2007 LEXUS ES350 Complaints

MY DAUGHTER AND FRIENDS WERE DRIVING IN MY 2007 LEXUS ES 350 ON A 2 LANE HWY. AS THEY APPROACHED A SPEED ZONE THE DRIVER NOTICED THE CRUISE CONTROL LIGHT WAS ON WITHOUT BEING ENGAGED. SHE TURNED IT OFF, IT CAME ON AGAIN. SHE TAPPED THE BRAKES TO TURN IT OFF AND THE CAR LURCHED FWD. SHE TRIED TO SLOW THE CAR BUT WHEN SHE BRAKED THE CAR ACCELERATED. SHE CONTINUED TO BRAKE BUT THE CAR KEPT SPEEDING UP. SHE SHIFTED THE CAR INTO NEUTRAL BUT THE CAR SPED UP. SHE TRIED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE, PUSHING THE START/STOP BUTTON, BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT TURN OFF. SHE KEPT REPEATING THESE ACTIONS BUT THE CAR CONTINUED OUT OF CONTROL. THE DRIVER WAS STANDING ON THE BRAKE WITH BOTH FEET TRYING TO STAY ON THE ROAD AS IT APPROACHED SPEEDS OF 90MPH WITH NO BRAKES. AS THEY APPROACHED A 4 WAY STOP THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT DESPERATELY THREW THE CAR INTO PARK AT 90MPH. THE CAR LURCHED AND SKIDDED APPROX 150 FT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE SCENE I CALLED OUR SALESMAN TO INFORM HIM OF THE INCIDENT AND OUR CAR WOULD BE TOWED IN. HE ASKED ME HOW MANY FLOOR MATS I HAD IN THE CAR, AND I TOLD HIM ONLY THE TWO THEY SOLD ME, THE CARPETED ONE AND THE ALL-WEATHER RUBBER MAT. HE TOLD ME THEY HAD JUST ISSUED A RECALL ON THE RUBBER MAT AS IT WAS SLIDING FWD AND JAMMING ACCELERATORS. I CHECKED AND OUR MAT WAS JAMMING THE ACCELERATOR. AFTER MY CAR WAS EXAMINED BY LEXUS FIELD TECH'S THEY DETERMINED THE CAR HAD ACTED AS DESIGNED AND THE EXPENSES FOR A REPLACED TRANSMISSION AND NEW BRAKE SYSTEM WOULD BE MINE- NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY. I DISPUTED THIS AND THEY OFFERED TO REPAIR THE CAR AT NO CHARGE. IF FLOOR MATS WERE CONTRIBUTORY TO THIS POTENTIALLY FATAL INCIDENT THEY WERE NOT THE ONLY DANGEROUS ELEMENT. THE CRUISE CONTROL ISSUES, INABILITY TO STOP THE CAR IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION BY PRESSING THE STOP BUTTON, AND THE THROTTLE SEEMINGLY OVERRIDING THE OTHER SYSTEMS IN A "SUDDEN ACCELERATION" PATTERN ARE ALL VERY STRONG CONCERNS I HAVE. *TR

