2006 Lexus RX HYBRID: complaints, problems and recalls

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO APPLY BRAKE PRESSURE AT 30 MPH THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED. THIS OCCURRED ON DRY ROADS DURING NORMAL BRAKING WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR INSPECTION. UPON INSPECTION, THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND NO REPAIRS WERE MADE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALERTED.

Owner-reported narrative. 10 miles reported. Look up ODI 10150724 at NHTSA ↗

THE VEHICLE SURGES AT A STEADY SPEED. I AM MOST AWARE OF THE SURGING AT 35-45 MILES PER HOUR. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN UNTIL THE VEHICLE HAD APPROXIMATELY 8,000 MILES ON IT. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THERE IS NO REPAIR AVAILABLE AND THE LEXUS IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM. *JB

Owner-reported narrative. 8,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10152809 at NHTSA ↗

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE DOES NOT GEAR DOWN WHILE GOING DOWN AN ICY ROAD. THERE ARE NO 1ST, 2ND OR 3RD GEARS. THERE IS NO WAY TO STOP THE VEHICLE FROM HYDROPLANING. THE DEALERSHIP DETERMINED THAT THIS IS THE WAY THE VEHICLE IS DESIGNED TO OPERATE. THE CONTACT NO LONGER OWNS THE VEHICLE AND FEELS THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD. UPDATED 05/10/6. *JB

Owner-reported narrative. 2,900 miles reported. Look up ODI 10156046 at NHTSA ↗

PULL TO THE LEFT AT ALL TIME. *NM

Owner-reported narrative. 19 miles reported. Look up ODI 10157941 at NHTSA ↗

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHEN THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS SET FOR 60 MPH ON THE FREEWAY, THE VEHICLE WOULD INCREASE IN SPEED TO 72 MPH ON A DECLINE AND DECELERATE 55 MPH ON AN INCLINE. THERE WERE NO LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON THE DASH. THE DEALERSHIP HAS NOT BEEN INFORMED. UPDATED 7/13/2006 - *NM

Owner-reported narrative. 13,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10160604 at NHTSA ↗

2006 LEXUS RX400H REVVED AND RACED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE WITHOUT WARNING. *TS THE CONSUMER CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER ABOUT THE SUDDEN ACCELERATION. THE MANUFACTURER AGREED TO HAVE A REP INSPECT THE VEHICLE BUT MENTIONED THAT IT WOULD TAKE SIX WEEKS TO TWO MONTHS BEFORE IT COULD BE INSPECTED. NM

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10170165 at NHTSA ↗

VEHICLE PULLS TO THE RIGHT. IT WAS 4-WHEEL ALIGNED FOLLOWING INITIAL DELIVERY & ALSO AT ~22K MILES BY THE DEALER. AT 22K MILES, THE DEALER TOLD ME THAT THE FRONT TIRES WERE WORN SEVERELY INBOARD AND THE REAR HAS SOME OF THE SAME INDICATIONS (THEY WERE PREVIOUSLY ROTATED FROM THE FRONT). ALL FOUR TIRES WERE REPLACED. *NM

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10176840 at NHTSA ↗

THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT BELTS DO NOT RETRACT PROPERLY AFTER RELEASE. INSTEAD THE SEAT BELTS FALL LOOSE OUT SIDE OF THE CAR AS DRIVER AND PASSENGER ARE EXITING THE VEHICLE. THIS CAUSES A POTENTIAL SAFETY ISSUE AS THE PEOPLE MAY GET THEIR LEGS TANGLED IN THE HANGING OUT THE DOOR UNRETRACTED SEAT BELTS. THIS MAY CAUSE PERSONAL INJURY. ALSO THE UNRETRACTED SEAT BELTS MAY CAUSE THE DOOR TO NOT CLOSE PROPERLY, CAUSING FAILURE HERE ALSO. THE SEAT BELT METAL PORTION MAY ALSO SCRAPE ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE VEHICLE CAUSING PAINT AND FINISH DAMAGE. *…

Owner-reported narrative. 1 miles reported. Look up ODI 10181223 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2006-07-13 (July 13, 2006)

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY AND HYBRID VEHICLES, THE TWO RETAINING CLIPS FOR THE DRIVER'S SIDE FORWARD CENTER CONSOLE CAN BECOME LOOSE. IF BOTH CLIPS SEPARATE FROM THE FLOOR CARPET COVER, THE COVER MAY LEAN TOWARD THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, CAUSING INTERFERENCE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ROD.

Consequence: THIS CONDITION MAY INTERFERE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL RETURNING TO THE IDLE POSITION INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE TWO FLOOR CARPET COVER RETAINING CLIPS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 24, 2006, AND SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY EARLY SEPTEMBER 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331 OR LEXUS AT 1-800-255-3987.

