2006 LEXUS RX Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 LEXUS RX330. THE CONTACT STATED THAT UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE, HE NOTICED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGERS LOW BEAM LIGHT WAS NOT FUNCTIONING. UPON EXAMINING THE HEADLIGHT, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT MOISTURE ACCUMULATED INSIDE OF THE HEADLIGHT HOUSING, DISABLING THE LOW BEAM. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING OR TO BE REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 55,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. NOTE: AUTO WAS TAKEN TO LEXUS DEALER 9/22/2011- EST $ 705.00 FOR REPAIR PARTS ARE ON ORDER. UPDATED 10/18/2011 *LN *TR

I SENT MY RX330 TO DEALERSHIP FOR OIL CHANGE, AND WAS TOLD THERE WAS A LEAK IN POWER RACK & PINION ASSEMBLY, THE TOTAL COST FOR REPLACEMENT IS $1800. MY CAR IS 2006, ONLY HAS 61K MILES AND HAS BEEN SERVICED REGULARLY AT LEXUS DEALERSHIP ACCORDING TO LEXUS MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE. THIS IS A RESULT OF FAULTY ENGINEERING NOT ABUSE SINCE THIS PROBLEM IS SO PREVALENT, I GOOGLED ONLINE, LOT OF RX330 COMPLAINED THE SAME PROBLEM.

1A. AFTER PUTTING THE KEY IN TO KEY HOLE, IF YOUR START THE CAR RIGHT AWAY, IT WILL GIVE YOU A FAILURE "CHECK VSC SYSTEM" OR"SHIFT TO "PARK" BEFORE STARTING" EVEN IT WAS ALREADY PARKED. 1B. POWER DRAINED IF RADIO WAS ON FOR 10-20 MIN AND CAR WILL NOT START 2. IT USUALLY HAPPENS WHEN THE CAR IS COOLED. I HAD TO WAIT FOR A FEW SECONDS AFTER PUTTING THE KEY IN THE IGNITION BEFORE TURNING START TO GET IT START. 2 YEARS AFTER HAVING THE CAR, THE STARTER BATTERY WAS REPLACED WITH THE SIMILAR SITUATION DESCRIBED ABOVE. DEALER NOW CLAIMS THAT BATTERY NEEDS REPLACEMENT AGAIN. 3. REPLACING STARTER BATTER WAS DONE THE FIRST TIME. I REALLY DOUBT THAT BATTERY DIED OUT SO QUICKLY, SO I'VE DONE A BIT RESEARCH (PROVIDED LINK BELOW) AND FOUND QUITE A FEW TALKED ABOUT INVERTER FAILURE CAUSING SIMILAR ISSUES, AND IT NOT ONLY RESULT IN HIGH COST TO REPLACE THE INVERTER, POSSIBLY LIFE BECAUSE VEHICLE BROUGHT TO STOP WHEN IN MOTION. HTTP://TOWNHALL-TALK.EDMUNDS.COM/DIRECT/VIEW/.F136279/0 PLEASE KINDLY INVESTIGATE. THANK YOU. *TR

PREMATURE TIRE WEAR; MY VEHICLE HAS 37,000 MILES, BUT HAS WORN THROUGH ITS 3RD SET FRONT TIRES. THE FIRST SET I BELIEVE WAS GOODYEAR (TIRES ON CAR AT PURCHASE), SECOND SET KUMHO, AND THIRD MICHELIN ENERGIES. LEXUS CLAIMS IT IS BAD LUCK AND WON'T FURTHER INVESTIGATE TO DATE. BACK TIRES WEAR MUCH SLOWER. *TR

THIS POTENTIAL SAFETY PROBLEM INVOLVES HYBRID INVERTERS IN LEXUS HYBRID VEHICLES. THIS PARTICULAR CASE INVOLVES A 2006 LEXUS RX400H VEHICLE WITH ABOUT 109,000 MILES ON IT THAT HAD RECEIVED ALL RECOMMENDED, SCHEDULED, ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. IN THE COURSE OF NORMAL DRIVING, ALL POWER TO PROPEL THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY AND ABRUPTLY VANISHED. IN ADDITION, THE VEHICLE CONCOMITANTLY LOST POWER STEERING AND SKID CONTROL AS EVIDENCED BY NOTICES ON THE DASH. FORTUNATELY IN THIS CASE, MOMENTUM ALLOWED THE VEHICLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE CAR WAS PUT IN NEUTRAL AND MANUALLY PUSHED OFF THE ROAD. LATER IT WAS TOWED A GREAT DISTANCE TO THE DEALER, AT CONSIDERABLE EXPENSE, THE DEALER BEING THE ONLY PLACE CAPABLE OF THIS TYPE OF REPAIR. THE DEALER FOUND THE HYBRID INVERTER FAULTY. NO REASON FOR THE FAILURE COULD BE PROVIDED. THE WARRANTY NO LONGER APPLIED THEREFORE THE COST OF REPAIR WAS QUOTED AS AN ASTONISHING $9,000.00 ! TOYOTA EVENTUALLY AGREED TO PAY THE DEALER FOR THE PART, BUT NOT ITS INSTALLATION. THE FAULTY PART WAS NOT RETURNED. SHOULD THIS TYPE OF INCIDENT NOT PROVE ISOLATED, SUCH ABRUPT AND UNCONTROLLED POWER LOSS RENDERS ALL THESE VEHICLES UNTRUSTWORTHY AT MINIMUM, AND RAISES POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC SAFETY CONCERNS DEPENDENT ON CONDITIONS THAT INCLUDE WHERE AND WHEN HYBRID INVERTER FAILURE AND COMPLETE POWER LOSS SUDDENLY OCCURS. *TR

