2006 LEXUS RX HYBRID Complaints

THE CAR IS A HYBRID. IT WOULD NOT START (THE READY LIGHT WOULD NOT COME ON), THEREFORE IT WAS INOPERABLE. FORTUNATELY, THE CAR WAS PARKED AND DID NOT DIE WHILE DRIVING. IF IT WOULD HAVE DIED WHILE DRIVING, MANY DANGEROUS POSSIBILITIES COULD HAVE INCURRED. AFTER HAVING IT TOWED TO A LEXUS DEALER IN COLUMBUS, THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED AS WATER IN THE HYBRID BATTERY AREA. AFTER LENGTHY DISCUSSION WITH LEXUS SERVICE PERSONNEL, THEY CONCLUDED THAT "WELDS" NEAR THE HATCH HINGES HAD COME APART, WHICH ALLOWED WATER TO SEEP INTO THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR TO THE HYBRID ELECTRONIC CONTROLS. LEXUS SERVICE HAD EXPERIENCE THESE PROBLEMS BEFORE, AND HAD GUESSED AT A VARIETY OF REASONS (SUCH AS EXCESSIVE OPENING AND CLOSING OF THE HATCH, WIND CATCHING THE HATCH WHILE IT WAS OPEN, AND OTHER LAME REASONS). THERE IS NO TICKER ON THE HATCH TO COUNT HOW MANY TIMES IT WAS OPENED NOR WHAT THERE ANY GUST OF WIND THAT WOULD HAVE CAUSE THE WELDS, TWO WELDS, TO BREAK ALLOWING WATER TO SEEP INTO THE CAR. MY CONCLUSION IS THAT SINCE THE PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED BEFORE, THAT THERE IS EITHER A MANUFACTURING ISSUE, AN ENGINEERING ISSUE, OR BOTH. I AM NEITHER AN EXPERT IN THESE AREAS, BUT DO HAVE SOME COMMON SENSE. LEXUS CORPORATE OR THE DEALER WOULD NOT CONFESS TO THE WRONGDOING AND THEREFORE I HAD TO SHELL OUT OVER $1600 IN REPAIRS. THEY WANTED ANOTHER $1100 TO RE-WELD THE 3 INCH GAP ON BOTH SIDES WITH PAINTING INCLUDED. DUE TO THE EXPENSE, I HAD TO OPT FOR USING SILICONE TO SEAL THE GAPS AND AM FORCED TO DRIVE THE CAR IN DRY WEATHER. *JS

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT THIS INCIDENT HAS HAPPENED. WHILE DRIVING HOME FROM WORK NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF FRESH POND ROAD AND MYRTLE AVENUE, MY LEXUS SHUT OFF COMPLETELY. THE MESSAGE ON THE DASHBOARD WAS "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM". SAME INCIDENT HAPPENED DEC 2012. ACCORDING TO LEXUS THE PROBLEM THE FIRST TIME WAS THE HYBRID SYSTEM. I HAVEN'T BEEN TO THE LEXUS DEALER YET BUT THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT I GOT LUCKY WITHOUT SERIOUSLY INJURING MYSELF AND OTHER DRIVERS. *TR

PARKED, AND WHEN I TURNED ON CAR BOTH HIGHBEAMS WENT DIM. WENT TO REPLACE BULBS AND THE NEW BULBS ARE STILL DIM AND BEGINNING TO BUBBLE. *TR

SLOWING THE VEHICLE AT A STOP SIGN FROM ABOUT 20MPH. CONSTANTLY APPLIED BRAKE PRESSURE. AT ABOUT 15MPH THE BRAKE PRESSURE INVOLUNTARILY RELEASED AND THE CAR ACCELERATED FORWARD. MY FOOT WAS NEVER ON THE ACCELERATOR AND CONTINUED TO APPLY PRESSURE TO THE BRAKE THROUGHOUT THE ACCELERATION. APPROX. 1/4 SECOND AFTER THE ACCELERATION, THE BRAKE CAME BACK ON AND CONTINUED TO APPLY AT THE SAME CONSTANT PRESSURE. THE ENTIRE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS LASTED ABOUT 1/2 A SECOND BUT CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO LURCH FORWARD WHILE BRAKING. THIS HAPPENS ABOUT ONCE A WEEK. *TR

LEAKAGE OF COOLANT FROM THE RADIATOR DISCOVERED AND IN LESS THAN 50 MILES AN ENGINE WARNING LIGHT LIT, INDICATING FAILURE OF THE HYBRID SYNERGY DRIVE SYSTEM , NAMELY THE HYBRID INVERTER. VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT INTO A LEXUS DEALERSHIP AND THE RADIATOR AND INVERTER WERE REPLACED. *TR

