2006 Lexus RX Hybrid Fuel system Problems

MY VEHICLE IS DISPLAYING A HYBRID SYSTEM CHECK MESSAGE, AND THE HYBRID SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONS. THIS IS CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STALL IN DRIVE WHILE THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. THE VEHICLE LOSES ALL CAPABILITIES TO PROPERLY FUNCTION. I WAS ON A CITY STREET WHEN THIS HAPPENED, AND HAD TO COAST THE VEHICLE DOWNHILL IN TRAFFIC TO PULL OVER. MY ENGINE CHECK LIGHT ALSO ILLUMINATED. THIS VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN DRIVEN REGULARLY, AS I JUST PURCHASED IT FROM A DEALERSHIP THAT HAD BEEN SITTING ON IT FOR SOME TIME. THE CARFAX CHECK OUT FOR THE VEHICLE, SO IT COULD BE A FAULTY ELECTRICAL SYSTEM INVERTER.

NHTSA ID

11229830

Incident

Jul 5, 2019

Mileage

66,040 mi

MY 2006 LEXUS RX400H THAT I JUST PURCHASED A FEW MONTHS AGO FROM A LOCAL DEALER (ONE OWNER PRIOR) HAS SHUT DOWN GOING DOWN OUR MOUNTAIN. TAKING MY BOYS TO SCHOOL IT JUST STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AS WE COASTED DOWN OUR MOUNTAIN, AND THE BRAKES JUST STOPPED WORKING. I WAS ABLE TO COAST INTO MY NEIGHBORS' DRIVEWAY AND BARELY ABLE TO USE MY BRAKES. THEY DIDN'T WORK WHEN THE HYBRID LIGHT CAME ON. EXTREMELY SCARY! IT HAPPENED A FEW TIMES PRIOR TO THIS IN THESE LAST FEW MONTHS, BUT I WAS ABLE TO GET IT STARTED AGAIN PREVIOUSLY. IT'S NOW A BRICK WITH A DASHBOARD OF LIGHTS! I AM BEING TOLD BY LEXUS THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE INVERTER RECALL AND IN FACT, THEY CLAIMED THAT THEY ALREADY REPLACED IT PRIOR TO MY OWNERSHIP A FEW MONTHS BACK, REPLACED IN 2012, LATER TO FIND OUT THAT WAS NOT TRUE. I HAVE THE SERVICE RECORDS FROM THE FIRST OWNER. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY CAR. IT HAD TO BE TOWED FROM MY NEIGHBOR'S HOME ABOUT 500 FEET DOWN OUR MOUNTAIN, BACK UP TO OUR HOME ABOUT 500' BACK UP. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT WAS EITHER NOT RECALLED OR NEEDS TO BE FIXED AGAIN AFTER THE RECALL. PLEASE GIVE ME SOME ADVICE. I WILL HAVE TO HAVE IT TOWED TO THE MECHANICS WHEN THEY OPEN. SOME PHOTOS OF MY DASH, ANY SUGGESTIONS? LEXUS NEEDS TO PAY FOR THESE REPAIRS. THIS IS A SEVERE SAFETY ISSUE! THANK GOD I WAS ABLE TO COAST INTO MY NEIGHBOR'S DRIVEWAY. I CAN'T IMAGINE HAD THIS HAPPENED ON THE HIGHWAY IN TRAFFIC. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT LEXUS WILL NOT STAND BEHIND THIS SAFETY ISSUE AND I AM DEEPLY CONCERNED FOR THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY. PLEASE REOPEN THIS CASE AND INCLUDE MY VIN NUMBER IN THIS RECALL.

