Last MondayJapanese carmaker Toyota asked for the voluntary recall of more than 9,000 units of the GX 460, an SUV of their luxury brand Lexus after confirming that the vehicle encounters wheel slippage when negotiating turns at high speed.
The car manufacturer acted promptly after Consumer Reports tagged the Lexus GX 460 with a recommendation of ‘Do Not Buy’ after their drivers have tested and discovered the dangers it may pose during maneuvers at high speed.
At first we were not sure how long it will take for Toyota to come up with a solution, apparently they did not take long as they encouraged owners to have the Vehicle Stability Control or VSC software upgraded through their dealerships. The upgrade will take about an hour to an hour and a half at most depending on the number of vehicles schedule for servicing.
The main problem seems to be the location of the fuel tank on the same side as the drivers. A full tank plus the weight of the driver on a left hand drive makes a dangerous equation when doing high speed right turns. That will be the constant scenario if Toyota was not able to find a fix.
Check out the video and see how the upgrade of the VSC software makes the car more stable during turns. The video shows two SUVs taking a right turn while cruising on 59 miles per hour. One of the Lexus screeches into a drift session while the other performs just fine. Take your pick which one had the VSC reprogramming.
