2003 LEXUS GX470 Complaints

WHEN I WAS DRIVING MY LEXUS GX470 (2003) WITH MY FAMILY ON A LOCAL STREET AT AROUND 35 MPH, MY VEHICLE SUDDENLY STOPPED BY ITSELF. THE BRAKES ENGAGE BY ITSELF AND THE VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL ACTIVATED WITH BEEPS. FORTUNATELY, NO ONE WAS BEHIND ME. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE LOCAL MECHANIC, HE CHECKED THE BRAKES, CALIPERS..ETC, HE SAID EVERYTHING IS FINE BUT HE COULDN?T FIND ANY REASON WHY IT HAPPENED, HE ASKED ME TO CONTACT LEXUS DEALER. I CALLED THE LEXUS DEALER SERVICE CENTER, I EXPLAINED THE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED, HE TOLD ME TO CHECK THE BRAKE CALIPERS, I TOLD HIM THE MECHANIC ALREADY CHECKED IT. ANYWAY, EVEN THE LEXUS DEALER COULDN'T EXPLAIN WHY IT HAPPENED. *TR

SEVERAL CRACKS (SOME HAIRLINE AND OTHERS WIDER) HAVE APPEARED ALL OVER THE DASHBOARD, NEAR VENTS, ABOVE INSTRUMENT CONSOLE AND IN FRONT OF THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG COVER. INITIALLY, I THOUGHT THIS WAS AN ISOLATED OCCURRENCE BUT IN RESEARCHING THIS TOPIC ONLINE I REALIZED THIS IS PERVASIVE ISSUE WITH THIS MODEL AND IT'S OVERSEAS COUSIN PRADO. THIS IS CLEARLY A MANUFACTURING DEFECT THAT TOYOTA AND LEXUS MUST CORRECT. I BELIEVE THE CRACKS OVER THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG COVER POSE A SAFETY RISK WITH POTENTIAL INTERFERENCE WITH THE OPERATION OF THE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT. TO BE SURE THIS WASN'T AN ISOLATED OCCURRENCE, I HAVE VISUALLY INSPECTED 5 OTHER GX 470S IN TAMPA AREA (RANDOMLY) OVER THE LAST MONTH AND EACH ONE OF THEM HAD THE SAME CRACKS ON THEIR DASHBOARDS. HERE ARE LINKS TO OWNER FORUM SITES I SURVEYED TO GET A SENSE OF THIS PROBLEM WORLDWIDE ... HTTP://US.LEXUSOWNERSCLUB.COM/FORUMS/TOPIC/54056-03-GX470-DASHBOARD-CRACKS/ HTTP://WWW.CLUBLEXUS.COM/FORUMS/GX-FIRST-GENERATION/427349-CRACKED-DASHBOARD.HTML HTTP://US.LEXUSOWNERSCLUB.COM/FORUMS/TOPIC/61250-GX470-CRACKED-DASH/ HTTP://WWW.PRADOPOINT.COM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?12073-CRACKED-DASHBOARD/PAGE15 NHTSA MUST ASK LEXUS TO SURVEY GX 470 OWNERS ON THIS ISSUE TO CONFIRM THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM. IF THE INCIDENT RATES ARE AS HIGH AS I BELIEVE THEY ARE, THIS SHOULD BE A BASIS FOR A RECALL AND LEXUS SHOULD BE FORCED TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 LEXUS GX470. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE HYDROPLANED AND CRASHED INTO A TREE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE CONTACT WAS INJURED AND WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE INSURANCE COMPANY TOWED THE VEHICLE TO A BODY SHOP; HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED AND A REPORT WAS FILED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 104,805.

I WAS DRIVING MY 2003 LEXUS GX470 ON MY WAY TO THE HOSPITAL WITH MY THREE YEAR OLD SON ' WHO WAS EXPERIENCING BREATHING PROBLEMS. I LOST CONTROL OF THE SUV NEAR THE EXIT FOR THE HOSPITAL ' AS I WAS PREPARING TO TAKE THE EXIT FROM THE FREEWAY. THE VEHICLE WENT OFF-BALANCE AND DID A 360 DEGREE ROLLOVER FROM THE EXIT RAMP. I ENDED UP IN THE MEDIAN BETWEEN THE OFF RAMP AND THE ON RAMP. MY SON AND I WERE INTACT AFTER THE ACCIDENT. THE VEHICLE BEHAVED ERRATICALLY DURING THE EPISODE ' AND I COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITH THE CONTROLS. I WOULD LIKE FOR NHTSA TO LOOK INTO THE STABILITY SYSTEM OF THIS VEHICLE ' BASED ON THIS EXPERIENCE AND RECENT NEWS OF SIMILAR VEHICLES FROM LEXUS. *TR

IN 2007 OR 2008 THE ACCELERATOR ON MY LEXUS GX 470 STUCK IN THE WIDE OPEN POSITION. I HAD FLOORED THE ACCELERATOR TO PASS A TRUCK AND WHEN TAKING MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR THE CAR WOULD NOT SLOW DOWN. I WAS ABLE TO APPLY THE BRAKES WITH MUCH EFFORT AND TURN OF THE IGNITION. THE FLOOR MAT WAS NOT PART OF THE PROBLEM. I THEN RESTARTED THE CAR AND IT DROVE NORMAL. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE LEXUS DEALERSHIP WHERE I PURCHASED THE CAR NEW, WHICH IS LEXUS OF MISHAWAKA, INDIANA. THEY INSPECTED THE CAR AND SAID THEY COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG AND THAT IT WAS PROBABLY THE FLOOR MAT. IT WAS NOT THE FLOOR MAT. I TRADED THE CAR IN AT LEXUS OF MISHAWAKA IN NOVEMBER OF 2008. I NO LONGER OWN THE CAR. *TR

