2012 Lexus RX350

THE CFEI (CERTIFIED FIRE & EXPLOSION INVESTIGATOR) FIRE LIEUTENANT/INVESTIGATOR WITH THE CITY OF FT. LAUDERDALE'S FIRE DEPT, WHO ALSO RESPONDED TO MY 911 CALL, HAD POINTED OUT AND EXPLAINED TO ME THE INTENSITY OF FLAME, HEAT AND BURN PATTERN IN THE ENGINE AND STATED THAT THIS WAS CAUSED BY A MECHANICAL ENGINE MALFUNCTION. WHAT HAPPENED: I HAD JUST DRIVEN MY 2012 LEXUS RX350 A SHORT DISTANCE ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN I PULLED INTO A 7-11 PARKING LOT NOT FAR FROM THE GAS PUMPS AND PUT THE CAR IN PARK. WITH THE ENGINE STILL RUNNING, I OPENED MY DRIVERS SIDE WINDOW TO TALK TO A FRIEND WHEN I IMMEDIATELY SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING. I FILED A REPORT WITH LEXUS THE VERY NEXT DAY AND RECEIVED A LETTER 3 WEEKS LATER. THEIR LAST PARAGRAPH SAYS "WE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU REPORTED THIS TO GEICO AS WELL. IF THEIR INVESTIGATION HAS REVEALED ANY EVIDENCE OF PRODUCT LIABILITY, WE WILL GLADLY REVIEW THAT INFORMATION." I CALLED OUT TO HIM AS HE WAS WALKING FROM HIS VEHICLE TOWARDS MY CAR AND YELLED OUT TO HIM THAT SOMETHING SMELLED LIKE IT WAS BURNING. HE THEN TOLD ME TO RELEASE THE HOOD BECAUSE HE NOTICED SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. HE SLIGHTLY RAISED THE HOOD, SAW A FLAME, SLAMMED THE HOOD SHUT, THEN HE YELLED OUT TO ME "GET OUT OF THE CAR NOW YOUR ENGINE IS ON FIRE". I JUMPED OUT, CALLED 911, THEN STARTED TAKING PHOTOS WITH MY PHONE WHILE WATCHING AS MY VEHICLE BECAME ENGULFED IN FLAMES AND SMOKE. FIRST I HEARD THE TIRES BLOW OUT THEN I HEARD THE WINDSHIELD BLOW OUT. MY FRIEND SAW THE FLAMES WHEN HE LIFTED THE HOOD AND SAID HE OBSERVED THAT THE FIRE WAS BURNING IN THE CENTER OF THE MOTOR AT THE FUEL MANIFOLD. THE FIRE DEPT ARRIVED ABOUT 5-7 MINUTES LATER AND PROCEEDED TO TRY TO PUT OUT THE FIRE. THE CAR IS A TOTAL LOSS!

I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF A 2013 LEXUS RX350. ON AUGUST 14, 2019 AS I WAS PARKING MY CAR AND ROLLING INTO A PARKING SPOT, WITH MY FOOT ONLY ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE ENGINE REVVED AND THE CAR ACCELERATED FORWARD. THE CAR HIT A CURB AND GAVE ME THE TIME TO REACT AND APPLIED ENOUGH BRAKE PRESSURE TO STOP THE VEHICLE BEFORE IT WENT INTO THE STREET INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THE NEXT DAY I BROUGHT THE CAR INTO MY LOCAL LEXUS DEALERSHIP. THEY HAD THE CAR FOR THE ENTIRE DAY AND COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. ON AUGUST 17, 2019, THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED AS I WAS AGAIN ROLLING INTO A PARKING SPOT. AGAIN WITH MY FOOT ONLY ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE ENGINE REVVED AND THE CAR ACCELERATED FORWARD. THIS TIME I WAS NOT ABLE TO REACT QUICK ENOUGH AS THE CAR HIT A CONCRETE POLE AT THE FRONT OF THE PARKING SPOT. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE LEXUS DEALERSHIP. OVER THE NEXT 30-45 DAYS AN INDEPENDENT ENGINEER REMOVED THE EVENT DATA RECORDER (EDR)FROM THE CAR AND SENT IT TO TOYOTA FOR ANALYSIS. ON OCT 3, 2019 TOYOTA RESPONDED THAT BASED ON THEIR FINDINGS OF THE EDR THE VEHICLE IS NOT DEFECTIVE. IN MY OWN SEARCH OF THE INTERNET, I FOUND NUMEROUS INCIDENTS ON UNINTENDED ACCELERATION FOR THE SAME YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL AS MY CAR. I HAVE SENT LETTERS TO THE CEO OF TOYOTA AND LEXUS BUT AS OF THIS DATE, OCT 15, 2019 NEITHER TOYOTA NOR LEXUS HAS ACKNOWLEDGED OR ADMITTED THAT ANYTHING IS DEFECTIVE WITH THE VEHICLE. *JS *JS *JS

DURING DRIVING IN THE HIGHWAY SUDDENLY THE WHOLE VEHICLE IS SHAKING AND REDUCED SPEED SUDDENLY; ALL KIND OF ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS ARE TURNED ON AS HAVE TO PULL ASIDE ON THE HIGHWAY. HAVE TO TOW THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND FOUND THAT CYLINDER VALVE SPRING INSIDE THE ENGINE HAS BROKEN AS THE CAR ONLY HAS ABOUT 65000 MILES. THIS CAUSING VEHICLE TO MISFIRE AND VEHICLE IS SHAKING. THERE ARE MULTIPLE RECALL OF LEXUS MODEL ON VALVE SPRING AND THIS OBVIOUSLY SEEMS AN MANUFACTURER DEFECT.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 LEXUS RX350. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE LOW ENGINE OIL PRESSURE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED AND THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN. THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE RECURRED APPROXIMATELY SIX TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER (LEXUS STEVEN CREEK, SANTA CLARA, CA, 408-553-4500) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE OIL WAS LOW AND THAT THE SENSOR NEEDED TO THE REPLACED. THE FAILURES WERE REPAIRED, BUT RECURRED TEN DAYS LATER WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN BACK TO THE SAME DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN PERFORMED AN EXTENSIVE ROAD TEST, BUT WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES AND STATED THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL. NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 54,000. UPDATED 8/2/18*JB