The Crank: U.S. magazine issues “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk” on 2010 Lexus GX 460

By John LeBlanc For the first time since the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Limited SUV, the U.S. based Consumer Reports magazine has deemed a new car a “safety risk”: the 2010 GX 460. The Lexus SUV's electronic stability control program failed to keep the vehicle in line during a severe handling maneuver, allowing it to slide almost completely sideways, said Douglas Love, CR spokesman,“In real-world driving, that situation could lead to a rollover accident, which could cause serious injury or death.” The magazine said it is unaware of reports of accidents resulting from what it found in the completely redesigned and re-engineered for 2010 $68,500 ($52,000 U.S.) GX 460 tests. CR said the problem did not occur on older GX models, and it was also absent during tests of its platform-mate 2010 Toyota 4Runner SUV. Plus the magazine admitted it is unaware of reports of accidents resulting from what it found in the GX tests. Of course, how Toyota officials react to this latest bad news is key. So far in the U.S., Lexus spokesman Bill Kwong has responded by saying, “We're concerned with the results of Consumer Reports testing on the Lexus GX 460 and their suggested buyer recommendation,” and that Toyota will try to duplicate the test results. Here in Canada, Toyota Canada’s David Gollom told The Crank this morning that they will have a response on how the CR report will affect Canadian customers later on today. Stay tuned. In the meantime—and after Toyota's recall of more than 8 million vehicles worldwide for defects linked to unintended acceleration and brakes, and a slap on the wrist from the U.S. Transportation Department that assessed a $16.4 million (U.S.) penalty against Toyota for delaying its recall of sticky accelerator pedals, and with the possibility of more fines to come—how does this latest bad news from Japan’s largest automaker affect your opinion of Toyota, if at all?

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