Toyota has suspended sales of its new Lexus GX460 luxury sport-utility vehicle after Consumer Reports magazine, an influential US consumer watchdog, advised motorists not to buy the vehicle.

The Japanese carmaker, which has been battered by a string of quality-related problems in recent months, said late on Tuesday that it was taking the situation with the GX460 “very seriously”. It had asked dealers to temporarily suspend sales of the 2010 model, it added.

Consumer Reports’ “don’t buy” advice, the first issued by the magazine on a vehicle in nine years, is based on the slow response of the Lexus’s electronic stability control system. “In real-world driving, that situation could lead to a rollover accident, which could cause serious injury or death”, Consumer Reports concluded.