In 2007, Consumer Reports dropped Lexus from 1st to 5th in their predicted reliability survey. The magazine blamed the 2006 first-year GS, which had problems in integrity, body hardware and sound system, as the sole reason for the slip. [1] Despite the reliability issues among 2006 GS models, the vehicle earned an "Recommend" rating from Consumer Reports for vehicle features and overall value for that year.

The news today is that the AWD versions of the Lexus GS, along with two Toyotas, have been dropped from Consumer Reports' 2007 Recommended list. The net result, Toyota as a whole (including Lexus and Scion) has dropped from first overall to third, behind Honda and Subaru.

What were the problems with the AWD GS, which now ranks Below-Average? Consumer Reports asserts that the drop is due to the "accessories and audio system in the all-wheel-drive Lexus GS sedan", which makes very little sense, as the AWD and RWD both share the same components. For some background, the prevailing complaint among Club Lexus GS owners is of creaks and rattles, as well as overall interior material quality, but nothing to add any weight to CR's reasoning.

What I found startling is that Consumer Reports was essentially giving all Toyota models a free-pass to their Recommended list until now:

Seems like a bad practice to me, recommending any car on reputation alone, and I'm glad to see them discontinue this behavior.