Toyota to temporarily halt Lexus sales

Toyota says it will temporarily stop selling the Lexus GX460 after Consumer Reports said the SUV carried an unusually high risk of a rollover accident during certain types of turns.

In the latest blow to Toyota's reputation, the Japanese automaker says it will suspend sales of the SUV while it conducts its own testing.

Consumer Reports said in handling tests the seven-seat SUV slid until it was nearly sideways before the electronic stability control system regained control.

The magazine says this could lead to a rollover accident in real-world driving. It gave the GX460 a rare "Don't Buy: Safety Risk" label until the problem is fixed.

Toyota has sold about 5000 GX460s in the three months since it went on sale.

It is not covered by Toyota's faulty gas-pedal recalls.

- AP