Toyota halts Lexus SUV sales after safety warning

Toyota Motor Corp suspended sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 on Tuesday after influential nonprofit magazine Consumer Reports urged car shoppers not to buy the sport utility vehicle, calling it a "safety risk" that could roll over.

Toyota said its engineers were "vigorously testing" the luxury SUV to identify the risk cited by Consumer Reports, which said the 2010 Lexus GX 460 was prone to slide when driven in sweeping turns and gave the vehicle a "not acceptable" rating.

The rare safety warning from the magazine, which is seen as an objective voice on auto safety and quality in North America, comes at a time when Toyota is battling to repair damage to its reputation from a punishing series of recalls.

"We are taking the situation with the GX 460 very seriously and are determined to identify and correct the issue Consumer Reports identified," Lexus Group Vice President Mark Templin said in a statement.

"At this time we have asked our dealers to temporarily suspend sales of the 2010 GX 460," Templin said.

The automaker said it would provide a loaner vehicle until a remedy is available to owners who are concerned.

The last time Consumer Reports concluded that a vehicle was "not acceptable" for consumers to buy was in 2001, when it warned consumers away from the Mitsubishi Montero Limited.

The warning also stands out because past endorsements from Consumer Reports have been credited as one reason for Toyota's steady sales growth in the United States over the past 15 years.

"It certainly does no favors for Toyota and adds doubts in peoples minds as to the safety and reliability of Toyota vehicles," IHS Global Insight analyst Aaron Bragman said.

Toyota has struggled under massive recalls due to defective sticky accelerator pedals and the potential for floormats to entrap the accelerator. The sticky accelerator pedals also led to U.S. sales and production halts.

ANOTHER CHINK IN TOYOTA ARMOR

US safety regulators have proposed a record $16.4 million fine against Toyota, the highest allowed, accusing the automaker of knowingly delaying a recall over the defective accelerator pedals and may seek more penalties. The recalls also sparked congressional hearings and numerous lawsuits.

The automaker's US sales fell 16 per cent year-over-year in January and 9 percent in February before rising 41 per cent in March under unprecedented incentives. Toyota has extended broad incentives and widened a maintenance offer into May.

Investigations continue into whether unintended acceleration, which Toyota has attributed to mechanical issues, also could have been caused by electronics issues.

Dennis Virag, president of the Automotive Consulting Group, said Toyota appears to have work to do on its software strategy to manage situations within the vehicle under normal or panicked driving situations.

"It is another chink in their armor and an indication that perhaps they do have software problems not only in this vehicle but in other vehicles as well," Virag said.

Consumer Reports said the sliding its test drivers found in the GX 460 could cause rollover accidents resulting in serious injury or death. It said it knew of no reports of such accidents.

"CR is urging consumers not to buy the GX 460 until the problem has been fixed," the magazine said in a statement.

Toyota has sold about 5,400 of the Lexus GX 460 SUVs in the four months since it has been on the market. The luxury SUV, which is based on the same platform as the Toyota 4Runner, starts at just over $50,000.

Consumer Reports said the vehicle's electronic stability control did not intervene quickly enough to stop the vehicle from sliding out in a turn. When pushed to its limits, the rear slid out almost sideways before it regained control.

The magazine said the risk of a rollover accident in the GX 460 was significant because it is a tall SUV with a high center of gravity.

It said no other SUV had slid as far as the Lexus in its recent testing, including the Toyota 4Runner.