On May 13, 2026, while traveling at approximately 31 mph under normal driving conditions, a critical right-front suspension or steering component suddenly suffered a catastrophic structural failure on its own. This spontaneous mechanical failure caused the vehicle to immediately and violently veer to the right, rendering the steering ineffective and resulting in an unavoidable collision with two parked vehicles. The vehicle has been determined to be a total loss. Furthermore, during the crash event, the front...
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passenger-side seat-mounted side airbag and side curtain airbags deployed despite the front passenger seat being completely unoccupied. Conversely, the driver's front steering wheel airbag failed to deploy completely during the impact. A corporate inspection by Toyota Motor North America/Engineering Analysis Associates confirmed severe, localized separation of the right front strut, knuckle, tie rod end, brake line, and ABS wiring. Toyota is currently utilizing its own interpretation of the Event Data Recorder (EDR) steering/speed metrics to deny component defect liability, attributing the structural suspension failure to post-crash forces rather than pre-crash causation. I am filing this report to log a potential structural component defect in the 2016 Lexus ES 350 front suspension/steering assembly, as well as an irregular Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) deployment pattern, which presents an unreasonable safety risk to drivers.