Reported: 2011-02-24 (February 24, 2011)

TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004-2006 HIGHLANDER, HIGHLANDER HYBRID, AND MODEL YEAR 2004-2007 LEXUS RX330, RX350, AND RX400H VEHICLES. IF THE FORWARD RETENTION CLIP USED TO SECURE THE FLOOR CARPET COVER, WHICH IS LOCATED IN FRONT OF THE CENTER CONSOLE, IS NOT INSTALLED PROPERLY THE COVER MAY LEAN TOWARD THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND INTERFERE WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL ARM.

Consequence: IF THIS OCCURS, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY TEMPORARILY BECOME STUCK IN A PARTIALLY DEPRESSED POSITION RATHER THAN RETURN TO THE IDLE POSITION. A STUCK ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY RESULT IN UNINTENDED AND SUSTAINED VEHICLE SPEEDS AND MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO STOP, INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FLOOR CARPET COVER WITH A NEWLY DESIGNED ONE FREE OR CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MARCH 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

Reported: 2011-06-29 (June 29, 2011)

TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2006-2007 HIGHLANDER HYBRID AND LEXUS RX400H PASSENGER CARS MANUFACTURED FROM FEBRUARY 16, 2005, THROUGH AUGUST 30, 2006. A MODULE INSIDE THE INVERTER MODULE MAY CONTAIN INADEQUATELY SOLDERED TRANSISTORS THAT DURING HIGH-LOAD DRIVING, MAY BE DAMAGED BY HEAT CAUSED BY THE LARGE CURRENT. IF THIS OCCURS, VARIOUS WARNING LAMPS, INCLUDING THE MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP, SLIP INDICATOR LIGHT, BRAKE SYSTEM WARNING LIGHT, AND MASTER WARNING LIGHT, WILL BE ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL.

Consequence: THE VEHICLE MAY ENTER A FAIL-SAFE/LIMP-HOME MODE THAT LIMITS THE DRIVABILITY OF THE VEHICLE. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE HYBRID SYSTEM WILL SHUT DOWN WHILE THE VEHICLE IS BEING DRIVEN, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STALL UNEXPECTEDLY, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy: TOYOTA/LEXUS MAILED AN INTERIM OWNER NOTIFICATION ON JULY 19, 2011 TO ADVISE OWNERS OF THIS RECALL AND THE FACT THAT THEY WILL RECEIVE A FUTURE NOTICE WHEN PARTS BECOME AVAILABLE TO COMPLETE REPAIRS. TOYOTA DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE HYBRID INVERTER PRODUCTION NUMBER TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE INVERTER CONTAINS SUSPECT TRANSISTORS AND REPLACE THE MODULE FREE OF CHARGE. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

Reported: 2011-11-09 (November 9, 2011)

TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004 AVALON VEHICLES; 2004 AND 2005 CAMRY, CAMRY SOLARA, HIGHLANDER, AND SIENNA VEHICLES, 2006 HIGHLANDER HYBRID; 2004 AND 2005 LEXUS ES330 AND RX330; AND 2006 LEXUS RX400H VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JUNE 1, 2004 THROUGH MARCH 31, 2005, EQUIPPED WITH THE 1MZ-FE OR 3MZ-FE ENGINE. THE AMOUNT OF ADHESIVE AGENT APPLIED BETWEEN THE OUTER RING AND THE TORSIONAL RUBBER DAMPER (INNER RING) IN THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY MAY BE INADEQUATE. IF THE ADHESIVE IS INSUFFICIENT, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE OUTER RING MAY BECOME MISALIGNED AND IT MAY NOT PROPERLY ROTATE WITH THE INNER RING, CAUSING NOISE AND/OR ILLUMINATION OF THE BATTERY DISCHARGE INDICATOR LIGHT.

Consequence: IN SOME CASES, THE BELT FOR THE POWER STEERING PUMP MAY BECOME DETACHED FROM THE PULLEY WHICH COULD RESULT IN A LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND A SUDDEN INCREASE IN STEERING EFFORT, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy: TOYOTA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL CHECK THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY TO IDENTIFY WHETHER IT WAS PRODUCED BY THE U.S. SUPPLIER. IF SO, THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE PULLEY WITH A NEW ONE AT NO CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING EARLY JANUARY 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

Reported: 2013-09-04 (September 4, 2013)

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2010 Highlander hybrid vehicles manufactured February 16, 2005, through July 29, 2010; and model year 2006-2008 Lexus RX400h vehicles manufactured February 23, 2005, through December 2, 2008. The Intelligent Power Module (IPM) inside the inverter module may contain transistors that have higher operating temperatures than the solder can support and the transistors may be heat damaged by the solder. If this occurs, various warning lamps, including the malfunction indicator lamp, slip indicator light, brake system warning light, and master warning light, will be illuminated on the instrument panel.

Consequence: The vehicle may enter a fail-safe/limp-home mode that limits the drivability of the vehicle. It is possible that the hybrid system will shut down while the vehicle is being driven, causing the vehicle to stall unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the IPM free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331. Vehicles that had their IPM replaced under recall 11V-342 are not affected by this campaign.