Lexus facing lawsuit over ES350 airbags
Lexus cars are regarded as some of the safest on the road, however a new lawsuit against the company could tarnish this reputation. A class action brought about by a Florida law firm alleges that the Lexus ES350 is fitted with a faulty front passenger airbag sensor that could prevent the airbag from triggering in the event of a collision.
The suit goes on to explain that the defective vehicles are fitted with a weight sensor that gauges the weight of the person in the front passenger seat, but that these sensors have been found to be faulty.
One representative claims that he tested multiple ES350 vehicles and found them to be defective, as did other customers from across the country. Worse, it claims Toyota was warned about these issues and failed to correct them. The owners want Toyota to recall and repurchase all ES350s, refunds for those that leased the cars, each car to be refitted with a working airbag system, and compensation for any loss of value and costs owners incurred during this process. We'll be watching this one closely.
[Source: Business Wire via The Truth About Cars]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
.03 12:58PM (8/02/2007)
hmmm...Toyota having to be forced to correct a problem? That NEVER happens (sarcasm)
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Jon 12:38PM (8/02/2007)
lol
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Avinash machado 12:40PM (8/02/2007)
So Toyota seems to be on a downward spiral already. Tundra camshafts, sludge in engines and now this.
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rob 1:34PM (8/02/2007)
so are you talking about the 20-odd camshaft failures on the tundras, or the recall of 800,000 SUVs and trucks by GM because of faulty brakes?
both seem pretty bad to me.
That One Person 11:47PM (8/02/2007)
Hey Rob...
http://www.automotive.com/new-cars/recalls/01/toyota/index.html
http://www.internetautoguide.com/auto-recalls/67-int/2006/toyota/tundra/sr5/index.html
Those are only a sample. Oh and how about you grow up and stop attacking people's spelling.
Jman196 12:46PM (8/02/2007)
So can I find a fault in the Camry as well and sue them over that because they are esentially the SAME car.
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geo.stewart 3:56PM (8/16/2007)
they may not get the fancy Lexus floor mats. course, the PRius evidently does so maybe...
rem83 12:46PM (8/02/2007)
Eh, this happens to everyone. It just means Toyota's on a more equal footing with the other automotive companies than everyone seems to think.
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Aaron 12:54PM (8/02/2007)
lol from truthaboutcars no less?
Can david karesh tell us how the reliabilty of these are?
In any event, it looks great on them. Put your umbrellas up in Japan though. If the recall comes through or the class action lawsuit goes the wrong way, these lexus people (who we just saw reported get as much training as brain surgeons) will be jumping out windows left right and centre..
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willem 1:02PM (8/02/2007)
That's assuming, of course, that the Japanese have *any* "honor". The answer is a resounding no, as they haven't yet apologized for the wartime atrocities they committed. You would think that August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945, would have made them a bit more repentant than they are.
Jason 1:18PM (8/02/2007)
Never mind the fact that our government knew that attack was coming and chose to do nothing about it so we could jumpstart our economy by getting in to the war. Ass.
rob 1:41PM (8/02/2007)
hey you little smarmy canuck, its spelled "center", not "centre"
geo.stewart 12:58PM (8/02/2007)
I love it. they want refunds for the leases? get real. they want toyota to repurchase cars? Once they are fixed, there is nothing wrong with them.
simple recall issue. next lawsuit will be against the government for not forcing the issue.
just some more folks trying to make a buck off someone else's efforts. (not just talking about the lawyers...LOL)
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dE 1:02PM (8/02/2007)
I love the American legal system, throw as much as you can against the wall in hopes that something will stick. "Repurchase... compensation..." LOL!!!
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Adam 1:11PM (8/02/2007)
What years ES350 are we talking about here?
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srivendel 1:27PM (8/02/2007)
Hasn't there just been one year so far? I thought pre-2007s were either ES300 or ES330s...
Mike 1:12PM (8/02/2007)
Like all lawsuits, the lawyers put together a ridiculous demand to start with, which will force the defendant's attorney to make an offer just as far off on the low side. After about $1,000,000 are spent on legal fees for both sides, the plantiff will get a free oil change when they bring their car in for the recall. Meanwhile it will take up the time of several tax payer paid judges and courtrooms to get through all the pre-trial nonsense.
This is the true legal system at work, meanwhile, they will block up the court system while the real legal matters get pushed to the back because they aren't worth as much $. The whole system is catered to the bloodsuckers and the real cases are treated like the necessary evils.
By the way, what further proof do you need that Toyota is no better than the rest, the wool that's been pulled over the consumer's eyes for years is starting to get thin. Maybe they'll actually be the victim of journalistic sensationalism just as the Domestics have been- but being that it's Toyota- probably not.
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simianspeedster 6:20PM (8/02/2007)
"By the way, what further proof do you need that Toyota is no better than the rest, the wool that's been pulled over the consumer's eyes for years is starting to get thin."
Bwahahahaha. Well, first, we need PROOF of any kind. This is a lawsuit and these are claims made by lawyers. Sure, they may turn out to be true, but claims in a plaintiff's suit do not equate to PROOF.
Do you believe everything lawyers say? Do you believe everything you see on TV?
Your comment is PROOF that you can believe anything you want to. Doesn't make it true, though...sorry.
-SimianSpeedster
Mike 6:44PM (8/02/2007)
While this particular concern isn't proof alone, there are plenty of bits of evidence over the last several years that Toyota is as overrated as any car company on the face of the earth.
Just this year, 550,000 ball joint recalls, how many thousands of sludged engines (which, like this concern, Toyota won't fess up to) were settled out of court, broken camshafts on an engine for a vehicle that was claimed to be designed to take away huge market share from the domestic truck market.
Toyota's infallibility is a scam, they build machinery like the rest of the industry- some of it's bound to break. They have been shrouded by back page press releases of recalls while the domestics make nightly news. But they have big pockets right now and it's going to hurt them the way it's hurt the domestics for decades. This isn't the first lawsuit to come against Toyota and it won't be the last. Being number 1 has it's disadvantages.
simianspeedster 2:11AM (8/03/2007)
STRAW MAN WARNING!!! STRAW MAN WARNING!!!
Let's see. First, you complete retract your previous comment that this lawsuit represents some sort of PROOF that Toyota sucks eggs, then you go on to say that the real issue is that we're all misguided sheep blinded by our Toyota badges because Toyotas are (GASP) not infallible.
Sorry, but who said they were? Whose position are you attacking here? Oh yes, that would be THE STRAW MAN.
Fact: The Tundra, minor camshaft issue and all, is not "a vehicle that was claimed to be designed to take away huge market share from the domestic truck market" but rather a truck that *IS* making a dent in domestic truck sales. Toyota's 2007 Tundra sales are looking to increase 50% over 2006 sales in a market where overall truck sales are down.
Further, the "bits of evidence" that you cite are just that, bits. On the whole, Toyota makes better cars and trucks than Ford or Chevy and anyone who can read a study (or has driven the competing cars) knows it.
"This isn't the first lawsuit to come against Toyota" -- this statement is sheer genius. I'll let it stand on its own!
I don't own a Toyota and I have no desire to (they're boring as all hell), but attacking their reliability is not going to get you far. Arguing that Toyota is not infallible? That's just a waste of time by virtue of obviousness.
-SimianSpeedster