I WAS DRIVING AT 9:30AM TO WORK ALONG WITH MY WIFE ON I-696 NEAR DETROIT IN THE LEFT LANE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE, BUT AS I APPROACHED A CAR IN FRONT OF ME I TOOK MY FOOT OF THE ACCELERATOR AND PLACED IT ON THE BRAKE AND VEHICLE WAS CONTINUING TO ACCELERATE. HAD TO PUT FULL FORCE ON THE BRAKE. I WAS BARELY ABLE TO KEEP THE CAR FROM FURTHER INCREASING ITS SPEED. ONCE I REALIZED THE PROBLEM I SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL , AND WHILE THE CAR SLOWED , I COULD HEAR THAT THE ENGINE WAS REVVING AT A HIGH RATE. AFTER A MINUTE, I MOVED THE CAR BACK INTO DRIVE AND THE UNCONTROLLED ACCELERATED STARTED AGAIN, AND I PUT MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE ONCE AGAIN. A FEW MOMENTS LATER THIS UNCONTROLLED ACCELERATION CEASED AND THE CAR REGAINED ITS NORMAL CONTROL CHARACTERISTICS. AFTER SLOWLY COMPLETING THE DRIVE TO WORK I IMMEDIATELY CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AT MEADE LEXUS, SOUTHFIELD AND SPOKE TO A SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE TO REPORT THIS VERY DANGEROUS INCIDENT. AFTER DESCRIBING THE PROBLEM THE SERVICE MAN IMMEDIATELY ASKED WHICH FLOOR MATS I WAS USING ON THE CAR. I REPORTED THAT I HAD BEEN SUPPLIED WITH BLACK RUBBER MATS BY LEXUS,. WHEN WE RECEIVED THE CAR IN JULY 2006, AND AS SUGGESTED BY THE SALESMAN HAD BEGUN TO USE THOSE WHEN THE WEATHER TURNED FOUL IN THE FALL. I WAS ASKED IF I HAD REMOVED THE CARPET MAT WHEN I PUT IN THE BLACK RUBBER MAT AND I SAID THAT THE CARPET MAT HAD BEEN FIRMLY ATTACHED TO THE CAR, AND THAT I WAS NEVER TOLD THAT I NEEDED TO REMOVE THAT MAT BEFORE INSTALLING THE RUBBER MAT. THIS QUESTION SUGGESTED THAT THIS WAS A WELL RECOGNIZED PROBLEM . WHEN I QUERIED THE SERVICE MAN, WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS INDEED A WELL KNOWN PROBLEM. I WAS CHAGRINED THAT I HAD NEVER RECEIVED ANY INSTRUCTION TO AVOID PUTTING DOWN BOTH MATS. I TOLD THEM THAT LEXUS HAD A CLEAR OBLIGATION TO INFORM THEIR CUSTOMERS. *AK THE CONSUMER STATED TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER TO SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS AND INFORMED BY DEALER THERE WAS AN INTERNAL RECALL ON FLOOR MATS. UPDATE 05/15/07*TR

CAR GAINED SPEED, COULD NOT BRAKE THE CAR, WITH FOOT ON BRAKE PEDAL IT WENT EVEN FASTER, HIT OTHER VEHICLES AND SMASHED THROUGH A GARAGE DOOR, STOPPING ONLY WHEN IT RAN INTO A TREE. CAR WAS REPAIRED AT A COST OF OVER $33,000. THE VEHICLE HAD 400 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. *AK

MY CAR HAS A COMMONLY KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION WHERE IT SLIPS AS MUCH AS 1000 RPM WHEN SHIFTING FROM THIRD TO 4TH GEAR. WHEN I REPORTED IT TO LEXUS, THEY IMMEDIATELY REPLACED THE TRANSAXLE. NOW IT FLARES EVEN WORSE. *JB

THE VEHICLE OWNER CLAIMS THAT THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND THAT SHE APPLIED THE BRAKES BUT THE VEHICLE DID NOT SLOW DOWN. SHE ALSO TRIED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE BUT THAT DID NOT SLOW THE VEHICLE EITHER. SHE THEN HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE AND THAT STOPPED HER VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE THEN STARTED ON FIRE AFTER THE COLLISION.*TR

INTERMITTENTLY, BUT NOT OFTEN, WHEN TAKING MY FOOT OFF OF THE GAS, THE CAR WOULD INCREASE IN SPEED AND THE ENGINE WOULD SPEED UP, BUT WOULD QUIT WHEN I BRAKED. WHEN ACCELERATING TO PASS VEHICLES, I NOTICED THAT ON OCCASION THE ENGINE WOULD HESITATE AND THEN GRAB SUDDENLY AND THEN SHOOT OFF, BUT WOULD SLOW DOWN WHEN I TOOK MY FOOT OFF OF THE ACCELERATOR. ON APRIL 20 MY CAR HAD ABOUT 2,300 MILES ON IT WHEN I GAVE THE CAR SOME GAS TO GET UP TO SPEED TO ENTER THE BUSY FREEWAY. AS SOON AS I DID THE ACCELERATOR LOCKED AND FELT LIKE IT WAS IN PASSING GEAR. IT WAS AT 85 MPH WHILE BRAKING AS I ENTERED THE FREEWAY. THE ENGINE WAS REVVING LOUDLY AFTER I GOT IT INTO NEUTRAL. AFTER ABOUT MILE, IT SLOWED ENOUGH SO I SHOVED IT INTO PARK BUT IT WOULD NOT SHUT OFF. AS IT FINALLY DID DISENGAGE, THE ENGINE WAS STILL REVVING AT A HIGH SPEED WHILE ENTIRE CAR SHUTTERED, SHOOK AND MADE LOUD NOISES. I KEPT MY FEET ON THE BRAKE WHILE I CALLED LEXUS 24 HOUR ROAD SERVICE. I WAS VERY LUCKY THAT NO ONE WAS INJURED. THE CAR HAS BEEN AT LEXUS FOR 11 DAYS AT THIS POINT. *TR

