What 78 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Lexus Rx350

VEHICICLE SHOT FORWARD GAINING SPEED WITH BRAKES FULLY APPLIED WHCH DID NOT ENGAGE THE BRAKE OVERRIDE OF ACCELERATION. RAN THROUGH THE GARAGE DOOR GAINING SPEED THEN COLLIDED WITH THE GARAGE BACK WALL. THERE WAS NO CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. THE ADJACENT KITCHEN WALL COLLAPSED WHICH MOVED THE REFRIGERATOR FORWARD TRAPPING OUR TWO FRIENDS BETWEEN IT AND THE KITCHEN CABINETS ON THE PARALLEL WALL. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY EVEN THOUGH THE BLACK BOX INDICATED THE CAR HIT THE GARAGE WALL AT ABOUT 17 MPH. BLACK BOX SHOWED FULL THROTTLE AND TOTAL APPLICATION OF BRAKES. CAR WAS TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL AND PRODUCED HORRIFYING RESULTS. ONE OF OUR FRIENDS LAPSED INTO A COMA THAT NIGHT AND WAS TAKEN OFF LIFE SUPPORT A WEEK LATER. THE OTHER FRIEND IS IN REHAB AFTER SUFFERING A BROKEN FEMUR, A BROKEN PELVIS, AND SEVERAL BROKEN RIBS. THERE IS NO DOUBT IN OUR MINDS THAT THE CAR WAS AT FAULT AND HAVE NOTED THAT MANY LEXUS VEHICLES HAVE EXPERIENCED WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED IS SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. THE FACT THAT THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AND AT A SPEED EXCEEDING THE NHTSA STANDARDS IS ANOTHER SERIOUS ISSUE WITH THE LEXUS. WE ARE HORRIFIED ABOUT THIS EVENT THAT HAS HAD SUCH TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES. PLEASE NOTE THIS OCCURED IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD.

NHTSA ODI 11139529

ON THE GARAGE DRIVEWAY, SUDDENLY MY CAR ACCELERATED IN THE REVERSE GEAR AND COULD NOT BE STOPPED EVEN AFTER PRESSING THE BRAKE. THE CAR COMPLETELY WENT OUT OF CONTROL IN THE REVERSE AND CRASHED INTO MY BACKYARD FENCE, PLOWED THROUGH IT AND FINALLY CAME TO A STOP AFTER HITTING MY RAISED PATIO!

NHTSA ODI 10897034

THE CAR WAS PARKED ON A FLAT SURFACE ON THE TOP OF A DRIVEWAY THAT GOES DOWNHILL. THE CAR WAS TURNED ON AND WHEN THE PARKING BRAKE WAS RELEASED, THE CAR IMMEDIATELY SHOT DOWN THE HILL LIKE A BULLET AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. THE BRAKES DID NOT STOP OR SLOW DOWN THE CAR. WE WENT THROUGH 3 FENCES BEFORE THE CAR WAS FINALLY STOPPED BY THE THIRD FENCE. THE CAR HAD 4 PASSENGERS IN IT. THE PASSENGERS ON THE RIGHT PASSENGER SIDE, BOTH FRONT AND REAR, SUSTAINED THE MOST INJURIES. NONE OF THE 10 AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10644866

I WAS DRIVING ON I-59 NORTH WITH WIFE AS PASSENGER WITH RADAR CRUISE CONTROL SET AT 70 MPH APPROACHING DEPARTURE EXIT. I TAPPED THE BRAKE PEDAL TO RELEASE THE CC AND IT DID NOT RELEASE. THINKING I HAD NOT TAPPED IT HARD ENOUGH, I MADE THE TURN AND TAPPED THE BRAKE PEDAL HARDER. THE CC DID NOT RELEASE. I APPLIED THE BRAKES WITH FULL FORCE. THE ENGINE RACED TO SATISFY THE CC AND THE SPEED WAS 69 MPH GOING INTO THE EXIT. MY FOCUS WAS STEERING THE VEHICLE TO AVOID OBJECTS AND TRAFFIC. WE CRASHED ACROSS A FOUR LANE CONCRETE CURBED BOULEVARD AND INTO A CHAIN-LINK FENCE. I STEERED DOWN A FRONTAGE ROAD AND BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO A STOP. THIS WAS A 30 SECOND + EVENT. THE BLACK BOX CAPTURED 9.5 SECONDS OF INFORMATION. LEXUS DOWNLOADED THE BLACK BOX AND I REQUESTED A COPY OF THE INFORMATION WHICH THEY DID FURNISH ON A THUMB DRIVE. THEY IMMEDIATELY ERASED ALL EVIDENCE OF THE CRASH FROM THE VEHICLE DATA RECORDER AND PROCLAIMED THERE WERE NO PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLE. THE THUMB DRIVE DATA CLEARLY DISPLAYS THAT THE CAR WAS TRAVELING 69 MPH ON THE DATA RECORDER. IT ALSO SHOWS THAT THE CC DROPPED OUT DURING THE CRASH. I RECEIVED A LETTER FROM TOYOTA LEGAL IN TORRANCE, CA, INDICATING THAT THEIR REVIEW OF THE VEHICLE FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH IT AND THE CASE WAS CLOSED. THE BODY SHOP REPAIRS WERE $16K PLUS THE DEPRECIATED VALUE OF THE VEHICLE IS $11K. NALLEY LEXUS GALLERIA, SMYRNA, GA, WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED, DEFERS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO TOYOTA. I HAVE BEEN A TOYOTA CUSTOMER SINCE 1990 AND THIS HAS BEEN MY THIRD LEXUS RX. BITTER SWEET END! MB

NHTSA ODI 10502982