LCs have little chunks of dynamite under each corner of the hood, designed somehow to mitigate the damage done to pedestrians when we run into them. Can anyone explain how this is supposed to work?

 

Part of the LC's iconic design is its very low hood which required the hood to be very close to the top of the engine. Without the explosives, when you hit a pedestrian, their head will hit the hood which has the engine right there behind it meaning the pedestrians head will be slamming into the engine as well, there's no cushion at all basically, resulting in death or serious injury to the pedestrian.

With the explosives, when you hit a pedestrian, the explosives detonate and cause the hood to raise a few inches, giving more space between the hood and the engine. The hood is a lot more malleable and forgiving than the engine block, resulting in a much softer impact for the pedestrian's head, which should result in decreased chances of injury or death.

The explosives are like airbags in that they can only be used once and will need to be replaced after use.

 

Hopefully "if" you hit a pedestrian vs. "when."

 

Lexus/Toyota is a great company. You’d think they’d supply us with reusable explosives instead of just replaceable ones.
Anyway, thanks for your answer. Seriously.

 

For the purposes of discussion, ethical issues aside, has anyone disconnected the explosives? Does doing so trigger an error code?

 

That’s just silly. All you need to do is run into a pedestrian. Presto!

 

i'm sure the pedestrian will appreciate being blown up instead of sliced in two.

the ONLY reason the explosives are there is to comply with regulations. a ridiculous requirement, waste of money and engineering expertise. anyone know of someone who was 'saved' by these explosives?

 

Curious about the “regulations” mentioned. Are any other cars explosive-equipped for pedestrian safety or protection? Or is there some body of rules somewhere which Lexus could only conform to by dynamically lifting the hood? This is all very intriguing. Thanks for everyone’s patience.

 

blame europe.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...in-action.html

 

These devices are also fitted to some Jags and presumably other makes. There were a number of owners who complained about them firing off following bird strikes and in the process either destroying the hood hinges and or wrecking the hood itself. A workaround was found and as I recall it involved a 250 ohm resistor which "replaced" the explosive device but effectively fooled the cars systems into thinking one was still connected. Apparently a very simply mod, but understandably it opened up a can of ethical/insurance worms.