2020 Lexus Gx

The rear middle seat child seatbelt retractor on my 2020 Lexus GX 460 failed internally — the belt became stuck and would not retract, rendering the child safety restraint position unusable. The failure was severe enough that the dealership (Tri-County Lexus, Little Falls, NJ) determined the vehicle was unsafe to drive with the affected seating position in use and grounded the vehicle pending repair. Lexus Corporate authorized replacement of the belt assembly (Part #73320-35010-A4) at no cost under an internal goodwill case, which itself indicates recognition that this was a component failure rather than normal wear. I am filing this report so the defect is on record, given the safety-critical nature of a child restraint failure.

The contact owns a 2020 Lexus GX460. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle and driving for 10-15 minutes, the windshield and the windows became significantly foggy, requiring the contact to remove the seat belt to lean forward and wipe the windshield to pull over safely. Additionally, the contact wiped all the windows and resumed driving. The contact stated the failure had been recurring while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with an HVAC blend door actuator failure. The vehicle was being repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.