AS I WAS APPROACHING A RED LIGHT I STARTED TO BRAKE. MY BRAKES DID NOT ENGAGE EVEN WHEN I PUMPED. I SWUNG MY CARE TO THE LEFT SO I WOULD NOT REAR END THE CAR IN FRONT. I HIT THE CAR ON THE PASSENGER REAR CORNER (ON MY LEFT) AND TOTALED MY LEXUS. MY BRAKES WERE FINE UP TO THAT MOMENT AND ALTHOUGH I COULD NOT DRIVE THE CAR AWAY FROM THE SCENE THEY SEEMED TO BE WORKING AGAIN WHEN I PRESSED ON THEM (ALTHOUGH I CANNOT BE SURE AS THE CAR WAS STILL). IT WAS HORRIBLE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 LEXUS RX400H. THE CONTACT STATED THAT SHE RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 13V396000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM) AND STATED THAT THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE.

WHILE TRAVELING EAST ON RT 2 IN MASSACHUSETTES THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE HIT A BUMP IN THE ROAD AND BLEW OUT. AT THIS INSTANT THE POWER STEERING COMPLETELY FAILED MAKING IT EXTRA DIFFICULT TO GET THE VEHICLE UNDER CONTROL. I LATER TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO LEXUS OF MANCHESTER NEW HAMPSHIRE WHERE I PURCHASED IT AND THEY CONFIRMED THAT THE ECU HAD FAILED BY SWAPPING IT OUT WITH A KNOWN GOOD ONE FROM ANOTHER VEHICLE. I FEEL THAT THIS WOULD BE A VERY DANGEROUS FOR ANYBODY WAS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO BE ABLE CONTROL FORCE THAT A FLAT TIRE PUTS ON THE STEERING WHEEL UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES. *TR

THE BLACK PLASTIC FINISH TRIM ON THE DRIVER SIDE REAR TRIANGULAR WINDOW BLEW OFF ON THE FREEWAY AT 65 MILES PER HOUR. APPARENTLY THIS IS A VERY COMMON OCCURRENCE, SINCE NOW THAT I AM AWARE OF IT...I HAVE NOTICED THAT OTHER LEXUS SUV'S OF THE SAME OR SIMILAR MODELS HAVE THAT PIECE MISSING! I SAW 3 OTHERS JUST YESTERDAY! I AM THINKING THAT WHATEVER IS SUPPOSE TO HOLD THAT PIECE ON IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO DO SO! *TR

THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND P0AA6 WARNING ILLUMINATED AND VEHICLE WENT COMPLETELY DEAD, COULD NOT START UP. THERE WERE CRACKED BODY SEAMS ABOVE THE REAR DOOR STRUT MOUNTS ALLOWING WATER INTRUSION TO FLOOD THE ENTIRE BOTTOM WELL UNDER THE FLOOR BOARDS WHICH SHORTED OUT THE ENTIRE HYBRID BATTERY SYSTEM. THERE WERE NO VISIBLE SIGNS OF WATER INTRUSION INSIDE THE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE, NOTHING WAS WET. APPARENTLY, LEXUS HAS TWO TSB'S ON THIS ISSUE, L-SB-0019-09 & L-SB-0045-09, ON HOW TO REPAIR THE SEAMS SINCE OVER TIME THERE APPEARS TO BE A STRUCTURAL FLAW ALLOWING THE SEAMS TO SEPARATE. THE WATER INTRUSION HAPPENS SILENTLY AND WITHOUT WARNING AND PRESENTS A SEVERE SAFETY HAZARD AS YOU GET WATER INTO AN ELECTRICAL SYSTEM AND PARTS BEGIN SHORTING OUT WITHOUT ADVANCED WARNING. IMAGINE TRAVELING AT A HIGH SPEED AND THE HYBRID BATTERY SHORTS AND THE VEHICLE ABRUPTLY STOPS! OR AN ELECTRICAL SHORT STARTS A FIRE! LEXUS IS AWARE OF THE POTENTIAL PROBLEM AND HOW COSTLY THE DAMAGE IS AND THE SAFETY RISKS ASSOCIATED AS A RESULT AND HAS CHOSEN NOT TO ISSUE A RECALL OR LIMITED CAMPAIGN TO ALLOW FOR A SIMPLE REPAIR OF THE SEAMS TO PREVENT MAJOR DAMAGE FROM OCCURRING. *TR