyota is determined to fix is the increased risk of rollover during a turn.

Mark Templin, Lexus Group vice president and general manager, stated that, "We are taking the situation with the GX 460 very seriously and are determined to identify and correct the issue Consumer Reports identified."

Since the sale of the 2010 Lexus GX 460, which was 3 months ago, there have been 5,000 sold. Consumer Reports warn owners to drive with caution on exit ramps and call Toyota demanding repairs. In addition, they suggest car buyers to not purchase the Lexus GX 460 until the problems are corrected.

This is unfortunate Toyota is facing another car problem. Toyota held a reputation for safety, but it seems that there is no trust for their cars anymore. Toyota met or exceeded all federal government testing requirements for consecutive years, but they have gone downward ever since the recall. However, I don't blame public opinion. New Toyota cars have caused car accidents and killed some people with their sticking gas pedals and acceleration issues. Hopefully Toyota will find a resolution for this ongoing problem soon. Maybe the source of the problem is inventing new technology too quickly without sufficient routine tests.

2 comments:

Sabrina said...

I would have much more sympathy for Toyota if these problems weren't so consistently recurring over the past few moths. If you want people to buy your car, make it safe and as defect free as possible! Trying to cut corners is almost always a bad idea. Whether one believes in karma or not, that kind of cheating always turns back to you (whether it be in recalls, loss of money, law suits, etc).

Derek White said...

I think Toyota was profitting so much off the Prius line, that they felt they could start producing a lot of cars at reasonable prices, but with that advance, their quality has gone down. I have both a Toyota Highlander and a Chevy Tahoe and of course the Toyota gets better mileage, but the interior is very poorly made in the Toyota. I think with the recent downfall of Toyota quality, American made cars could take off if they are economical enough.