Vehicle Speed Control Problems of Lexus LS400

As I was driving, my vehicle started accelerating on it's own. When I had previously checked the speed odometer it said 50. All of a sudden the vehicle started gaining speed. I took my foot off of the gas pedal and the speed kept accelerating. I pressed the brakes and the brakes did not work! the vehicle kept accelerating. I saw a side road and turned onto it. I kept trying to stop the vehicle and it kept going. I thought to pull the emergency brake and it slowed the vehicle considerable, but it kept moving. The engine continued to accelerate. I kept pumping the breaks with the emergency brake on and the car was still moving. It finally stop, but the engine was still accelerating. I put the vehicle in park and the more the engine accelerated. I put back in drive and it continued to accelerate. The vehicle started smoking. I didn't know what to do or what was going to happen to the vehicle. I told my sons to get out of the car. I turn the engine off, the car jumped and I ran away from the car. The vehicle was still smoking. I called 911. The car stopped smoking and remained in place. My husband came and started the vehicle it accelerated and he pressed the gas pedal and it stopped. I drove the car home and parked it. I am not driving the vehicle and this is the reason that I have not entered a VIN number.

See all problems of the 1997 Lexus LS400 🔎.

Twice, with two different drivers, this vehicle has accelerated/surged at a stop. The vehicle was able to be held steady by pressing the brake as hard as possible, but vehicle still surged and tried to move forward. On the first incident, the vehicle was put in neutral and continued to rev momentarily. After the first incident, the Lexus oem floor mat (standard, not all season) was removed. The same event occurred again tonight with a different driver and the floor mat still removed. I am quite concerned this may be related to other Toyota recalls.

See all problems of the 1998 Lexus LS400 🔎.

The contact owns a 1995 Lexus Ls400. The contact stated that the vehicle accelerated independently while driving various speeds and also when the vehicle was stopped. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 146,000.

The contact owns a 1999 Lexus Ls400. The contact stated that while driving 15 mph, he applied the brake due to traffic. However, the vehicle accelerated independently and crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The crash caused damage to both vehicles as well as an injured knee of the driver of the vehicle that was struck. The failure had recurred numerous times. The dealer was notified and he was informed the throttle body would probably need to be replaced. Also, he was informed that due to the type of failure he would have to contact the manufacturer. The manufacturer was notified and informed the contact that the legal department would have to be notified but offered no other assistance. The failure mileage was 130,000 and current mileage was 145,000.

See all problems of the 1999 Lexus LS400 🔎.

I am reporting this because it might provide a clue to the Toyota racing engine problem. On each of two days before I took my 1999 Lexus 400 to the dealer for repairs, the engine would race at an estimated 4,000+ rpms and emitted a grinding sound as the car was started. After turning off the engine with the key, the car would restart without a problem. Strangely, the dealer did not record this particular complaint, but stated that diagnosis revealed that starter was failing. I was charged $990 for replacement and repairs. I could not get a satisfactory answer as to why a faulty starter would cause the engine to race. I have driven the car over 10,000 miles since then without a problem.

Time, date and location: Monday, may 19 at approximately 3:30 pm at the blockbuster parking lot in stafford, va vehicle: 1998 Lexus Ls400 I was pulling into a parking space in front of the blockbuster. I had my foot on the brake to slowly pull into the space. Suddenly, the engine revved and the car jumped the curb and repeatedly hit the front of the blockbuster. I pushed down hard on the brake, but it would not respond. I put the car in park and the car stopped.

2000 Lexus Ls400 lurched forward numerous times while brake pedal was depressed.

See all problems of the 2000 Lexus LS400 🔎.

Stopped at a red light and the car accelerated to the point it was spinning tires. Car was put into park and the car was brought under control.

The caller said while driving 50 mph the vehicle accelerated to a faster speed very quickly. There was an accident. The caller sustained injuries. A police report was taken. The caller said the vehicle was accelerating without warning for about a year. The caller called the manufacturer the day of the accident and told them about the problem. Dealer said they would get back to him. He was told nothing was wrong with the car a few weeks before the accident. Dealer was contacted after the accident, and they said they will set up an appointment to find the cause of the problem. On September 26, 2005 at 8:00 am, manufacturer said they would call in two days. This was before the accident. After the accident they said they would come and look at the vehicle. The caller said she called manufacturer again on September 27, 2005 at 9:00 am to tell them of the accident, they said someone would call back. On September 28, 2005 manufacturer said it would take six to eight weeks to look at the vehicle. The caller told them they were going to sue, and the manufacturer said they will not come to look at the vehicle.

