2021 Lexus ES350

While driving my 2021 Lexus ES 350 on a Interstate Highway 495 known as the Long Island Expressway my vehicle went over a small pot hole in the road way and the tires side wall was punctured resulting in a flat tire. I replaced the tire having only 4,555 miles on this new vehicle. Following this incident I once again drove over obstruction more than 4 inches and had both the drivers side tire and the drivers side rear tire side walls punctured with the additional damage of the drivers side front rim so badly damaged it had to be replaced. My specific safety issue is these low profile tires are less than 4 inches from the rim AND CAN NOT ACCEPT THE STRESS OF A "NOMINAL POT HOLE TO PREVENT PUNCTURING OF THE SIDE WALL OF THE TIRE AND ARE UNSAFE UNDER "NORMAL ROAD HAZARDS THAT OTHER TIRES DO NOT EXPERIENCE THAT ARE NOT LOW PROFILE TIRES. Tire is Bridgestone Turanza EL440. Called Lexus. They disallow any other tire or rim except the low profile to result in voiding of warranty. What can I do to remedy this safety issue at my own expense ?

NHTSA ID

11497278

Incident

Oct 22, 2022

The contact owns a 2021 Lexus ES350. The contact stated while accelerating from a stop, the brakes inadvertently was activated. The automatic braking system engaged and the vehicle had to be shifted to park, turned off, and restarted to operate correctly. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for diagnostic testing or repairs. The contact stated that several months later the failure recurred. The contact stated that while turning out of a parking lot the automatic braking system engaged and the vehicle had to be turned off and restarted to operate correctly. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that if the failure did not occur on the way to the dealer there was nothing that they could do. The vehicle was taken to the dealer after the 5th failure and the dealer was unable to determine a cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and sent a field technician to the dealer who was also unable to determine the cause of the failure. A case was opened with the manufacturer. The approximate failure mileage was 8,000. Consumer called several times to speak to a case manager but not able to reach a field tech for over a month.

NHTSA ID

11466993

Incident

May 12, 2021

Mileage

8,000 mi

My car had 3 tire/wheel issues in less than 4 months. Left me stranded on the side of the road. Was told this is a common issue. Basically Lexus knows they have a problem but do not have plans to fix other than offer insurance. It is costly repair. The bigger issue is the safety one. I believe that sometime this will cause a severe accident. I felt so strongly I sold the car back to Lexus. We were surprised at the total lack of concern shown to us. We had 2 episodes in MI and 1 in FL. I was told that an office manger had 3 blow outs this year. Also another customer that had just had her car a week had a blow out. I will never purchase a car with Low profile tires of this kind. If your tires won't hold up you cannot feel safe.

NHTSA ID

11461331

Incident

Apr 4, 2022

My opened vehicle doors can not be seen in the path of other vehicle drivers when standing outside the opened vehicle door blocking the light on the vehicle doors. To solve this problem I added a Fluorescent Yellow/Green Retro-Reflective Tape to the lower interior door edge of each vehicle door that is automatically illuminated by another vehicle drivers headlights at night to allow another vehicle a visual warning and the added time to allow accident avoidance to occur. I also contacted the New York City Dept. of Transportation that also includes the police department and learned that with the fleet of 31,000 vehicles they have they have a continuous upwards of 1,000 opened vehicle door collisions a year. I believe NHTSA is NOT REPORTING SPECIFICALLY INCIDENTS OF OPENED VEHICLE DOOR COLLISIONS because the specific type of incident is not included in the motor vehicle accident accident reports provided back to NHTSA. I request NHTSA include the following in accident reports OPENED VEHICLE DOOR to be included into my Petition for Rulemaking since non-reporting of opened vehicle door collisions is "grossly under or not reported'. It is my low estimate that in the United States upwards of 500.000 opened vehicle door collisions occur yearly and NHTSA has "just cause" to include these incidents in its reporting systems.

NHTSA ID

11433575

Incident

Sep 20, 2021

WHEN I OPENED MY VEHICLE DOOR AT NIGHT AND EXITING MY VEHICLE THE VEHICLE DOOR DOES NOT PROVIDE A VISUAL WARNING TO OTHER VEHICLE DRIVERS IN THE PATH OF MY 2021 LEXUS ES 350. I DID AN INVESTIGATION AND FOUND THAT ALL OPENING DOORS ON ALL 17 MILLION VEHICLE DOORS DO NOT PROVIDE AN ADDED ZONE OF ILLUMINATION THAT IS AUTOMATICALLY ILLUMINATED BY ANOTHER VEHICLE DRIVERS HEADLIGHT TO ALLOW ACCIDENT AVOIDANCE TO OCCUR. I PETITIONED NHTSA AND RECEIVED NO REPLY TO MY "FIX" TO MAKE POSSIBLE A NEW FMVSS 108 TO SOLVE THIS CONTRIBUTORY CAUSE OF OPENED VEHICLE DOOR PEDESTRIAN DEATHS. THE APPLICATION TO ADD A ZONE OF ILLUMINATION IS UNIVERSAL IN APPLICATION TO ALL VEHICLE DOORS, AND TAKES ABOUT 10 SECONDS TO APPLY REQUIRING NO TOOLS. I WISH NHTSA TO TAKE A POSITION THAT ALL VEHICLE DRIVERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO SEE OPENED VEHICLE DOORS AT NIGHT TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF OPENED VEHICLE DOOR COLLISIONS AND OPENED VEHICLE DOOR PEDESTRIAN DEATHS AND TO PROVIDE A SAFETY WARNING NOTICE TO ALL VEHICLE OWNERS THE FOLLOWING. IT HAS BEEN DETERMINED BY VISUAL OBSERVATION AT NIGHT OPENING THE VEHICLE DOORS ON ALL VEHICLES DO NOT PROVIDE A VISUAL ZONE OF ILLUMINATION WARNING TO OTHER VEHICLE DRIVERS AT NIGHT THAT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO A OPENED VEHICLE DOOR PEDESTRIAN FATALITY.