NHTSA ID

11175800

Incident

Feb 2, 2019

Mileage

167,000 mi

VEHICLE APPEARED TO ENTER "FAIL-SAFE" MODE WITH REDUCED POWER WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY RESULTING IN REDUCED ABILITY TO CONTROL VEHICLE. SEVERAL MINUTES LATER, WHILE DRIVING ON CITY STREET, THE VEHICLE EVENTUALLY LOST ALL POWER WHILE STOPPED AT RED LIGHT AND COULD NOT BE DRIVEN, AND POWER-STEERING ALSO FAILED. WARNING LIGHTS INCLUDED "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM," "CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT," "SLIP INDICATOR," AND PERHAPS OTHERS. AFTER TURNING OFF AND TURNING BACK ON AT RED LIGHT, THERE SUFFICIENT POWER TO DRIVE VEHICLE AGAIN, THOUGH "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" AND "CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT" REMAINED ILLUMINATED. A COUPLE HOURS LATER, AFTER RESTARTING VEHICLE, WARNING LIGHTS WERE NO LONGER ON AND VEHICLE COULD BE DRIVEN NORMALLY. THE CONDITION APPEARS SIMILAR TO ISSUE IN TOYOTA SAFETY RECALL 13V-396. HOWEVER, OUR VEHICLE'S VIN IS NOT IN THE RANGE OF THAT RECALL. WE HAVE NOT YET CONTACTED LEXUS DEALERSHIP REGARDING THIS ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10947314

Incident

Jan 23, 2017

Mileage

101,000 mi

I PURCHASED THIS CAR ON 6/11/2016 WITH 125, 812 MILES. I AM NOW AT 140, 949 AND TODAY WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD WITH MY DAUGHTER IN THE CAR MY VSC MAINT LIGHT, ABS LIGHT, BRAKE LIGHT, AND TRACK STABILIZER LIGHT ALL CAME ON AT THE SAME TIME. I HAVE CONTACTED THE LEXUS DEALER IN REGARDS TO CAMPAIGN NUMBER 13V396000 AS THIS RECALL IDENTIFICATION IS IDENTICAL TO WHAT HAPPENED TODAY. THIS BEING MY ONLY VEHICLE WHICH CARRIES MYSELF AND MY CHILD THIS SEEMS TO BE A VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE. THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME THAT ALL OF THESE RECALLS HAVE BEEN REPAIRED AND MY VEHICLE IS NOT COVERED. IF THIS CAR WAS REPAIRED IT IS OBVIOUS IT WAS NOT REPAIRED CORRECTLY, IF AT ALL. THIS REPAIR WOULD COST ME CLOSE TO WHAT I PAID FOR THE CAR ITSELF! I WOULD LIKE DOCUMENTATION THAT MY VEHICLE HAS IN FACT BEEN REPAIRED AS I AM BETTER OFF BUYING A DIFFERENT CAR AND JUNKING THIS ONE THAN PAYING TO REPAIR IT.