UNEXPLAINED ACCELERATION / TIMING COVER SEAL TO THE ENGINE BLOCK MY 2007 ES350 ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL REACHING THE SPEED OF 95 MILES PER HOUR. THE ONLY WAY I WAS ABLE TO SLOW THE CAR DOWN WAS TO PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL. AND THEN IT BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN. I TOOK INTO TO MY LOCAL DEALER AND THEY WHERE NOT ABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. IN APRIL OF 2207 I NOTICES MY ES350 HAD A SMALL OIL LINK WHEN THE DEALER INSPECTED THE VEHICLE THY FOUND THAT THE TIMING COVER TO THE ENGINE BLOCK WAS POORLY SEALED AND WOULD NEED TO BE REPAIRED. I WAS TOLD THERE WAS A SERVICE BULLETIN OUT ON THE SEALS AND MY CAR WOULD NEED TO BE IN THE SHOP ABOUT A WEEK TO REPAIR. *TR

I PURCHASED A NEW 2007 LEXUX ES350 ON APRIL 12, 2007. IN A RIGHT HAND TURN, THE VEHICLE SEVERELY OVERSTEERED. IMMEDIATELY THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, WITH AN ERROR MESSAGE TO CHECK VSC. AS A RESULT I RETURNED THE VEHICLE TO THE SMITHTOWN LEXUS SERVICE DEPARTMENT ON APR. 19, 2007 WITH 244 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. THEY TOOK OVER TWENTY-FOUR HOURS TO DIAGNOSE THE FAULT. THEY ALLEGE THAT THE FAILURE IS THE RESULT OF A DEFECTIVE SENSOR IN THE TRANSMISSION. ALTHOUGH I HAVE REQUESTED CORROBORATION OF THE CAUSE FROM A LEXUS FACTORY REPRESENTATIVE AND CONFIRMATION OF THE INABILITY TO OBTAIN A REPLACEMENT PART FOR A WEEK, AND INSPECTION OF THE DEFECTIVE PART AS REMOVED FROM THE VEHICLE NONE OF THESE REQUESTS HAVE BEEN MET AS OF APRIL 25, 2007. AS THE DEFECT IS A SAFETY RELATED ISSUE OF VEHICLE STABILITY I AM CONCERNED THAT THE CAR POSES A POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARD TO THE PUBLIC. *JB

WHILE DRIVING MY NEW LEXUS ES350 ON THE INTERSTATE IN JANUARY 2007, THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL. AS I APPLIED THE BRAKE INITIALLY WITH ONE FOOT AND THEN BOTH FEET. I ALSO PUSHED THE IGNITION BUTTON AND TRIED EVERYTHING I COULD THINK OF TO SLOW THE VEHICLE-NOTHING SEEMED TO HELP. THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO POWER THE CAR FORWARD. EVENTUALLY THE CAR RAN OFF THE ROAD INTO A SNOW BANK. LEXUS AND THE DEALER (LEXUS OF PORTLAND MAINE) CLAIMED THEY COULD FIND NO PROBLEM WITH THE CAR. WE ARE HOPEFUL FOR SOME TYPE OF RESOLUTION EITHER FROM LEXUS OR THE DEALER. WE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HEARING FROM OTHERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH A LEXUS. *JB

WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF PURCHASING AND DRIVING THIS (BRAND NEW) VEHICLE MY BACK STARTED TO HURT. LEXUS INDICATED THAT THERE IS NO DEFECT AND THE VEHICLE IS WORKING AS DESIGNED. THE DRIVER SEAT DOES NOT OFFER THE SAME RANGE OF ADJUSTMENTS AS OTHER VEHICLES. THIS IS BORNE OUT BY THE FACT THAT I DO NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS DRIVING OTHER VEHICLES. CONTINUED USE OF THIS VEHICLE IS DETRIMENTAL TO MY BACK AND HENCE MY HEALTH AND WELL BEING. THIS VEHICLE IS NOT SAFE FOR ALL PERSONS. *JB