2006 LEXUS RX HYBRID Complaints

TWO DIFFERENT TIMES, AFTER DRIVING 2 HOURS OVER A MOUNTAIN PASS ON THE HIGHWAY, PULLING A SMALL POPUP CAMPER, THE VEHICLE DIED AT THE CAMPGROUND. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH, I FOUND OUT THAT TOYOTA/LEXUS USED PRIUS INVERTERS ON 2006 HYLANDER AND RX440H VEHICLES AND THEY OVERHEAT AND FAIL BECAUSE THEY ARE MEANT FOR A SMALLER VEHICLE AND HAVE INADEQUATE SOLDER. THERE IS A RECALL FOR INVERTERS ON 2006, BUT MY VIN NUMBER IS NOT SHOWING UP AS QUALIFYING. THE INADEQUATE INVERTERS WERE INSTALLED ON RX400H MODELS WITH VIN NUMBERS ENDING IN 60036526 AND LOWER. MY VIN NUMBER ENDS 60029638-- SO AN INADEQUATE INVERTER WAS INSTALLED IN MY VEHICLE. TOYOTA/LEXUS NEEDS TO ADD MY VIN NUMBER TO THE RECALL GROUP, BUT THEY ARE HESITANT BECAUSE OF THE EXHORBITANT COST OF THE INVERTER. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE THE OVERHEATED INVERTER CAN CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO GO INTO A FAIL/SAFE- LIMP HOME MODE SUDDENLY AND THE VEHICLE CAN COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STALL UNEXPECTEDLY, WITH HIGH RISK OF A CRASH AND POSSIBLE INJURY OR DEATH

WHILE DRIVING DOWN A RURAL ROAD AT 45 MPH, THE POWER STEERING STOPPED WORKING, THE "PS" WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH, AND I HAD EXTREME DIFFICULTY CONTROLLING THE DIRECTION OF THE VEHICLE. I PULED OFF THE ROAD AND TURNED THE IGNITION OFF. I RESTARTED THE IGNITION AND THE POWER STEERING WORKED. I DROVE HOME.

I WAS TRAVELING 60 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY AND MY DISPLAY STARTED READING "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" AND "CHECK VSC SYSTEM" SIMULTANEOUSLY. I SEARCHED AND SAW THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THIS EXACT ISSUE (INTELLIGENT POWER MODULE INSIDE THE INVERTER MODULE) FOR CERTAIN VEHICLES OF MY EXACT MAKE/MODEL/YEAR BUT FOR SOME REASON MY VEHICLE IS NOT ON THE RECALL LIST. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THE REGULAR 12 VOLT CAR BATTERY WAS THE ISSUE SO THEY REPLACED IT AND THE LIGHT WENT OFF AND THE CAR TESTED NORMAL FOR SEVERAL DAYS HOWEVER WHEN TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY ABOUT A WEEK LATER THE SAME LIGHTS CAME ON AGAIN.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 LEXUS RX400H. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, ALL OF THE LIGHTS ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ILLUMINATED AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. AS A RESULT, THE BRAKES, POWER STEERING, AND THE WINDOWS BECAME INOPERABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 140,000.

AIR BAG LIGHT "SRS" INDICATOR ON DASH REMAINS ON DURING TRAVEL. THIS CONDITION IS SAID TO DISABLE THE ENTIRE RESTRAINT SYSTEM IN THE VEHICLE. I HAVE CONTACTED LOCAL DEALER AND CORPORATE LEXUS ABOUT THE ISSUE. BOTH HAVE ANNOUNCED, SINCE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY, ITS OWNERS RESPONSIBILITY TO CORRECT ISSUE. THERE IS A TSB# 1-SB-0167-08 ON THIS ISSUE WHEN THE CODE RETURNS CODE B1861.

ALL SERVICE LIGHTS ARE ON, ABS VSC, AND INFO DISPLAY STATES SOME SORT OF VSC MALFUNCTION.

I HAVE ABS VSC AND SEVERAL OTHER LIGHTS ON ON THE DASH. THE RESPONSE FROM LEXUS IS I NEED A NEW ABS ACCUMULATOR ASSEMBLY. COSTS IS IN THE THOUSANDS. THE SIMILAR MODEL DESIGN PUMP WAS USED IN THE 2007-2011 CAMRY. TOYOTA HAS ISSUED A WARRANTY EXTENSION ON THAT PUMP. WHY HAS THE RX400H AND THE HIGHLANDER NOT RECEIVED THIS EXTENSION!

A FEW YEARS AGO THERE WERE 2 EPISODES OF SPONTANEOUS ACCELERATION WHILE TRAVELING ABOUT 35 MPH ON A STRAIGHT ROAD WITHOUT CRUISE CONTROL AND WITHOUT ANY FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL. THIS STOPPED WHEN BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. NO SIMILAR PROBLEM SINCE THEN UNTIL 4-6 WEEKS AGO WHEN 4 EXACTLY SIMILAR EPISODES OCCURRED, THE LATEST HAPPENING TODAY. THANKFULLY THERE WAS NO CAR IN FRONT OF MY WIFE OR THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A BAD CRASH. LEXUS OF SEATTLE DEALERSHIP NOTIFIED ABOUT 2 WEEKS AGO DURING ROUTINE SERVICE VISIT, AND AGAIN TODAY. MY WIFE IS TAKING IT BACK AGAIN TOMORROW, BUT SINCE THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT THEY ONCE AGAIN LIKELY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REPEAT THE EVENT OR TO SOLVE IT. HELP!!!

AS WE WERE APPROACHING A STOPLIGHT, A WARNING SOUND WENT OFF, FOLLOWED BY THE ENTIRE CAR SHUTTING DOWN AND REFUSING TO TURN ON AGAIN. THE "HYBRID BATTERY FAILURE" WARNING MESSAGE CAME ON, AND WE WERE UNABLE TO TURN THE CAR ON AGAIN. WE WERE ABLE TO MOVE THE CAR TO A PARKING LOT, WHERE WE WAITED FOR A TOW TRUCK. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD US WE MUST HAVE LEFT THE WINDOWS OPEN - NOT THE CASE, SINCE IT WAS STILL TOWARDS THE END OF A COLD WINTER. THE WINDOWS AND EVERYTHING ELSE HAD BEEN CLOSED FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. HOWEVER, THROUGH SOME RESEARCH, IT APPEARS THAT THIS ISSUE OCCURS IN THESE VEHICLES AFTER A COLD AND WET PERIOD; CERTAIN SEAMS WILL COME APART, THE INTERNAL COMPONENTS WILL FLOOD WITH WATER OVER TIME, AND THE HYBRID SYSTEM WILL SHORT OUT TO THE TUNE OF 5+ THOUSAND DOLLARS. SINCE THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE, AND NOT DUE TO NEGLECT OR LACK OF MAINTENANCE BY THE CONSUMER, IT SEEMS THAT THIS IS THE FAULT OF THE MANUFACTURER. *TR

2006 LEXUS RX 400H. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO SYSTEM INVERTER, INTELLIGENT POWER MODULE SAFETY RECALL. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED ON JULY 9, 2009 WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, AT 65 MPH, THE VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY LOST POWER. THE VEHICLE STOPPED RESPONDING TO ANY ACCELERATION AND THE CONSUMER HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO COAST OFF TO THE SIDE OF A NEARBY OFF RAMP. AFTER BEING TOWED TO THE DEALER, IT WAS DETERMINED THERE WA A SHORT IN THE INVERTER ASSEMBLY. *JB