NHTSA ID

10926104

Incident

Nov 15, 2016

Mileage

140,949 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

10882529

Incident

Jul 4, 2016

Mileage

130,000 mi

ON NOVEMBER 12, 2014 EVENING, I WAS DRIVING ALONG AND GOING UP A HILL IN MY CITY STREET AND SUDDENLY I HEARD A THUMP SOUND AND THEN MY LEXUS RX400H LOST ALL POWER AND THE CAR STALLED. IT WAS DANGEROUS BECAUSE THE VEHICLE LOST POWER AS I WAS GOING UP A STEEP HILL. LUCKILY, I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE AND PUT THE PARKING BRAKE ON. WHEN THE VEHICLE STALLED, MY DASH LIT UP WITH "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" , "CHECK VSC" AND OTHER LIGHTS ALSO CAME ON. I TRIED TO START THE CAR, BUT THE HYBRID "READY" LIGHT WOULD NOT STAY ON. THE CAR WOULD NOT START. I HAD TO TOW THE VEHICLE TO A LEXUS DEALER. I PUT A NEW BATTERY IN THE VEHICLE AND THAT STILL DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. THEN, THE LEXUS DEALER MECHANIC DID A COMPUTER DIAGNOSIS AND SAID THAT IT INDICATED "HYBRID INVERTER PROBLEM". MY VEHICLE WAS PREVIOUSLY BROUGHT INTO LEXUS DEALERSHIP FOR AN EARLIER RECALL FOR IPM MODULE BUT THE DEALER AT THAT TIME SAID MY VEHICLE WAS NOT WITHIN THE SERIAL RANGE AFFECTED AND NOTHING WAS DONE TO THE VEHICLE AT THAT TIME. I PHONED LEXUS USA ON NOVEMBER 13, 2014, AND THEY CONFIRMED MY VEHICLE WAS UNDER THE RECALL DLF, NHTSA RECALL NUMBER 13V396. I WAS NEVER NOTIFIED BY LETTER. THE LEXUS DEALER THEN PUT IN THE IPM RECALL PART TOYOTA PART 04001-29148 PART AND THE VEHICLE STARTED PROPERLY. MY VEHICLE HAS ABOUT 94,000 MILES AND JUST OVER 8 YEARS OLD AND TECHNICALLY OUT OF WARRANTY. HOWEVER, THE LEXUS DEALER REPLACED THE PART WITH LABOR AT NO CHARGE. THIS REPAIR COSTS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IF NOT COVERED BY LEXUS. WHEN I BOUGHT MY LEXUS HYBRID, I DID NOT BE EXPECT THAT THE HYBRID VEHICLE COULD FAIL IN SUCH A CATASTROPHIC WAY. I'M A LITTLE FEARFUL TO DRIVE THIS VEHICLE AGAIN IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN, AND I HOPE LEXUS WILL TAKE CARE OF THIS ISSUE IT HAPPENS AGAIN. THERE IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING DEFECTIVE WITH THE HYBRID INVERTER, AND IT COULD BE DANGEROUS IF IT FAILS WHILE DRIVING. *TR

NHTSA ID

10661150

Incident

Nov 12, 2014

Mileage

94,800 mi

HAVING ENJOYED OWNING A LEXUS RX300, I MADE A HUGE "INVESTMENT" AND PURCHASED THE 2006 RX400H. IN APRIL OF 2014, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START DUE TO A FAILURE OF THE HYBRID SYSTEM. I ATTEMPTED TO JUMP START THE VEHICLE AS SUGGESTED BY THE LEXUS DEALER. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION I DISCOVERED THE CARPET INSIDE THE CABIN AREA WAS SOAKING WET! THE CAR HAD BEEN OUTSIDE IN THE RAIN WITH THE WINDOWS, SUNROOF AND DOORS CLOSED. ALSO, I TAKE THE CAR TO AN AUTOMATIC CAR WASH ON A REGULAR BASIS. WHILE LOADING THE CAR ON TO THE JERR-DAN TOW TRUCK, A LARGE AMOUNT OF WATER POURED OUT OF THE REAR TRUNK AREA. THE TOW TRUCK OPERATOR WAS AMAZED AT THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT WAS POURING ONTO THE DRIVEWAY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LEXUS DEALER. AFTER SEVERAL DAYS, A LEAK IN THE REAR HATCH AREA WAS FOUND TO BE THE SOURCE OF THE WATER. THERE APPARENTLY IS A METAL SEAM WHERE THE WELDS DO NOT HOLD UP OR WERE NOT WELDED PROPERLY. WATER COLLECTED IN THE HYBRID BATTERY AREA CAUSING OVER $7000 DAMAGE. OF COURSE, LUCKILY FOR LEXUS, THE VEHICLE WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED. THE ONLY RECOURSE I HAD WAS TO MAKE A CLAIM TO MY INSURANCE, WHICH ONLY COVERED THE DAMAGES BUT NOT THE CAUSE. MY OUT OF POCKET EXPENSES ARE APPROXIMATELY $3000. WATER LEAKING FROM THE OUTSIDE INTO THE CABIN OF A VEHICLE, ESPECIALLY ONE OF THIS PRICE, IS UNACCEPTABLE. AND TO HAVE WATER COLLECT INTO THE "HEART" OF THE VEHICLE AND RENDER THE VEHICLE INOPERABLE IS FRIGHTENING. I COULD HAVE BEEN ON AN ISOLATED ROAD OR A BUSY HIGHWAY AND THE VEHICLE COULD HAVE SUDDENLY QUIT. LEXUS KNEW ABOUT THIS POTENTIAL PROBLEM BUT DID NOT ADVISE THEIR CUSTOMERS TO WATCH FOR ANY SIGNS OF MOISTURE. THE REPAIR TO THE POPPED SEAM COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BY ANY BODY SHOP OR, I'M TOLD, THE USE OF A GOOD QUALITY SILICONE. THERE IS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN FROM 3/10/2009 THAT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSES THIS PROBLEM: TSB-L-SB0019-09 REV 1. *TR

