2006 LEXUS RX Complaints

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 LEXUS RX330. THE CONTACT HAD STARTED THE VEHICLE AND NOTICED THAT THE ENGINES RPM'S SUDDENLY INCREASED WITHOUT THE CONTACT ENGAGING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL; HOWEVER, AFTER RESTARTING THE VEHICLE THE PROBLEM DID NOT OCCUR. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED BY THE DEALERSHIP. THERE WERE NO PRIOR WARNINGS. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 56300. UPDATED 03/01/10 *BF UPDATED 06/28/10*JB

ONE ANOTHER VICTIM OF OE TIRES OF INFERIOR QUALITY + ALIGNMENT ISSUES OF LEXUS RX 400H. I AM FILING A FORMAL COMPLAINT AGAINST LEXUS COMPANY. RECENTLY, I DROVE THE SUV (@ 125 MILES AWAY FROM WHERE I LIVE) TO MY DEALER TO GET THE RECALL OF 'POWER STEERING LINK ASSEMBLY' FIXED. THE DEALER PHONED TO TELL ME THAT ALL 4 TIRES MUST BE REPLACED BECAUSE OF BADLY WORN INSIDE TREAD AND STEEL BELT IS VISIBLE ' UNSAFE TO DRIVE. I WAS SHOCKED! WHAT? AT 23,782 MILES? JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER CAR I OWNED BEFORE, I EXPECTED TO REPLACE THEM AT 50-60K MILES. THE DEALER SAID THAT THE OE GOODYEAR EAGLE RS-A 235/55VR18 TIRES USUALLY LAST ABOUT 20K MILES. HE ALSO SAID BECAUSE IT'S A HYBRID CAR!! SHOCKED AGAIN! I WOULD NOT HAVE BOUGHT THAT CAR IF I HAD KNOWN THIS. THE ONLY THING MENTIONED ON THE WINDOW STICKER WAS '235/55VR18 ALL-SEASON TIRES.' I SCANNED THE INTERNET AND LEARNED THAT MANY OUT THERE SHARE THE SAME QUESTION AND CONFUSION. I WAS NEVER INFORMED BY ANYONE OF THE FACT THAT THE EARLIER 400HS HAD ALIGNMENT ISSUES AND THE OE TIRES ON THESE EXPENSIVE 400H SUVS WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED ROUGHLY EVERY 20K. LEXUS SHOULD HAVE RECALLED ALL THE EARLIER 400HS TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE. ON THE AVERAGE, A CAR WITH AVERAGE QUALITY TIRES WOULD NEED REPLACEMENT ROUGHLY EVERY 50K-60K, WHICH SHOULD BE THE NORM. LEXUS CARS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LUXURIOUS AS WELL AS RELIABLE, WHY WOULD THE TIRES BE ABNORMALLY WORN JUST ON THE INSIDE EDGE AT JUST 20K MILES? I BELIEVE,I HAVE BEEN MISINFORMED BY LEXUS AND SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR LEXUS RESPONSIBILITY OF PUTTING THESE GOODYEAR EAGLE RS-A TIRES ON SUCH LUXURIOUS CARS AND MAKE THE CONSUMERS PAY FOR THE INFERIOR QUALITY. SINCE I WAS TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THE TIRE PERFORMANCE WAS DUE TO THE SUV IS A 'HYBRID' CAR, THEN IT IS A DESIGN ISSUE THAT WOULD HAVE REQUIRED LEXUS TO INSTALL A DIFFERENT SET OF TIRE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 LEXUS RX330. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE CONTACT HEARD A NOISE FROM THE ENGINE AND THE OIL INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. SHE STOPPED THE VEHICLE AND HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIR. THE DEALER STATED THAT SLUDGE DESTROYED HER ENGINE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 94,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 LEXUS RX330. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT CONTROL PANEL. THE DEALER REPLACED THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH AND STATED THAT THEY HAVE REPLACED THIS COMPONENT NUMEROUS TIMES ON OTHER IDENTICAL VEHICLES OF THIS MAKE AND MODEL. THE BRAKE LIGHT MALFUNCTION PREVENTS THE DRIVER FROM SIGNALING INTENT, WHICH INCREASES THE RISK OF A CRASH. SHE FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 71,185. UPDATED 03/17/09. *LJ UPDATED 03/18/09. *JB

