Hey Vascer, it's obvious the car HAS TO HAVE rollover protection or the car wouldn't be for sale in the US, but some people just don't listen Since I haven't bought the darn service manual because it hasn't come out yet (for us consumers, anyway) for '04, I don't know the specifics, but I know it has to be there. I still think those 'hoops' need to pop-up to comply, like 4-dr convertibles from BMW, MB, Audi, etc., but THAT I don't know. Maybe the rear seat cushions on the SC are deep enough not to be necessary.

And people, when you call Lexus, CLERKS answer the phone. Ask any mechanical quesiton and you get the 'ask your dealer' response... if the clerk is smart. Otherwise you'd probably get a wrong answer, like when they told me our engine had chain-driven cams and hydraulic valve adjusters; BOTH WRONG, unfortunately. Many dealers don't know either because it's not something they fix.

The service manual has the answer we're looking for, but NOBODY seems to have one here. I might even buy an '03 to answer all the questions I have, including all the details how the headlight self-leveling feature works.

Good day.

 

ELP,
You may be correct. I see that Chrysler doesn't call the roll bar in the PT Cruiser convertible a roll bar. Instead they call it a "sport bar". This may be to negate legal issues in the event that someone gets killed in a cruiser and the "sport bar" didn't save their life. The rear headrests in our cars do seem to be very solid under the leather and may have an "un-official" roll bar in them. Lexus may be trying to avoid legal hassles as is Chrysler.
Let us know what the service manual says when you get it.

Go gently,
Flatfoot

 

>What is peculiar is that Lexus would now be saying that there is no rollover protection in the rear headrests.<
Lawsuit protection?