Toyota is suspending worldwide sales of the Lexus GX 460 and testing all of it sports utility vehicles, according to a report on CNN. Consumer Reports magazine on April 12 warned readers on not to buy the SUV because it could turn over in hard turns. Shortly after the magazine issued its warning, Toyota announced it was suspending sales of the luxury vehicle in North America.
Toyota spokeswoman Mieko Iwasaki said the company is expanding the suspension to the Middle East and Russia, the only other markets where it was sold.
“We have no specific target in mind when to resume the sales,” said another Toyota spokesman Ririki Takeuchi. “We are now investigating the case by trying to replicate the situation that Consumer Reports pointed out.”
Consumer Reports said it judged the 2010 model to be a safety risk because of a problem that cropped up during standard emergency-handling tests.
“When pushed to its limits on our track’s handling course, the rear of the GX we bought slid out until the vehicle was almost sideways before the electronic stability control system was able to regain control,” the magazine reported. “We believe that in real-world driving, that situation could lead to a rollover accident, which could cause serious injury or death. We are not aware, however, of any such reports.”
Article Last Updated: April 14, 2010.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