I HAVE A 2006RX 400H, WITH 60K MILES, AND AN EXTENDED WARRANTY. I BROKE DOWN 2 WEEKS AGO ON A 2 LANE HIGHWAY, WITHOUT BRAKES, LOUD WARNING SOUNDS, AND FAILURE LIGHTS ALL OVER THE DASH. MY CHOICES AT THAT TIME WERE TO STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, CENTER DIVIDER DID NOT EXIST BUT INSTEAD WAS A CONCRETE BARRIER, AND RIGHT HAND SHOULDER EASED OFF TO THE RIVER. SINCE IT WAS NOT COMMUTE TIME, TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT AND I WAS ABLE TO SLOW DOWN AND PULL OFF AT THE OLD MARE ISLAND BASE IN VALLEJO. MY CAR WAS TOWED TO FREEMAN LEXUS, SANTA ROSA, WHERE I BOUGHT MY CAR AND HAVE HAD ALL SERVICING DONE. I WAS INFORMED THAT THE COMPUTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND WOULD TAKE A WEEK OR SO TO GET. THE JOB WAS DONE ON WED. FEB 11. I WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP TO PICK IT UP AND WAS ON MY WAY TO SF TO TEACH A CLASS, WHEN LESS THAN 30 MILES FROM THE DEALERSHIP, ON HIGHWAY 101, IN THE MIDDLE OF COMMUTE TRAFFIC, FAILURE ALARMS AND LIGHTS SOUNDED AND BRAKES DID NOT WORK. I WAS SHOCKED AND TRIED TO QUICKLY GET MY CAR OVER TO THE SLOW/RIGHT HAND LANE AND TRIED TO SLOW DOWN. I FINALLY, 2 MILES LATER, FOUND AN EXIT RAMP AND BROUGHT THE CAR TO A STOP AFTER A LONG APPROACH TO THE RAMP. I WAS STOPPED BETWEEN THE LANE AND THE SHOULDER. CALLED THE DEALER AGAIN TO LET THEM KNOW OF THE FAILURE. THEY NOW HAVE THE CAR TOWED BACK AT FREEMAN LEXUS. IF THIS COMPUTER WAS REPLACED, HOW COULD THIS FAILURE HAPPEN AGAIN. ADDITIONALLY, I HAD TO REACH OUT TO ALL MY STUDENTS TO CANCEL THE CLASS AT THE LAST MINUTE. THIS IS A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE AND BOTH TIMES COULD HAVE ENDED IN INJURY, SERIOUS COLLISION, TO OTHERS OR MYSELF. WHILE I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN DELIGHTED WITH THIS VEHICLE AND LEXUS PRODUCTS AND SERVICE, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT I COULD BE TOLD REGARDING THE REPAIR OF THIS CAR, THAT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL SAFE. I FEEL LIKE WITH THESE 2 FAILURES, TWO POTENTIALLY SERIOUS SITUATIONS WERE AVERTED. HOW CAN I BE SURE THAT THIS WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN WITH TERRIBLE OR DEADLY CONSEQUENCES? *TR

EXCESSIVE AND UNEVEN TIRE WEAR FOR STANDARD TIRES EQUIPPED ON THIS VEHICLE. AFTER 17K MILES AND TIRE ROTATIONS EVERY 5K MILES, I WAS TOLD THAT THE INNER EDGE OF ALL FOUR GOODYEAR TIRES WERE BALD OR CLOSE TO BALD AND SHOULD BE REPLACED WITH MICHELIN TIRES AT A COST OF $1,297. I WAS TOLD THAT THIS WAS A COMMON ISSUE WITH THE GOODYEAR TIRES AS THEY WERE "TOO SOFT" FOR THE VEHICLE, A 2006 RX400H. I INSPECTED THE TIRES AND WAS SHOCKED AT THEIR CONDITION. THERE IS NO WAY I WOULD HAVE BEEN DRIVING THAT CAR KNOWING THEIR STATE. THE DEALER INFORMED ME THAT THE TIRES ON LEXUS VEHICLES NORMALLY NEED REPLACING BEFORE 20K MILES AND WAS THEREFORE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO RECTIFY THE SITUATION. ONLY AFTER EXPRESSING MY DISPLEASURE WITH THE SITUATION, I WAS OFFERED A FREE WHEEL ALIGNMENT AFTER PURCHASING NEW TIRES ELSEWHERE. *TR

