Three problems related to cruise control have been reported for the 2008 Lexus ES350. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 2008 Lexus Es350. The contact was driving with the cruise control set to 75 mph when the traction, engine and vehicle stability control (vsc) warning lights illuminated. The contact applied the brakes and the vehicle began to decrease in speed however when he removed his foot from the brake pedal, the vehicle began to accelerate back to 75 mph. The cruise control would not deactivate by applying the brakes. The contact depressed the brakes again until the vehicle came to a complete stop however, the vehicle abnormally accelerated to 65 mph when his foot was released from the pedal. The vehicle maintained a speed of 65 mph although the cruise control was no longer activated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was awaiting a diagnosis of the failure. The current and failure mileages were 49,167.
I was driving south on interstate 5 in California near oceanside on may 10, 2009 from orange county towards carlsbad, CA. When approaching highway 78, I felt the vehicle increasing in speed to about 90 mph, without depressing the accelerator. I had been on cruise control at about 73 mph (probably 68-69 mph actual speed). I had two passengers in my car. The female passenger screamed at me to slow down. I was unable to do so even after stepping forcefully on the brakes. Also disengaged the cruise control, by pushing the button on the end of a stem, so that the green cruise indicator light disappeared, since I noticed the cruise control still on even after touching the brakes ( I assumed from previous experience that speed controls are ignored when stepping on the brake) my commands to slow the car down were inactive, but I continued pumping the brakes and the other passenger suggested to turn the engine off; so I pushed the start/kill button on the dashboard briefly, but did not hear or noticed the engine stopping. Somehow, a few seconds later the car finally slowed down and I steered the car to side of the road and stopped the car to get my breath back. After a few minutes I started the engine and she (the vehicle) responded normal. And proceeded on I-5 to my home in carlsbad (about 3-4 miles) from where I finally got control of the vehicle. So far this incidence only occurred once. Took the car to the dealer, after hearing about a fatal accident caused by a similar event ( stuck accelerator) was told that the car checked out ok and could not repeat this problem. Preliminary cause for the fatal crash in this area was explained by a mat that was not properly anchored. I did have non-standard mats in the car, but could not have caused a stuck accelerator during my incident in my opinion, however I have removed the driver's seat mat . The consumer sent in pictures. Updated 11/16/09.
On November 5, 2008 I was driving on a freeway in my 2008 Lexus ES 350 with the cruise control on. I gave the car a little extra gas to pass another car and the car just took off. I tried to disengage the accelerator by trying to turn off the cruise control switch as well as tapping on the brake pedal, but it would not disengage. I tried to turn off the engine by pushing the keyless ignition button, but it would not turn off. I checked the floor to make sure that there wasn't anything on the accelerator, and there wasn't. I then put the car in neutral, but when I did this, the engine sounded as if it were going to explode, so I put it back in gear. By this time, I was going well over 100 mph. My only choice was to stand on the brakes. Within seconds, the car was in a cloud of smoke coming from the 4 wheels/brakes. The car began to slow as thankfully the brakes were stronger than the engine which was going at its maximum rpm's. The car went over a mile before finally coming to a stop. I was then able to put the car in park and stop the engine. After a few moments, when I had calmed down a bit, I started the engine again and it immediately start racing at maximum rpm's again, so I shut it off and called hendrick Lexus. They sent a tow truck to tow the car in. When we got to the dealership, I told the service director that I was lucky that I wasn't killed and I did not want to ever get in that car again. He stated that he understood the seriousness of the event. Lexus investigated and said that there must have been something heavy on the accelerator. This is simply not true. The "experts" that Lexus brought in from out to do an investigation never even acknowledged that I was unable to disengage the cruise control during this life threatening situation. An internet search has determined that there are more than 40 cases of "runaway accelerator" reported to the NHTSA on the Es350, and many of these incidents have resulted in serious crashes and personal injuries.