Three events occurred where my 2000 Lexus 400 accelerated on its own in beginning to start moving by releasing my foot from the brake. The first incident occured in cannon falls mn. We had come to a stop at a stop light and when the traffic started moving I lifted my toe from the brake and the car leaped forward --- I immediately slammed on the brake again since my toe was still on the brake. It lurched several times and then quite. I barely stopped it before hitting the car in front of me. It happened again the same way several weeks later but not as violent. The third time happened as I was bringing my car into Lexus to diagnosis the problem. This time it violently leapt forward causing me to brace myself on the steering wheel to get more leverage on the brake. It lurched forward what seemed to be in jumps of six inches to a foot with me pushing as hard as I could on the brake. Finally I had the presence of mind to shift into neutral. Again I barely was able to stop it before hitting the car in front of me. This is a highly dangerous condition and I have told Lexus I will not drive the car again until it is fixed. Lexus is looking at it and so far claims that nothing is wrong. Ie nothing can be found with the diagnostics. I am willing to let NHTSA have the car for testing if I can get replacement transportation during the testing. Norm talsoe.

Consumer states while applying brakes suudenly vehicle surged forward. Dealer notified.

While trying to park, vehicle suddenly surged forward and ran into a store before stopping. Consumer had brakes applied. Contacted dealer. Jlg.

It was raining and I was entering highway, I had my left turn signal on and started to accelerate. The car started to fish tail and when into a 360 degree spin, maybe twice, at least 1 1/2 times. When I came out of spin I crashed into the cement median. At no time did the vsc (vehicle skid control) activate. It is something that you can't miss. A lound warning sound comes on and the dashboard lights up with a skid warning. It had happened once before in the snow.

At a stop vehicle lurched out of control and accelerated without touching gas pedal. Brakes did not stop vehicle, and rearended another vehicle. Damaged hood and grill on vehicle. Contacted dealer and vehicle was repaired.

I'm writing this in the hopes that it may be of some help in toyotas brake problem. My 1999 Lexus Ls400 would loose throttle control, the engine speed would drop to idle regardless of what was done to the throttle itself. After 3 trips to the dealer, they found that the throttle position sensor would not work if it had become wet. They replaced the tps and that cured the problem.

When skid control light is on throttle disables, causing vehicle not to accelerate at any speed, and vehicle still idles. Driver has to turn off the engine. Dealer cannot determine the cause of the problem. Please provide further information.

While pressing the gas pedal slightly on take off after going around corners, the vehicle takes off very aggressively.

While driving my 1997 Lexus Ls400 in CA on the 605 fwy, west toward 210 fwy, all systems on the car locked (steering wheel, brakes, gas pedal) as I was changing lanes. I had no control of the car and after spinning several times ran into the center divider. I was very lucky not to go over the divider into oncoming traffic and be killed. I sustained neck and head injuries and the car was totaled. I was very lucky that I survived and that no other cars or people were involved. Early in 1998 I received a recall notice and took the car in to Lexus on 2/24/98. The recall was for a "starter plug problem". I trusted that after the repair I wouldn't have any problems with my Lexus. In fact, just over a month later I had the accident and the car was totaled. I very happily drove Lexus cars from 1992 until the accident and they were my favorite cars. I have 2 friends who had the same malfunction with a 1996 and a 1997 Lexus LS 400. I feel it is my duty to provide this information to make sure it's included in studies and historical data the NHTSA keeps. I hope the information will be put to good use to prevent future accidents, injuries and deaths, regardless of the auto manufacturer. I believe the problems Toyota is currently experiencing are probably happening with other auto manufacturers.

Vehicle has throttle-by-wire. This can cause the vehicle o surge ahead unexpectedly.

Engine revs to extremely high rpm ( ~5000 ) with no throttle input from driver. This problem has occurred twice on this vehicle recently . The second time this occurred was after engaging reverse gear. Fortunately the breaks were able to restrain the vehicle. In neither incident was my foot on the accelerator.