NHTSA ID

10586442

Incident

Apr 10, 2014

Mileage

90,000 mi

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

NHTSA ID

10561527

Incident

Jan 11, 2014

Mileage

53,602 mi

TRAVELING DOWN THE INTERSTATE BETWEEN 75-80 MPH, THE CAR COMPLETELY SHUT-OFF. LOST ALL POWER AND "CHECK HYBRID SYSTEM" LIGHTS CAME ON. WAS NOT ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE. IT TURNS OUT THAT THE INVERTER ON THIS CAR WAS RECALLED IN JUNE 2011 AND I WAS NOT NOTIFIED. I TOOK MY CAR IN FOR SERVICE IN NOVEMBER OF 2011 AT THE DEALERSHIP WHERE IT WAS PURCHASED, AND THEY DID NOTHING TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. SALINE KIRKLAND AT LEXUS OF MOBILE (SERVICE MANAGER) SAID SHE FOUND OUT ABOUT THE PROBLEM ONE WEEK AGO. *TR

NHTSA ID

10454137

Incident

Apr 1, 2012

Mileage

62,000 mi

VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY STOPS RUNNING WHILE DRIVING - ENDED UP BEING A FAILED INVERTER. *TR

NHTSA ID

10352819

Incident

Aug 29, 2010

Mileage

75,000 mi

MY 2006 LEXUS RX 400H HAS EXPERIENCED A VIBRATION DURING ACCELERATION. IT SEEMS TO STALL THE ENGINE. BRING THE VEHICLE TO DEALER FOR CHECKING. THE DEALER SAID MY VEHICLE USES INCORRECT GRADE OF GASOLINE OR NOT GOOD QUALITY GASOLINE AND RECOMMEND THAT I SHALL ALWAYS USE BETTER QUALITY GASOLINE, I.E. GASOLINE FROM SHELL. THE VIBRATION IS CAUSED BY THE MISFIRE. SUBSEQUENTLY USING THE GASOLINE FROM SHELL AND THE VIBRATION SEEMS TO BE REDUCED OR GO AWAY. LATER ON, TRY TO USE A DIFFERENT BRAND OF GASOLINE (SAME GRADE, PREMIUM) AND THE VIBRATION COMES BACK. IT SEEMS THE VIBRATION HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE TIMING OF IGNITION WHICH IS CONTROLLED BY THE COMPUTER. IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE THAT THE DESIGN OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE MODELING IS BASED ON CERTAIN BRAND OF GASOLINE OR THE DESIGN MARGIN IS SO TIGHT THAT THE IGNITION TIMING DOES NOT WORK WITH THE GASOLINE THAT IS SLIGHT DEVIATED FROM THE GASOLINE THAT LEXUS USES TO MAKE THE DESIGN. IF I DRIVE THE CAR LONG DISTANCE OR OUT OF TOWN AND CAN NOT FIND THE GAS STATION THAT SELL THE GASOLINE WHICH PRODUCE NO VIBRATION, THEN, I COULD RUN INTO A SERIOUS SITUATION THAT MY VEHICLE COULD BE STALLED OR BROKEN DOWN DUE TO SEVERE VIBRATION. *TR

NHTSA ID

10327916

Incident

Mar 2, 2010

Mileage

46,100 mi