2003 Lexus LS
large luxury car / 4-door sedan
Moderate overlap front: original test
Rating applies to 2001-06 models
Tested vehicle: 2001 Lexus LS 430 4-door
The Lexus LS was redesigned for the 2001 model year and renamed the LS 430 because the engine size was increased.
All 2001-06 LS 430 models manufactured after December 2000 include a design change to prevent damage to the wiring harness connecting crash sensors involved in safety belt crash tensioner activation and airbag deployment. (Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar.)
The LS 430 was evaluated in two 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. One car was manufactured before the wiring harness change; the other after the change, following discussions with Lexus. Due to the similarity of results, this evaluation covers both tests.
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Chest | |
| Leg/foot, left | |
| Leg/foot, right | |
| Driver restraints and dummy kinematics |
Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.
The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained well.
Smeared greasepaint indicates where the dummy's head hit the roof rail during rebound in the second test. Head acceleration from this hit was low.
Intrusion into the driver's space was minimal, and all leg and foot injury measures were low.
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Test ID | CEF0101 | CF00032 |
|---|---|---|
| Footwell intrusion | ||
| Footrest (cm) | 10 | 8 |
| Left (cm) | 10 | 9 |
| Center (cm) | 12 | 10 |
| Right (cm) | 11 | 9 |
| Brake pedal (cm) | 6 | 9 |
| Instrument panel rearward movement | ||
| Left (cm) | 1 | 2 |
| Right (cm) | 4 | 4 |
| Steering column movement | ||
| Upward (cm) | 3 | 5 |
| Rearward (cm) | 2 | 3 |
| A-pillar rearward movement (cm) | 2 | 1 |
Driver injury measures
| Test ID | CEF0101 | CF00032 |
|---|---|---|
| Head | ||
| HIC-15 | 172 | 291 |
| Peak gs at hard contact | 27 | 11 |
| Neck | ||
| Tension (kN) | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| Extension bending moment (Nm) | 2 | 37 |
| Maximum Nij | 0.17 | 0.45 |
| Chest maximum compression (mm) | 37 | 44 |
| Legs | ||
| Femur force - left (kN) | 3.1 | 3.3 |
| Femur force - right (kN) | 1.8 | 1.9 |
| Knee displacement - left (mm) | 3 | 0 |
| Knee displacement - right (mm) | 1 | 0 |
| Maximum tibia index - left | 0.35 | 0.32 |
| Maximum tibia index - right | 0.34 | 0.40 |
| Tibia axial force - left (kN) | 4.0 | 2.8 |
| Tibia axial force - right (kN) | 3.0 | 1.9 |
| Foot acceleration (g) | ||
| Left | 66 | 53 |
| Right | 63 | 63 |
Head restraints & seats
Seat type: All seats
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Dynamic rating | |
| Seat/head restraint geometry |
| Seat type | All seats |
|---|---|
| Geometry | |
| Backset (mm) | 40 |
| Distance below top of head (mm) | 25 |
| Seat design parameters | |
| Pass/fail | Fail |
| Max T1 acceleration (g) | 11.1 |
| Head contact time (ms) | 94 |
| Force rating | 2 |
| Neck forces | |
| Max neck shear force (N) | 96 |
| Max neck tension (N) | 839 |
About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.