NHTSA ID

11402986

Incident

Jan 1, 2021

Mileage

15 mi

OBSOLETE NOTICE February 14, 2023: This bulletin is now obsolete. Please see L-SB-0007-23

TSB: Some 2020 ? 2022 model year vehicles equipped with 17CY+ Panasonic Audio (versions less than 1226) and Navigation (versions less than 1225 or 1245 with 20 Teammate) may exhibit one or more of the following conditions: ?Navigation reset while entering a destination. ?Voice command does not recognize Starbucks. ??Unable to establish audio connection? message, and Alexa is unable to resume after Android AutoTM interruption. ?Soft buttons grayed Out during panoramic view monitor transition. ?HVAC fan speed displayed incorrectly. ?Volume cannot be adjusted with the rear seat remote control. ?Multimedia system reboots when iPhone® is connected via USB. ?Energy flow information is missing on energy monitor screen. ?Clearance sonar indication on backup camera screen is missing. ?Audio from USB devices intermittently works. ?iPhone® ringer continues after answering call. ?Audio titles not displayed. ?Toyota apps screen menu not displayed. Some 2020 ? 2021 model year vehicles equipped with 17CY+ Panasonic Navigation (version less than 1150) and Audio (version less than 1163) may exhibit one or more of the following conditions: ?Poor map screen touch operation. ?Navigation system reset. ?Climate temperature control difficult to operate. ??Waiting for the Beep? message displayed, voice recognition does not start when pressing the push to talk button. ?Blower motor speed incorrectly displayed. ?White CarPlay® screen when connecting iPhone12®. ?Navigation sub-screen blank while playing a CD. ?Inoperative rear seat entertainment track controls. ?Abnormal energy flow screen appearance. ?Incorrect FM or SiriusXM® genre Information. A software update is now available to address these conditions. Follow the Software Update Procedure in this bulletin to address these conditions.

TSB: Some 2018 ? 2022 model year Lexus vehicles equipped with the Enform? 2.0 Navigation System, require a Special Service Tool (SST) USB flash drive to update the map, points of interest, and system software. The SST is used with applicable vehicles to deliver the update, however, the process for generating license keys differs from previous generations. Before attempting to perform a map update, the expiration date of the dynamic subscription (stored in the head unit), must be checked. If the expiration date has not passed, a license key may be generated without the purchase of an activation card number (ACN). Updating the map without the use of an ACN is considered an Embedded Navigation Update (refer to pg. 10) and performing this update does not extend the subscription to dynamic map services. If the subscription period has expired, or is expiring within the next 90 days, it should be recommended to the customer to purchase an ACN. Utilizing an ACN, will initiate the Dynamic Navigation Update (refer to pg. 4). This Dynamic Navigation Update will perform the embedded navigation update and provide dynamic map services for a period of two years from the date that the Dynamic Navigation Update is performed. ACNs are provided in a pamphlet available through the normal parts ordering system

TT: Confirm there is an abnormal noise coming from the front of the vehicle, some customers describe the noise as a roaring type noise. Confirm the vehicle meets the following criteria: ?Mileage is under 5,000 miles ?No previous repairs or accidents ?Noise is due to the left/right/both front hubs and bearings If the vehicle meets the above criteria, please recover the front hubs and bearings and submit a Dealership Product Report (DPR) including a video of the condition. If the vehicle does not exhibit an abnormal noise OR does not meet the above criteria, please proceed to diagnose the vehicle using the applicable repair manual.

TSB: Some 2019 ? 2022 model year ES 300h and ES 350 vehicles and 2021 ? 2022 model year ES 250 vehicles may exhibit a whistle or wind noise from the rear left quarter window. An updated repair process has been created to reduce the possibility of this condition. Follow the Repair Procedure in this bulletin to address this condition

TSB: This Service Bulletin provides a procedure to properly perform the Techstream ?Control the Injection Mode? active test in some 2016 ? 2022 model year Lexus vehicles equipped with an FKS engine