Toyota took cost-cutting approach on lurching Lexus models, records show

[Omaha Steve]

Source: LA Times

By Ken Bensinger and Ralph Vartabedian,

Five months before the new 2002 Lexus ES hit showroom floors, the company's U.S. engineers sent a test report to Toyota City in Japan: The luxury sedan shifted gears so roughly that it was "not acceptable for production."

The warning was sent to Toyota Executive Vice President Katsuaki Watanabe on May 16, 2001. Days later, another Japanese executive sent an e-mail to top managers saying that despite misgivings among U.S. officials, the 2002 Lexus was "marginally acceptable for production." The new ES went on sale across the nation on Oct. 1, 2001.

In years to come, thousands of Lexus buyers would discover firsthand that the vehicle's transmission problems, which caused it to hesitate when motorists hit the gas, or lurch forward unintentionally, were far from fixed.

The 2002-2006 ES models would become the target of lawsuits, federal safety investigations and hundreds of consumer complaints, including claims of 49 injuries.



Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lexus-20100523,0,3565181.story

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Los Angeles lawyer David Greenberg filed a class-action lawsuit against Toyota in 2005, alleging that defects in the ES caused it to "hesitate" and "lurch." His case was dismissed. (Gary Friedman, Los Angeles Times / May 5, 2010)

[Kolesar]

1. The woe of the Lexus driver

All he wanted was a car that was obviously more expensive than what everybody else was driving. And it lurched and hesitated