sttnSdwys

Really? You don't have to read the whole owner's manual to figure out how to shift into neutral, there's a page for shifting. You can navigate the index to find this page.

Goshdarn kids and their newfangled computers, don't even know how to read a book properly...

flipside909

Not because i'm the Editor of this website, I have read the owners manuals from cover to cover for all the Lexus' I have owned in the last 10 years.

BTW, there is a "QUICK GUIDE" stashed in your manual portfolio which basically gives you a "Cliff Notes" version of the essentials of your HS. You should check it out, you may be surprised.

Magellan55

Congrats, you're in the maybe 2% of the population that reads the owners manual cover-to-cover (I usually do too, but haven't gotten to it yet on this car). Those on this forum are probably in that 2% as well, or at least have chosen to be well-informed about their cars

That leaves the other 98% out there with no idea how to put it in neutral or turn it off at speed. Sure, they can all look it up, but who even thinks about such things, as they aren't required for normal driving? They are only needed in an emergency situation, and of course during an emergency is not the time to be fumbling with an owners manual, or even a quick guide.

Is it their own fault for not reading the manual? Sure, but look who's paying the price - Toyota losing $millions along with their reputation. Seems Lexus/Toyota would be wise to invest a little time during the sale to avoid sending these people out the door uninformed and potential PR nightmares.

flipside909

Seems like you have a dealership or salesperson that needs to focus more on showing how to operate your vehicle before you drive off? At the same time, as a consumer, questions should be asked about the car before during and after a sale. It's easy to point fingers and make excuses.

All the Lexus' i've purchased new 04 IS300, 07 GS350 and my 09 ISF, were purchased from the same dealer. Each salesperson that sold me the car spent a good 30 mins with me showing me all the functions of my car as well as answering any questions I had. Of course I knew about all the features of the car beforehand and did my research as well but the fact of the matter is my salesperson took the time to do this with me. Even if I had questions, it was no more than just a phone call or a quick visit to the dealer to ask questions about the car.

tonyscv

It's a pretty safe guess that 70%+ of the people driving a Toyota/Lexus with a start/stop button have no idea they need to hold the button down for 3+ seconds to shut it off while driving. I consider myself fairly tech-savvy and I had no clue until these reports came up and I heard about it. It's buried in the owners manual. It's not on any warning sticker when you purchase the car. It probably should be.

In a panic, most people I would think would be pressing the button repeatedly, not holding it down.

KGenaidy

I played with the stop button the last couple of mornings. It is a very long 3 seconds. Voicing what others have shared ... I would suggest "practicing" the shut off in a safe environment. So should the situation arise ... an individual knows what to expect.