Lexus Driver Gets Warning His Eyes Are Closed, To Look Forward. There’s Just 1 Problem: ‘This Is Deeply Sinister’

Driver-monitoring safety features, such as warnings that a driver's eyes may be closed, are meant to protect both the people inside a vehicle and those around it.

One Lexus driver, however, says the system activated while his eyes were fully open.

In a TikTok video with over 13.1 million views, creator @pocket_goldfish films the dashboard of a Lexus displaying the message, “Closed eyes detected. Look forward.”

She then turns the camera toward the driver, whose eyes are visibly open.

He also has epicanthic folds, a facial feature commonly found among people with East and Central Asian ancestry.

“Hey @Lexus,” the creator wrote in the caption, calling out the automaker.

What Is This Function Supposed To Do?

On newer Lexus models with a Driver Monitor System, a camera watches the driver's face for signs of distraction or drowsiness.

On the Lexus RZ, for example, the automaker says the system watches how often the driver looks away from the road. If it decides that the driver may not be paying attention, it issues warnings. It can also activate other safety systems, such as the Pre-Collision System or Lane Departure Alert.

Some Lexus Driver Attention Monitor systems also issue loud beeping sounds when the camera determines that the driver is not looking forward.

Have Other Lexus Drivers Reported Similar Issues?

They have, although the issue doesn't appear to affect only people with one particular facial feature.

Other Lexus drivers have complained that the system flags their eyes as closed for reasons they also considered unnecessary. One driver said it happened because they were wearing prescription glasses.

“Every couple of minutes the Driver Monitor Camera was pinging me for eyes being closed to the point where I was starting to shout at it,” one driver wrote in a forum post.

They said the alerts stopped after they switched from prescription glasses back to contact lenses and sunglasses.

Another Lexus owner said the weather triggered the warning repeatedly.

“I'm definitely asking them to turn off the ‘closed eyes detected' alerts until they can design a system that is accurate and not just beeping non-stop when it's sunny outside,” they wrote in a Reddit thread.

It appears the feature can be disabled on at least some Lexus models. Lexus Eastern Area, for example, has a video showing how to turn off the system on a 2023 RX.

Viewers Thought The Message Was ‘Sinister'

For many viewers, though, the viral video raised concerns about racial bias in the technology.

“WE HAVE A RACIST LEXUS!!!” one commenter wrote.

Another pointed out the irony of the situation.

“Especially wild coming from a Japanese car brand,” they wrote.

One viewer argued that biased training data can lead to systems that work better for some faces than others.

“All jokes aside, this is what happens when AI metrics are only trained based off white mens world view,” they wrote. “This is deeply sinister.”

Another saw the system itself as invasive.

“This is an invasion of privacy if I've ever seen [it],” they wrote.

Subplot News has reached out to Lexus via email and @pocket_goldfish via TikTok messages for comment.

The post Lexus Driver Gets Warning His Eyes Are Closed, To Look Forward. There's Just 1 Problem: ‘This Is Deeply Sinister' appeared first on Subplot News.