I OWN A 2003 LEXUS GX470. ON FRIDAY JANUARY 8TH AS I WAITED FOR TRAFFIC TO CLEAR BEFORE TURNING RIGHT TO ENTER A BLVD, THE ENGINE SUDDENLY BEGAN TO RACE WHILE MY RIGHT FOOT FORCED DOWN THE BRAKE PEDAL TO PREVENT THE CAR FROM "LAUNCHING" INTO THE CROSS TRAFFIC. THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHUDDER AND SHAKE AND MY DAD YELLED "YOU'RE SPINNING YOUR TIRES!" I YELLED "MY FOOT IS ON THE BRAKE, WHAT SHOULD I DO?" WE TURNED OFF THE IGNITION AND THE ENGINE STOPPED RUNNING. LATER, WHILE MY DAD OBSERVED FROM THE OPEN DRIVER'S-SIDE DOOR, I ROUGHLY TRUMPED ON THE GAS PEDAL 2 OR 3 TIMES BECAUSE WE WERE VAGUELY AWARE OF A TOYOTA "ACCELERATOR STICKING" PROBLEM. I THEN STARTED THE CAR AND DROVE IT SEVERAL MILES - WHILE TOTALLY TERRIFIED. IMMEDIATELY I ARRANGED TO HAVE THE CAR TRANSPORTED TO MY DEALER'S FACILITIES. AND, AFTER THREE DAYS OF "TESTING," NO PROBLEM WAS FOUND AND I DROVE HOME, SHAKING. SO, JUDGING FROM RECENT MEDIA REPORTS, WHAT WAS NEW OR DIFFERENT ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE? 1) NO MATS WERE EVER USED IN THE DRIVER'S COMPARTMENT DURING THE FIVE YEARS I HAVE OWNED THE CAR. 2) THE ENGINE WAS "AT IDLE" AND THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED BEFORE THE ENGINE BEGAN TO SUDDENLY RACE. 3) I AM NOT A "TWO-FOOT" DRIVER...NEVER, EVER. 4) MY DAD CHECKED (YES, HE IS A MECHANICAL ENGINEER) TO SEE IF THE GAS PEDAL WAS IN ITS CORRECT IDLE POSITION AFTER SHUT-OFF: THE PETAL POSITION WAS NORMAL, NORMAL BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER BEING "TRUMPED" ON. 5) MY CAR WAS NOT MOVING, JUST WAITING, AT IDLE, WITH NO OPERATOR INTERVENTION PRIOR OR DURING ENGINE REV-UP. IN A NUT-SHELL, MY NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN PROVOKED BY A MECHANICAL PROBLEM WITH THE ACCELERATOR PETAL. THIS FAILURE HAS NOT HAPPENED AGAIN... NO REPAIR WAS MADE... MY DEALER CLAIMED THAT NOTHING LIKE THIS HAS HAPPENED ON A LEXUS THAT THEY KNEW ABOUT...BUT CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY TODAY SHOWS THAT OTHER LEXUS OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED SUDDEN ENGINE ACCELERATION WITH NO PEDAL INVOLVEMENT. *TR

I WAS TRAVELING WEST ON A TWO LANE PAVED ROAD (SUTTON ROAD) NEAR SUTTON SCHOOL. WEATHER WAS SNOWING AND ROAD CONDITIONS SLIPPERY WHEN MY ACCERERATOR FAILED TO RETURN TO IDLE POSITION. I APPLIED BRAKES AS I WAS APPROACHING A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME TRAVELING IN THE SAME DIRECTION. THE ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL FAILED TO MAINTAIN STRAIGHT DIRECTION AS PER DESIGN INTENT AND MANUALS. FRONT BEGAN SLIDING TO LEFT AND REAR OF VEHICLE BEGAN SLIDING TO RIGHT. I NCREASED BRAKE PRESSURE AND STEERED INTO TH SKID , TO THE RIGHT. I WAS ABLE TO MISS THE CONTACT WITH ANY OTHER VEHICLES AND OR DAMAGE ANY PROPERTY , BUT DID END UP SLIDING INTO A DITCH OFF OF THE ROAD. WITH THE IMPACT RESULTING IN THE DEATH OF MY SERVICE DOG . AS I AM HANDICAPPED. NO DAMAGE TO MY VEHICLE , BUT NO I AM VIRTUALLY IMMOBILE WITH THE LOSS IF MY DEAR SERVICE DOG.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 LEXUS GX470. WHEN SHE ATTEMPTED TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE INTO A PARKING SPACE, IT SUDDENLY ACCELERATED AND CRASHED IN TO A PARKED VEHICLE. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT TAKEN AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES. A LOCAL MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 105,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 130,000.

I BOUGHT A LEXUS GX470 IN APRIL 2003. AROUND DEC. 2006, SOMETIMES WHEN I WOULD PUT ON THE BRAKES, I WOULD HEAR A THUMP ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE IN THE REAR. IT FEELS LIKE SOMETHING HITS THE BUMPER. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN EVERY TIME, BUT IT HAPPENS ENOUGH THAT IT IS VERY, VERY NOTICEABLE. I HAVE NOT TAKEN THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP. I JUST RECENTLY FOUND OUT THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM. *JB

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS PLACE IN THE PARK POSITION WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING AND THE VEHICLE WAS EXITED, A WITNESS OBSERVED THE VEHICLE REVERSING. THE VEHICLE'S DOOR KNOCK THE CONTACT TO THE GROUND AND FRONT LEFT WHEEL ROLLED OVER TO THE CONTACT'S CHEST, BACK, SPINE AND FACE.