I WAS DRIVING 2006 LEXUS 400H WHEN I NOTICED THE POWER STEERING BEGAN TO FADE. OUTSIDE TEMP WAS 21 DEGREES AND I TRAVELED ONLY 8 MILES. I WENT OUT ON THE ROAD A HALF HOUR LATER. I HAD TO USE TWO HANDS ON THE WHEEL HALF WAY TO THE STORE SINCE POWER STEERING HAD FADED GREATLY. WHEN I GOT INTO THE PARKING LOT, I TURNED INTO A SPACE AND ALMOST HIT THE CAR NEXT TO ME BECAUSE THE STEERING JUST DIED. IN ANY EVENT, AFTER GRUNTING AND USING MUCH MUSCLE, I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR HOME. HOWEVER, WHEN I WAS MAKING A TURN AT INTERSECTIONS, THE WHEEL SEEMED TO PULSATE LIKE POWER WAS COMING ON. BECAUSE I WAS PUTTING MUCH STRENGTH ON THE WHEEL TRYING TO CONTROL THE TURN, I DRIFTED CLOSE TO THE OPPOSITE LANE TWICE AND CAME WITHIN INCHES OF A STOPPED CAR WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE. I AM UNABLE TO EVEN STEER THE CAR NOW. THE STEERING AND FRONT WHEELS WILL MOVE SIDE TO SIDE SEVERAL INCHES JUST SITTING THERE. THE CAR HAS 35,154 MILES ON IT. I KNOW THE MANUAL SAYS THE ELECTRONIC POWER UNIT WILL SHUT DOWN IF IT OVERHEATS FROM OVERUSE BUT THAT DID NOT HAPPEN IN MY SITUATION. IT JUST PROGRESSIVELY SHUT DOWN. I FEAR THAT AN ELDERLY OR A PERSON WITHOUT MUCH ARM STRENGTH WOULD NOT HAVE FARED AS WELL AS I DID. *TR

SINCE WE PURCHASED THIS 2006 LEXUS RX-330. IT HAS BEEN RETURNED TO DEALS 4-5 TIMES FOR MAJOR HESITATION PROBLEMS.. CAR IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE. WILL NOT ACCELERATE IN A SAFE WAY. *TR

THE REGENERATIVE BRAKES ON MY LEXUS RX 400H WILL STOP WORKING DURING NORMAL BRAKING OPERATION CAUSING THE OPERATOR TO HAVE TO APPLY MORE PRESSURE TO THE BREAK PEDAL TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LOSS OF REGENERATIVE BREAKING. THIS IS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM AND YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU WILL HAVE TO MAKE A BRAKING ADJUSTMENT. THIS PROBLEM FIRST STARTED IN DECEMBER, 2007. I PURCHASED THE CAR IN APRIL, 2005. I DO NOT FEEL THAT AN OPERATOR OF A VEHICLE SHOULD HAVE TO MAKE SUDDEN ADJUSTMENTS IN THEIR BREAKING ACTION TO COMPENSATE FOR THE DISENGAGEMENT OF A PORTION OF THE BREAKING SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU NEVER KNOW IF IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. I HAVE TAKEN THIS BACK TO THE LEXUS DEALER ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AND THEY TELL ME THAT THEY BELIEVE THE CAR IS WORKING NORMAL, EVEN WHEN THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT. *TR

MAKING A TURN INTO A PARKING SPOT, THE STEERING MECHANISM EXPERIENCED A FAILURE THAT LEAD TO AN NEAR INABILITY TO STEER. THE STEERING WAS SO STIFF WITH OCCASIONAL UNCOMMANDED INPUTS THAT IT WAS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO USE. IMAGINE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS TYPE OF FAILURE DURING HIGHWAY SPEED DRIVING.....VERY UNSAFE! *TR