2024 Lexus Gx

The contact owns a 2024 Lexus GX 550. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the instrument cluster momentarily turned black. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where the failure could not be duplicated, and no service was performed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 8,000.

I have a 2024 Lexus GX 550 Overtrail with about 4,500 miles on it bought in December 2024. I went to start it this afternoon and I got a message saying "Low Steering Power". All the electrical things on the car seemed to be working: lights, dash lit up, courtesy lights, all the screens, etc. It just wouldn't turn over. I shut the car off and gave it a minute or two then tried again. Nothing. At the same time, the car started to make a low, continuous humming sound and made a couple of clicking noises about every 10 seconds. It sounded like the hum of a refrigerator and seemed to be coming from the front half of the car. The car was totally turned off at this time. I then called Lexus Roadside assistance (the car was in my garage; hadn't used it in about 48 or so hours). When the flatbed driver arrived he tried to start it a few times. When he did this the car began to smoke from the fuse box. A significant amount of acrid smoke and severe odor of burning plastic developed. The flatbed driver and I immediately pushed the car out of the garage for fear of a fire starting and engulfing more than just the car. The fuse box and some of the fuses in it were melting. No flames developed but I'm quite certain that was a possibility. This just happened today. The dealer said they are going to begin investigating the issue. I'm very concerned that if others have this problem it could develop into something more serious. From what I've discovered from an internet search is that the combination of the "Low Steering Power" error message and the smoking fuse box condition "indicates a likely electrical short or significant component failure that could lead to a fire." I've uploaded a pic of the partially melted fuse box. I have no paperwork from the dealer service department as yet.

I was just getting off from work starting the engine, the driving meters screen and the head up display were completely off black, I thought that it will turn on after driving but it didn’t. I was driving more than 5 minutes on the free way and both screens were still dark. This is not the first time that this happened. The last time when this was happened, I brought my vehicle to the dealership where I purchased it, but then everything went back normal when I got to the dealership parking lot. They never performed any diagnostic or checking anything. Also the navigation/multi media scene flashing quite a bit. This car electrical system didn’t function properly and correctly when driving and could cause serious accidents or deaths, depending on who was driving. I really don’t know what more failure after this. In the past, Lexus had history of vehicle brake failures and couldn’t stop that claimed someone lives. This issues should be addressed before something else happens. ( I also have video available to support this concern)

System Failure: This vehicle has a narrow shelf molded into the dashboard above the glove box. There was a small container of hair lotion stored there that melted in the heat and dripped through the dash and destroyed the electronic control unit or ECU (#89221-60630 Multiplex Computer) and the power distribution assembly (#82730-60260 Power Distributor Assembly). This damage completely disabled the vehicle. Apparently, the ECU (a) is located where fluid can reach it through the dash and (b) it does not have any kind of shielding to protect it from being damaged in this way. Safety Issue: I am extremely lucky that I was not in a remote location when a few drops of hand lotion rendered my vehicle 100% inoperable. No prior warning: There was no warning prior to a complete failure of the vehicle to operate. Inspected by manufacturer: The vehicle was inspected at a Lexus dealership and remains there.