NHTSA Complaint #11075460 — 2008 LEXUS IS 350

ON NOVEMBER 8, 2017, I WAS INVOLVED IN A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN SANTA MONICA, CA AS I WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN FROM AN ALLEY ONTO A TWO-LANE RESIDENTIAL STREET. THE OTHER VEHICLE STRUCK ME ON THE LEFT FRONT CORNER OF MY CAR. WHILE THE AIRBAGS OF THE OTHER CAR WERE DEPLOYED , NONE OF MY AIRBAGS WERE DEPLOYED. FURTHER, MY SHOULDER BELT FAILED TO PROPERLY RESTRAIN ME AND THE TOP OF MY HEAD STRUCK THE LEFT 'A-PILLAR'. SOON AFTER THE ACCIDENT, I REQUESTED THAT LEXUS DOWNLOAD MY CAR'S EDR( AKA "BLACK BOX" ). THE INJURY TO THE TOP OF MY HEAD DID NOT TURN OUT TO BE SERIOUS. HOWEVER, ABOUT 2-3 WEEKS FOLLOWING THE ACCIDENT, I STARTED HAVING PAIN IN MY LOWER RIGHT ABDOMEN. THIS WAS SOON THEREAFTER DIAGNOSED AS A RIGHT SIDE INGUINAL HERNIA. ABOUT THIS SAME TIME, I RECEIVED A DOWNLOAD OF THE RAW DATA FROM MY CAR'S EDR. I WAS ABLE TO COMPUTE THAT I EXPERIENCED A 20 G FORCE TOWARDS THE LEFT FRONT CORNER OF MY VEHICLE. MY CONCLUSION IS THAT MY BODY WAS FORCED UPWARDS AND TORQUED TO THE LEFT DURING THE ACCIDENT WITH A FORCE EQUAL TO 20 TIMES MY BODY WEIGHT. I CONCLUDE THAT THIS CAUSED THE INJURY LEADING TO THE HERNIA. WHEN I FIRST CONTACTED LEXUS LAST NOVEMBER, I INDICATED THAT I BELIEVED THERE WAS A "SAFETY GAP" IN MY VEHICLE. WHILE I ACCEPT THAT THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THE SHOULDER BELT SHOULD HAVE PRECLUDED MY HEAD HITTING THE "A-PILLAR' AND THE INJURY TO MY LOWER RIGHT ABDOMEN. AFTER MUCH DELAY, I FINALLY RECEIVED A RESPONSE FROM TOYOTA ON FEBRUARY 8, 2018. IN A BRIEF, DISMISSIVE ONE-PAGE LETTER, THEIR RESPONSE WAS THAT MY CAR PERFORMED PROPERLY DURING THE ACCIDENT. IN THIS LETTER, THEY FAILED TO EVEN MENTION THE FAILURE OF MY SHOULDER BELT TO PROPERLY RESTRAIN ME. BASED ON EARLIER CONVERSATIONS VIA PHONE WITH LEXUS, I HAD BEEN EXPECTING A REPORT PREPARED BY LEXUS SAFETY ENGINEERS. IN CONCLUSION, I WILL NOT PURCHASE ANOTHER LEXUS VEHICLE.