NHTSA Complaint #10373706 — 2007 LEXUS GS450H

CAR: 2007 LEXUS GS450H, FACTORY CERTIFIED. HAD A SERIOUS ISSUE WHICH WARRANTS A RECALL OF ALL AFFECTED CARS, WHICH MAY NOT BE LIMITED TO THE GS HYBRID. THIS HAPPENED ONLY A COUPLE OF WEEKS AFTER BUYING THE CAR. PER LEXUS, IT IS A DEFECT WHICH WILL IMPACT ALL OF THEIR HYBRIDS, AND PROBABLY ALL TOYOTA HYBRIDS AS WELL. WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY AT RUSH HOUR, THE CAR TURNED ITSELF OFF. NO POWER STEERING, NO POWER BRAKES... NO POWER PERIOD. FORTUNATELY, I USED TO DRIVE RACE CARS PROFESSIONALLY AND WAS ABLE TO HANDLE IT, BUT I SUSPECT THAT MOST DRIVERS WOULD HAVE CRASHED. BECAUSE THE PUSH-TO-START BUTTON DOESN'T WORK UNLESS YOU'RE IN PARK, I HAD TO COME TO A FULL AND COMPLETE STOP, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FAST LANE OF THE FREEWAY. NOT SAFE. TO BE CLEAR, THERE WERE NO INJURIES ETC., BUT, SPEAKING AS A PRO DRIVER, THE SITUATION WOULD NORMALLY HAVE RESULTED IN SEVERE INJURY OR DEATH. PER LEXUS, IT APPEARS THAT THE CAR COMPUTER SHUTS OFF THE CAR WHEN THERE IS A FAULT IN A SENSOR WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO MONITOR THE TRANSMISSION. THEY CONSIDER THIS TO BE 'CORRECT' BEHAVIOR AND REFUSE TO FIX IT. MY PERSPECTIVE: YOU SHOULD NOT DESIGN A CAR TO TURN ITSELF OFF WHEN IT'S MOVING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED JUST BECAUSE A SENSOR HAS A GLITCH. THE WORST CASE SCENARIO OF DAMAGING THE TRANSMISSION IS NOT NEARLY AS BAD AS THE TYPICAL CASE SCENARIO OF LOSING STEERING AND BRAKES ON THE FREEWAY. RECOMMENDATIONS: (1) COMPEL TOYOTA TO RECALL ALL AFFECTED CARS TO FIX THAT "FEATURE" SO THE CAR DOESN'T SHUT ITSELF OFF UNLESS THE ENGINE IS IMMINENTLY ABOUT TO EXPLODE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, AND (2) IF THE CAR IS POWERED OFF WHILE MOVING, ALLOW THE PUSH-TO-START BUTTON TO WORK WITHOUT FIRST PARKING THE CAR. *TR