Toyota Seeks Fix for Lexus SUV as Engineers Replicate Magazine's 'Slide'

LOS ANGELES - Toyota Motor Corp. said it's seeking a fix for the Lexus SUV identified as a “safety risk” by Consumer Reports as a U.S. congressional committee set a new hearing to examine unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, Bloomberg reported.

Toyota said Friday its engineers reproduced the same “slide” Consumer Reports magazine found in its tests of the 2010 GX 460 SUV. Separately, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman asked Toyota for documents on unintended acceleration for a hearing his panel will hold on potential electronic causes on May 6.

“We're going to work on a countermeasure” to eliminate the handling issue on the GX, said Bill Kwong, a U.S. spokesman for Toyota's luxury unit. “It's too early to say exactly what that will be.”

The combination of Consumer Reports issuing a “don't buy” assessment on the Lexus GX and renewed congressional scrutiny underscores the challenge Toyota faces regaining its reputation after global recalls of about 8 million autos for unintended acceleration. Compounding those issues, Toyota on Friday recalled 870,000 Sienna minivans in the U.S. and Canada for corrosion in a cable that holds the spare tire.

“Big obstacles remain before Toyota can regain customer trust and its strong quality reputation, especially in the case of non-Toyota owners,” said industry researcher Robert Cole, professor emeritus at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. “The public now associates problems of unintended acceleration with Toyota.”