Lexus GX460 Recalls: Another Blow to Toyota's Reputation?

Friday, April 30, 2010

No one has escaped the widespread media coverage about auto giant Toyota and its recent plummet into disfavor. After achieving their goal of becoming the world’s largest carmaker in 2008, Toyota was slammed with recalls that cast doubt on the company’s quality control measures.

The most recent figures estimate that Toyota has recalled over 9 million automobiles since November of 2009; the recent Toyota defects—including faulty floor mats, sticking accelerator pedals, brake issues, and other problems—have the potential to usher in the largest products liability lawsuit in American history. 

The newest blow to Toyota’s already tarnished reputation concerns the Lexus GX460—a luxury SUV that was not covered by the previous Toyota recalls. During Consumer Reports’ standard emergency-handling testing, auto engineers conducted a test to evaluate “lift-off oversteer” (i.e., how the vehicle reacts in a high speed situation once the driver lifts his or her foot off the gas pedal—which is many people’s normal reaction when they reach dangerous speeds).

During the test, the Lexus GX460’s rear slid out—a dangerous move that was not corrected by its electronic stability control system. The electronic stability control system is designed to prevent a vehicle from sliding out in a turn and should correct such a slide to prevent a rollover accident.

Consumer Reports judged the Lexus GX460 a “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk” following their exhaustive testing, saying the SUV presented a high risk of rolling over at high speeds. Safety experts warned that the Lexus GX460’s design flaw could become dangerous when a driver enters a highway exit ramp or encounters a difficult turn at high speeds.

Toyota’s recall affected about 6,000 Lexus SUVs that had been sold since the vehicle was released in late December. However, in a surprising move, Toyota has resumed sales of the recalled Lexus SUVs after claiming to have fixed its control problems—only two weeks after the recall.

Interestingly enough, Toyota isn’t as hard-hit as one might think. Though it was slammed with a $16.4 fine by the NHTSA for allegedly concealing information related to their January recalls, Toyota is still in the black. In fact, brand loyalty and company incentives kept Toyota auto-sales afloat despite the bad press—at least for March.

However, thousands of products liability lawsuits still loom against Toyota and personal injury attorneys across the nation—nay the World—are preparing cases against the auto giant. Will Toyota come out on top? Or is this the beginning of the end of the world’s largest carmaker?