THE CAR FAILED WITHOUT WARNING WHILE I WAS TRAVELING 70+MPH ON THE HIGHWAY. I WAS LEFT ONLY WITH BRAKES. MY PASSENGER NOTED A COUPLE OF MINUTES BEFORE THE FAILURE THAT THE ENGINE SOUNDED STRANGE, BUT THERE WERE NO INDICATORS ON THE DASH. CAR WAS TOWED TO LEXUS DEALERSHIP WHICH STATED THAT THE INVERTER WAS COMPLETELY GONE AND QUOTED $9,000 FOR PART AND $500 FOR LABOR. CAR HAD BEEN FULLY SERVICED FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AT SAME DEALERSHIP JUST A FEW WEEKS EARLIER. I WAS TOLD NEW INVERTERS COME FROM JAPAN AND USED ARE DIFFICULT TO FIND. *TR

UNEXPECTED VEHICLE ACCELERATION - LACK OF ADEQUATE BRAKING DURING DISENGAGEMENT OF HYBRID REGENERATIVE BRAKING.

ON FRIDAY EVENING APRIL 29 2011 , I WAS DRIVING ON THE NY THROUGHWAY SOUTH BOUND TO NY CITY. ALL OF A SUDDEN, I LOST ALL POWER AND I HAVE TO PULL TO THE SHOULDER AND I CANNOT RESTART THE CAR THEN I TURNED ON THE BLINKERS BUT IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES ALL POWER WERE GONE IT WAS DARK AND VERY DANGEROUS NOT TO HAVE THE EMERGENCY FLASHING LIGHTS ON. I CALLED THE AAA THEY TOLD ME TO SIT IN THE CAR WHILE THEY ASK FOR A STATE TROOPER TO LOCATE ME AND STATE POLICE HAD TO PARK BEHIND ME WITH HIS FLASHING LIGHTS TO PROTECT ME UNTIL THE TOWING TRUCK ARRIVE THE DEALER CHARGING ME 248.00 JUST TO DO THE DIAGNOSES THEY TOLD ME IT IS THE HYBRID INVERTER ($10,000.00) AND THE HYBRID BATTERY ($6,000.00) THAT NEED TO BE REPLACED, LABOR NOT INCLUDED, I BELIEVE THIS IS AN ISSUE WITH MANUFACTURER, AS I READ OTHER CONSUMER THAT HAS THE SAME PROBLEM PLEASE HELP PROTECT ALL THE CONSUMERS IN THESE DEFECTIVE INVERTERS AND THE BATTERY FROM LEXUS. *TR

1. NONE, LUCKILY I WAS ACCELERATING FROM A DEAD STOP WHEN THE PART SEEMED TO POP OUT OF GEAR. THE CAR SEEMED TO BE RUNNING NOT QUITE AS SMOOTH 2 WEEKS PRIOR SO I HAD IT CHECKED @ THE LEXUS DEALERSHIP. THEY FOUND NOTHING WRONG. IF THIS PART WERE TO MALFUNCTION @ HIGH SPEED I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ISSUE THIS COMPLAINT. 2. ONCE, I WILL REQUEST OLD PART IF DESIRED BUT EXPECT LEXUS TO TRY TO KEEP THE PART. WILL NHTSA HAVE IT PICKED UP FROM THE DEALERSHIP? 3. CAR IS IN REPAIR SHOP NOW. NOTHING DONE YET. HYBRID INVERTER W/ CONVERTER QUOTED TO BE REPLACED WITH A DIFFERENT PART #G92A0-48090, INDICATING TO ME THAT THE MANUFACTURER KNOWS THAT THE ORIGINAL PART IS DEFECTIVE. *TR

MY LEFT FRONT HEADLIGHT HAD CONDENSATION DUE TO THE MANUFACTURER NOT SEALING THE LIGHT CORRECTLY, LEXUS WAS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND FIXED THE LEFT ONE WHILE IT WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. NOW MY RIGHT ONE HAS RUST INSIDE OF IT WHICH HAS BLOWN OUT ONE BULB..I CONTACTED LEXUS CORPORATE WHO AGREED TO PAY HALF OF THE $1800.00 IT COST TO REPAIR IT. IN ADDITION TO THE FRONT LIGHTS, NOW MY REAR LIGHTS ACTUALLY HAVE BUGS INSIDE OF THEM WHICH IN TURN WILL CAUSE THE BULBS TO BLOW AS WELL. I SPOKE WITH A DEALERSHIP WHO ACKNOWLEDGED LEXUS IS AWARE THAT THIS MODEL HAD THE PROBLEM THAT IS WHY THEY NO LONGER MAKE THOSE LIGHTS. THIS IS NOT ONLY A SAFETY HAZARD, BUT A MANUFACTURER DEFECT AND ONE THAT SHOULD BE RECALLED. LEXUS WILL DO NOTHING BECAUSE MY WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED. DOES SOMEONE NEED TO GET HURT, HIT A DEER,CHILD, PEDESTRIAN OR CAUSE AN ACCIDENT BEFORE LEXUS TAKES CARE OF AN ISSUE THAT THEY ARE VERY AWARE OF? WITH THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT LEXUS CHARGES FOR THEIR VEHICLES ONE WOULD ASSUME THAT THEY WOULD RECTIFY THIS SITUATION..