THE OIL COOLER PIPE BROKE ON MY 2011 LEXUS RX450H STARVING THE ENGINE OF OIL AS I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK. THE PART IS CURRENTLY UNDER WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT BY LEXUS AND IS A KNOWN PROBLEM ON MY MODEL YEAR OF VEHICLE. THE MALFUNCTION IS PARTICULARLY INSIDIOUS AS OIL ONLY LEAKS WHEN THE ENGINE IS RUNNING, HOWEVER WITH A HYBRID WHEN THE VEHICLE STOPS THE ENGINE STOPS AND SO DOES THE LEAK AT LEAST UNTIL YOU HAVE REACHED A HIGH ENOUGH SPEED FOR THE ENGINE TO KICK BACK ON AGAIN. IN MY SITUATION I RECEIVED NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS, OIL LIGHTS OR ANY OTHER INDICATION OTHER THEN SUDDENLY IT FELT LIKE MY ENGINE WAS RUNNING A LITTLE ROUGH. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER (I WAS JUST ON A CITY STREET) AND FOUND THE BACK OF THE VEHICLE WAS COVERED IN OIL. I HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE LOCAL LEXUS DEALERSHIP WHO IDENTIFIED THE ISSUE AS THE OIL COOLER PIPE AND LEXUS CORPORATE PAID FOR THE REPAIR UNDER THEIR WARRANTY ENHANCEMENT. WHEN I PICKED THE VEHICLE UP FROM LEXUS OF ALBUQUERQUE I DIDN'T EVEN MAKE IT TWO MILES AWAY FROM THE DEALERSHIP BEFORE I STARTED GETTING ALL KINDS OF LIGHTS FLASHING ON MY DASH AND THE ONLY POWER I HAD TO MOVE THE VEHICLE WAS THE ELECTRIC HYBRID DRIVE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED BACK TO LEXUS WHICH INFORMED ME A FEW DAYS LATER THAT THE ENGINE HAD SEIZED. I OPENED A NEW CASE WITH LEXUS CORPORATE CONCERNING THE ENGINE ISSUES SINCE MY ENGINE FAILURE WAS A RESULT OF THE WARRANTIED PART FAILING. LEXUS'S ULTIMATE ANSWER WAS SORRY, BUT WE ARE UNWILLING TO HELP YOU AS WELL AS THE ANSWER FROM THE DEALERSHIP. IM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE VEHICLE AND IT HAS ONLY EVER BEEN SERVICED AT LEXUS DEALERSHIPS, AND NOT ONCE DID A SERVICE ADVISOR/MANAGER INFORM ME THAT THIS PART WAS A POTENTIAL PROBLEM. FOR SUCH AN INTEGRAL PART THAT WAS POORLY MANUFACTURED AND CAN CAUSE SUCH EXPENSIVE AND CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE THE OIL COOLER PIPE NEEDS TO BE RECALLED.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11353208 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

I WAS PULLING INTO A DRIVEWAY AFTER I FULLY STOPPED MY CAR ( I WAS WAITING FOR ANOTHER CAR TO PULL OUT OF DRIVEWAY FIRST). WHEN I BRAKED TO STOP MY CAR IT DID NOT RESPOND INITIALLY. I COULD NOT STOP IT FAST ENOUGH TO AVOID COLLISION W A PARKED CAR IN DRIVEWAY. THIS WAS SO STRANGE BECAUSE I WAS MOVING MY CAR VERY SLOWLY. I THEN PUT IT IN REVERSE TO BACK UP A COUPLE FEET SO I COULD ASSESS DAMAGE TO CARS. WHEN I DID THIS AND PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR MY CAR ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL INTO STREET. ONCE AGAIN THE BRAKING WAS INSUFFICIENT TO STOP MY CAR AS DESIRED. NORMALLY THE BRAKES STOP THIS CAR ON A DIME (NOT REALLY ON A DIME, BUT NORMALLY THE BRAKES ARE EXCELLENT). THE LATER ACCELERATION WAS WITNESSED BY THE OWNER OF THE NOW REAR-ENDED CAR IN DRIVEWAY. NO DAMAGE TO MY CAR OTHER THAN TO MY LICENSE PLATE. NO ONE WAS INJURED. THERE WAS DAMAGE TO THE PARKED CAR IN DRIVEWAY. THE DAMAGED CAR WAS AN OLDER CAR, A 1970-SOMETHING BMW, SO IT DIDN'T HAVE THE COOL NEW BUMPERS THAT CAN ABSORB A LOW SPEED IMPACT. VERY SCARY IN SPITE OF THE RELATIVELY THE LOW SPEEDS AND SHORT DISTANCE & DURATION OF EVENT, THIS ISSUE COULD HURT SOMEONE. *JS

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #10585404 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

I DROVE TO A NEIGHBORHOOD SUBWAY FOR LUNCH. I WAS UNABLE TO RELEASE THE SEAT BELT WHEN PUSHING THE SEAT BELT RELEASE BUTTON. FORTUNATELY, I AM RATHER SMALL AND SLIGHT IN STATURE, 5'9" AND 150 LBS., AND WAS ABLE TO LOOSEN THE BELT AND SQUIRM FREE. TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND RECEIVED A LOANER CAR WHILE THEY FIXED THE VEHICLE OVERNIGHT. THOUGHT I SHOULD REPORT THIS AS IF THERE HAD BEEN A FIRE OR I HAD DRIVEN INTO A FLOODED AREA, I WOULD HAVE BEEN A FATALITY. *TR

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #10628856 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

VEHICLE HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN MULTIPLE NEAR MISSES RESULTING FROM LATERAL MIRRORS BULKINESS AND LACK OF VISIBILITY FOR DRIVER WHEN TURNING LEFT OR RIGHT IN AN INTERSECTION. THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT RESULTED IN A COLLISION WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE THAT HAD CLEAR ROAD RIGHT CAUSING SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO BOTH VEHICLES FRONT ENDS, THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIR BAG SYSTEM OF THE OTHER VEHICLE. THE POSITION OF THE LATERAL MIRRORS WHICH ARE HUGE AND THE ROOF SUPPORT CORNER SIDE BAR OF THE VEHICLE MAKES IT TO HAVE A BLIND SPOT WHERE YOU SIMPLY ARE NOT ABLE TO SEE VEHICLE THAT IS CLOSELY APPROACHING IN THE OTHER DIRECTION. IN ORDER TO AVOID THIS ISSUE THE DRIVER NEEDS TO MOVE SIDE-FRONT AT ALL TIMES WHEN TURNING LEFT OR RIGHT.. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL MULTIPLE NEAR MISSES BECAUSE THE EXTRA PRECAUTION THE DRIVER HAS EXERCISED. I BELIEVE THIS IS AN IMPORTANT SAFETY CONCERN THAT LEXUS NEEDS TO TAKE CARE OF IMMEDIATELY. *TR

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #10483146 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov

SOMETHING IN THE DASHBOARD CONSOLE BY THE RADIO HAS OVERHEATED, MELTING THE AC VENT ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE. LITTLE FLECKS OF PLASTIC STARTED BLOWING OUT OF THE VENT, AND WHEN I LOOKED INSIDE THE VENT, I COULD SEE WHERE THE LOUVERED PIECES ARE MELTED.

Source: NHTSA complaint ODI #11130908 · view all complaints for this vehicle at nhtsa.gov