Lexus ES: 4th Generation

This weekend, the LA Times published another chapter in their long-running battle against Toyota & Lexus, this time asserting that the transmission issues experienced by some 2002-2006 Lexus ES owners was indicative of a bigger problem:

The documents show that Toyota repeatedly tried to solve the lurching problem by modifying the car’s computer software. But Toyota told The Times that the Lexus ES issues concerned “drivability” and were not related to the sudden-acceleration problems experienced in other vehicles.

But the automaker decided to fix only a fraction of the vehicles, the documents show.

The repair “should only be utilized for critical customer complaints,” wrote Gary Heine, quality-assurance powertrain manager for Toyota’s U.S. sales division, in an e-mail to customer service managers on Aug. 27, 2002, according to a chronology Toyota lawyers prepared for litigation in late 2005.

Other customers — presumably those who did not complain loudly enough — were not included in the software upgrade until late 2003, when Toyota instructed dealers on how to reprogram the onboard computer and advised more than 100,000 ES owners to bring their cars in for a “product enhancement.”

The article makes for exciting reading, but ignores the standard industry practise to apply technical service bulletins (TSB) only to customers who experience the issue at hand — a fact that Lexus makes clear in their official response to the LA Times:

The Times mischaracterizes a service process that is common throughout the auto industry to address rare performance issues.  Transmission hesitation and momentary surge in the Lexus ES 300/330 was not a safety or unintended acceleration issue but a customer satisfaction and drivability issue about which only a limited number of customers raised concerns.  We did not keep this issue from ES owners but, instead, proactively addressed the needs of those customers who were dissatisfied with the feel and performance of their vehicle’s drivetrain.

Once a TSB was available to address this condition, we proactively reached out to the small segment of Lexus customers who had previously contacted us about this issue to ensure they were aware the TSB was available, that their concerns were properly addressed and that they were satisfied with their vehicle’s performance.  This TSB is still available to all other customers who may experience the same issue. 
 
Transmission shifting is often a matter of customer preference, and the vast majority of owners were either not affected by or did not have a concern about this drivability issue.  More specifically, some like quick, firm shifts, while others prefer slower, gentler shifting.  In addressing drivetrain performance, Lexus strived to satisfy the widest range of customer expectations and preferences.

This continual vilification of Toyota by the LA Times leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but for both sides of the story, I recommend reading the article followed by the Lexus response — which I’ve included after the jump.

Continue reading this article…

Loud, blurry and preposterous, this Lexus ES 330 commercial by Michael Bay would fit neatly into any one of his movies (jump to 1:02 to see the Lexus commercial directly):

Somehow I doubt an airbag is going to save you from being hit by a tractor trailer.