CR puts out don't buy warning on Lexus SUV

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: rudolphna
The ONLY reason I believe CR might be onto something here is this- They ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS, heap mountains of praise on toyota and lexus vehicles. For them to say something like this indicates that there is a real problem.


Well you do have a point. They are almost never critical of Toyota, so for them to criticise Toyota you have to wonder. On the other hand, they cry wolf against domestics so much they have no credibity there. I still say there is some CR bias or agenda afoot. If GM produces a vehicle in China CR will magically proclaim it is top rated. At the very least their recommendations are just plain stupid and not well based.

 

[c502cid]

Originally Posted By: mechanicx
Originally Posted By: rszappa1
Geee know some of you that was bashing CR just a few weeks ago about there prro ratings of some GM..Chrysler and Ford cars are now saying that CR report is right on..... Funny how opinions change when the wind changes directions..

That's the opposite of how I see it. More like when CR bashes domestics certain posters say CR is right on. Now that CR criticises an Import they attack CR. I don't give CR any creedence either way.


Absolutely +1. Mechanicx nails it.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: ekpolk
By way of analogy, try asking a crazy person whether or not he's crazy. Most of them are utterly convinced of their sanity.


That's very similar to the rationality checking that a properly engineered system does. For example, such a system would compare inputs from the steering angle sensor, the yaw rate sensor, and the wheelspeed sensors. If it saw that the steering angle sensor indicated that the steering wheel is turned and the wheelspeed sensors indicate that the vehicle is going a certain rate of speed, then the yaw rate sensor should indicate a certain amount of lateral g-force.

If these sensors do not agree, as in the yaw rate sensor indicates that there is no lateral g-force while the steering wheel angle sensor indicates that the wheel is turned and the wheelspeed sensors indicate that the car is moving, then it knows that something is wrong.

There will typically be tables built into the computer which were modeled on the driving dynamics of the vehicle, so that it can look up these tables to find out that at "x" steering angle and "y" wheelspeed, the yaw rate sensor reading should be "z". If x, y, and z don't agree, something isn't right.

Such a system could even use the difference between the two front wheelspeed sensors to determine if the output of the steering angle sensor is correct, since, as we know, one wheel doesn't turn as fast as the other in a turn and the difference gets larger as the turn is sharper.


This idea is similar to how the police question suspects individually to determine which one of them is lying because their story doesn't match the others.

Another way of looking at it is this: if one sensor says something is happening, other sensors should tell a story that correlates.

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: c502cid
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
Originally Posted By: rszappa1
Geee know some of you that was bashing CR just a few weeks ago about there prro ratings of some GM..Chrysler and Ford cars are now saying that CR report is right on..... Funny how opinions change when the wind changes directions..

That's the opposite of how I see it. More like when CR bashes domestics certain posters say CR is right on. Now that CR criticises an Import they attack CR. I don't give CR any creedence either way.


Absolutely +1. Mechanicx nails it.


Thanks, I read your earlier posts and I think you were one of the first to nail it.

 

[Paul56]

Originally Posted By: rudolphna
The ONLY reason I believe CR might be onto something here is this- They ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS, heap mountains of praise on toyota and lexus vehicles. For them to say something like this indicates that there is a real problem.


I think you need to re-read their review of the Yaris.

 

[rszappa1]

O but that does not count....

 

[Steve S]

CR reliability reports are excellent.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: rszappa1
O but that does not count....

rszappa {deleted} if you don't have anything constructive to say.

 

[rszappa1]

I do you believe CR when it is in your favor and they are garbage when they dont.... very very simple....

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: ekpolk
It may be as simple a matter as an overall recalibration of the system, or even more simply, perhaps that ONE SINGLE vehicle is out of whack. One should be careful about drawing global conclusions (as in "don't buy this vehicle") from a sample of ONE!


Ah, but buying a random vehicle off the lot, not getting a "ringer" from the manufacturer that was carefully built on a Wednesday, is one thing CR does right, IMO. If that were your sample of one and you rolled it, you'd be mad too.

IOW, manufacturers, make all your vehicles to a spec where you wouldn't be embarrassed if CR got their hands on it and pointed out its flaws.

 

[USA1]

RSZAPPA1, what is your interpretation of what CR has offered up today? I'm curious if you can squeeze out an analysis.

 

[PeteTheFarmer]

Originally Posted By: Paul56
Originally Posted By: rudolphna
The ONLY reason I believe CR might be onto something here is this- They ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS, heap mountains of praise on toyota and lexus vehicles. For them to say something like this indicates that there is a real problem.


I think you need to re-read their review of the Yaris.


They weren't too crazy about the FJ Cruiser either.

 

[LS2JSTS]

Originally Posted By: Steve S
CR reliability reports are excellent.


My understanding is that the CR reliability ratings are derived from surveys filled out by their subscibers. So if you trust the type of people who subscribe to CR as reliable sources, then go for it.

IMO, the subscribers who haven't figured out what a rag CR is, are the last sub set of the market I want to get advice from.

 

[rszappa1]

I think that there April issue was very good in rating not only the cars but the car comanies also....In the past I have always had good luck with there reviews.... the two times that I went aganst there recomendation I got burnt.... 1987 chrysler LeBaron Coupe and a 1999 Ford Contour....both turned out to be a pile of junk and both were not reccomended by CR.....

 

[javacontour]

Sales figures are also a type of survey. They measure how many people are willing to buy a companies product.

They are the ultimate measure of the consumers willingness to buy the product at an agreed upon price.

 

[Nick R]

And the light is shed. So rszappa owned a 99 Ford contour and it was a piece and now he hates ford with so much passion it is oozing out of his ears.

 

[rszappa1]

No actually I know many over the past years that have owned them and had problems.... They no longer drive a FORD....

 

[1999nick]

The report clearly stated that CR tested a second vehicle and it exhibited the same behavior.

 

[eljefino]

CNN says Toyota told dealers to stop selling these things while they figure this out...

 

[97prizm]

Well it looks like Toyota CARES what consumer reports said about the Lexus GX460. 20 minutes ago Toyota called all of their dealers and halted sales of the vehicle. As a side note the GX460 isn't based on the 4runner, it's based on the Toyota Land Cruiser, a few responses were in error over that. A couple of posts said that last years design was ok, thats due to the 2010 model being completely brand new in design.