Brakes Failed problems of the 2005 Lexus ES330

I drove my mother in her 2005 Lexus Es330 from orlando to jensen beach, FL for a weekend visit with her sister. The car was purchased in the summer of 2005. The car was driven locally and this was the first time it had been driven on a highway at high speeds. I drove the car on I-95 for 2 hours until I reached our exit. I pressed on the brakes to slow the car down and nothing happened. I continued braking and was getting alarmed that the car did not slow immediately. I maintained pressure on the brake and finally the car slowed before we reached the stop light at the end of the ramp. My mother,as a passenger, was not aware there was a problem. On the return trip while I was driving it happened again. After 2 hours of driving, I exited onto the local roads and braked as I approached a red light. The car did not slow down. I pressed hard on the brake pedal and the car in front had stopped. I screamed to my mother "the car is not stopping!" she screamed out that we were going to hit the car in front. I continued to press on the brakes and the front end made a loud mechanical sound like a metallic clunk and the car stopped. When I got to my mom's house I called the dealership and told them the brakes failed twice. They told me to have her bring it in for inspection. My mom was 87 at the time and I said she is not driving this vehicle anywhere. The dealership picked up the car and said they found nothing wrong with the brakes. The next week she got a phone call from Toyota California to inquire into the incident. The company said the dealer found a lot of oil on the left wheel as if I had hit a pothole. My mother could not react as she had not been the one driving the car. I can tell you there was no pothole! I have driven it twice again on the highway using the same route. It never happened again but I never feel safe in that car. I think Toyota knew something was wrong with the vehicle but did nothing. This car was not part of the recall but it should be examined again.

The consumer experienced two different problems with the vehicle recently. When placing vehicle in the garage there was a strong odor of gasoline. She inspected the vehicle but did not discover any leakage. She did not take the vehicle to a dealer for further inspection. Later when approaching a stop sign she applied brake pressure and the brakes failed to stop. The vehicle proceeded past the stop sign and through oncoming traffic. The vehicle came to a stop after striking the front porch steps of a nearby house. The vehicle was towed to the dealership. The dealer was unable to determine what caused the failure. Updated 12/27/05.