The testing covers the entire lineup of Toyota and Lexus SUVs, including popular models such as the RAV4, the 4Runner and the Highlander. The automaker will be testing the vehicles' stability control and aims to replicate the Consumer Reports' test that first uncovered the problem.
Toyota is also suspending production of the Lexus SUV - the GX 460 - which is built in Tahara, Japan, for 12 days starting Fri. The move follows suspension of the vehicle's sales earlier this week. The company has yet to decide whether it will recall the vehicle, a hefty seven-seat SUV sold mainly in North America but also in the Middle East, Russia and some other nations.
The actions reflect a new urgency at Toyota to deal with safety problems. The automaker in recent months has been plagued by recalls and accusations that it responded too slowly to safety lapses.
Earlier this week, Consumer Reports gave the GX 460 a rare "Don't Buy" rating because its rear slid out too far during sharp turns designed to test the vehicle's handling. That puts the back end at risk of hitting a curb and rolling over.
Toyota says it does not know what's causing the problem, but was working to address it so that the influential magazine, which many shoppers rely on to choose new cars, would retest the vehicle and give it a satisfactory rating.
Today, Ford executive chairman Bill Ford Jr said his company is reviewing the handling of its SUVs in response to the Lexus' tests, a standard practice whenever another car company has a problem. Although the company is happy with its SUV performance, Ford said that the company would like to find out what the issue is with (the Lexus SUV) and then double check to make sure it does not have the same issue.
A small-volume SUV launched in late Dec, Toyota has sold just 4,787 GX 460s in the US this year, which represents about 10% of sales for Lexus and just 1% of Toyota's overall US sales. Still, Toyota ordered dealers to stop selling the model in North America on Tues within hours of the Consumer Reports warning, and today, said it would expand the sales halt to all markets. The model is not sold in Japan.
Consumer Reports says the problem with the GX 460 emerged during a track test. In the test, the driver approaches a sharp turn unusually fast, then releases the accelerator pedal to evaluate the vehicle's response.
The action mimics what an alarmed driver might do after exiting a highway ramp too fast, the magazine says. In normal circumstances, the electronic stability control - a computerised system that helps prevent skidding - should keep the car under control. But it took too long to kick in with the GX 460, causing it to slide almost sideways into the turn.
Consumer Reports said the sliding problem did not occur during the same test of the Toyota 4Runner, which shares the same underpinnings as the Lexus SUV.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also testing the GX 460 to make sure it meets federal safety standards for electronic stability control and to understand how Consumer Reports reached its conclusions. - AP
