Lexus LM Doors Reportedly Fail to Open After Fatal Crash in China

Many Chinese media outlets have reported on a car accident involving a Lexus LM in Guigang, Guangxi Province on July 28. The car in question reportedly crashed into a roadside guardrail, causing serious damage to the front of the car, and some passengers were trapped inside the car. When passers-by attempted to rescue them, they found that the doors could not be opened. Finally, the vehicle spontaneously ignited, leading to the death of one passenger. This incident has aroused heated discussion and concern within the Chinese internet.

Regarding the accident, a representative for Lexus China responded on July 29 in a report by the National Business Daily: “At present, we have noticed relevant news from the internet and have already contacted local dealer, which has been following up with traffic department. The specific situation should be subject to the final investigation results.” Officials from the traffic police detachment of the local public security bureau said that the accident caused one death and two injured victims, adding that the incident is still under investigation.

Videos circulating online show that after a collision accident of a Lexus car happened on the road, its front part was damaged. The front airbag bounced off with smoke emerging from the car. The window glass on the co-pilot side seemed broken, and several passengers were trapped in the car. During the rescue conducted by passers-by, it was suspected that the car’s four doors could not be opened, which delayed the rescue progress. Finally, the male driver and the female passenger on the co-pilot were rescued by people breaking windows. Another video shows that when the vehicle was burned down, a passenger was suspected still to be trapped in the back seats.

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The vehicle in the video is a Lexus LM, a luxury MPV model, which is priced from 1.166 million yuan ($173,293) in China. According to the instructions of Lexus LM, all doors will be unlocked when the SRS airbag is deployed (inflated).

Some web users commented under the reports: “According to safety logic, when the airbag explodes, all door locks must be automatically opened, and there will be no need to press it.” Another one said: “I imagined a terrible thing: If the accident happened to an electric car, would there be this much rescue time?”

In addition, on October 28, 2020, 1,713 vehicles were recalled in China due to imperfect waterproofing of combined lamp harness, which may lead to ABS failure.