Lexus RX450hL Incident

The entries in this report are based on unconfirmed allegations. Toyota received a contact on Nov. [XXX], 2022 in which the customer stated that while driving southbound on [XXX], about 1 mile from [XXX], "He fell asleep while using lane assist and cruise control, the vehicle was practically driving itself. He hit 2 highway rails on his drivers side and the passenger side going 70 mph." He indicated that he wanted, "someone at Lexus to explain how his vehicle's airbags did not deploy going 70mph on cruise control and lane assist." Additionally, the customer stated, "He and his friend that was in the passenger seat are slightly injured...he called 911 and they had a local tow service tow the vehicle to a lot." The customer stated that his driver seat belt was on, and that an occupant was in the rear seat laying down without the seat belt fastened. The customer also stated, "He and his friend that was in the passenger seat are slightly injured." and that, "knees are bothering the driver." On Nov. 18, 2022, Toyota conducted further review of the customer's statement and determined that the crash was reportable. On Nov. 30, 2022, Toyota received a field report related to the incident, which included Vehicle Control History (VCH) and Event Data Recording (EDR). VCH provides an approximately 7.7 second pre-crash recording, and EDR provides an approximately 4.8 second pre-crash recording. From the data, Toyota observed that Lane Trace Assist (LTA) and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC) were engaged in the moments leading up to the crash event. LTA was engaged from the start of the recording until approximately 6.1 seconds prior to the crash event, at which point driver steering input disengaged the system. Prior to disengagement of LTA, the VCH recording shows the driver's hands were detected on the steering wheel. DRCC was engaged from the start of the recording until the crash event. This report is a Monthly Update. The original report ID is 1306-4287-1.