LexusAs somebody whose partner happens to own a current-generation Lexus NX, I have never once witnessed a new passenger come to grips with the electronic door releases on that car and been like, "Wow, what a cool, good, normal, usable, and luxurious innovation this is!" On top of being a lateral move at best over regular-ass door handles when they do work properly, they're apparently a safety hazard when they don't.According to a recent Which? Car Survey in the UK — don't ask me why they choose to put the question mark there — some owners of Lexus and Toyota models that have electronic door handles are being locked inside their cars after the 12-volt battery goes flat.Which?, a member-based organization not unlike Consumer Reports, got more than 270 reports related to faulty 12-volt car batteries, and more than three-quarters of those had to do with a Toyota or Lexus. Specific models that came up often apparently included the Lexus RX, NX, and LBX (the latter is a subcompact crossover we don't get in the states) as well as Toyota's C-HR, Corolla, Yaris, and Yaris Cross (the latter is, again, a subcompact crossover we don't get in the states).AdvertisementAdvertisementRead more: What Are The Rarest Cars Featured On Jay Leno's Garage?Door-by-wireLexusIf you're unfamiliar, electronic door handles replace the physical handle or latch that you'd typically pull on to open your car door with what is effectively a button. It's basically door-by-wire: instead of a handle that physically releases a latch, you press a button that electronically tells an electric motor to release a latch. And if that system has no power in the case of, say, a dead battery, the button no longer works.Inside Lexuses like the RX and NX, you open the doors by pressing a silver button on the side of the armrest. Not for nothing, I have personally watched multiple people struggle to both locate and know what to do with this in our household NX, and at least one opted to pull on it (that's the manual override procedure) as their first guess.With most electronic door handles there is a manual backup release, but these aren't obvious or even known to most people, even less so in a high-stress emergency situation. Teslas infamously have retractable exterior door handles that work this way, and a Bloomberg report last year estimated that, over the last decade, at least 15 deaths had something to do occupants or first-responders not being able to open Tesla doors after a crash. Last year, Rivian went back and redesigned its interior door handles in order to avoid this very issue. And the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said just last month that it would start looking into implementing new rules around retractable, electronic door handles and mandatory, physical redundancies. Escape room on wheelsLexusSome Which? reader incidents concerning Lexus doors include one NX owner, Michael, who was not aware of the manual backup release. The battery died, trapping two adults and two dogs inside, and he broke a window to get them out. He then reportedly had to deal with a dealership that flip-flopped over whether the car's battery "was fit for purpose," and ended up footing the bill for a new battery and glass out of pocket.AdvertisementAdvertisementAnother named James said his wife was "extremely distressed" after being locked in, remarking, "Although there is a manual emergency release process, this isn't intuitive and wasn't clearly explained during vehicle handover." Another named Mary recounted how the battery in her LBX died, locking her two grandchildren inside along with the keys. They eventually figured it out, but after the new battery died again after just a year, the dealership reportedly told her that "this type of car isn't suitable for low-mileage usage and that it should be driven for a two-hour drive every week." Forum fiascoLexusAnd it doesn't look like the issues are confined to the UK market. Browsing the ClubLexus forums, prematurely flat 12-volt batteries appear to be a common enough issue for there to be a merged megathread on the topic 125 pages long under the current-gen RX section. The original post from January 2024 describes an RX 500h with British Columbia plates that failed to start or unlock its doors after its owner left the lights on for 40 minutes. There's also a "12V battery life poll" thread over on the NX section with almost a quarter of respondents saying they had to replace their battery within 36 months of ownership (car batteries typically should last three to five years, if not more).One RX 350h owner on the Lexus subreddit who says they only use the car for short trips even reported a sudden and complete loss of power while driving due to a low 12-volt battery. Alarmingly, the dealer told them that this was "normal behavior" given that this battery is the car's central power source. That post was updated weeks after with the note, "cannot start for another few times, and totally broken today with an error code – P1CCC96, waiting for tow truck now."Why is this even a thing, guys?LexusWhen Which? Car reached out to the automaker, it gave a statement about safety being its highest priority and how important it is to make sure its customers are "familiar with the manual override features fitted to these vehicles," which feels laughable considering the real solution is obvious but only available to them years ago: Don't do electronic door handles. In any case, we've reached out to Toyota on our side of the pond for further comment and will update this story when we hear back.AdvertisementAdvertisementAt this point, I'd like to pose some questions to the Toyota/Lexus engineer who decided on the electronic door handles: Literally what was the point? How is this better? Is it cost-cutting, is that it? Feels like cost-cutting to me. Does Akio play golf with the button-supplier exec who had excess inventory to offload? Anyway. I wish the most fame and fortune to whichever mechanically inclined entrepreneur successfully monetizes retrofitting real door handles to cars that don't have 'em.Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and follow us or add us as a preferred search source on Google.Read the original article on Jalopnik.
+24 others
