Table 1 shows one common electronic stability control related problems of the 2007 Lexus LS460.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Electronic Stability Control problems |
I was driving home at 25mph (without my child) approaching an intersection, when the car in front of me makes a last minute lane change to turn at the intersection, I go to break and it doesn't break, the pedal reacts hard where it's always a soft compression, the dash lights up flashing the message "break malfunction" "check abs, check vsc, check brake system, not to drive vehicle due to system failure, contact deal immediately". I coast down the road and upon breaking again the whole car shakes making steering and especially turning very difficult. I take it 5mph the rest of the way and once home and parked, I try to restart the vehicle. When depressing the brake to activate the electric start, the break kicked back and the car would not start. I had the vehicle towed to the dealer it was purchased from. The dealer did confirm it was the break actuator assembly (l-sb-0178-09) that had been issued a special warranty (policy bulletin 16-01) with a 10 year term from purchase date. Unfortunately the issue had not been taken care of with the original owner and then became a problem 8 months after I made the purchase. . . Which is now out of the special warranty term. I am currently working to resolve the issue and hope Lexus will help cover the $2600 repair. More importantly I am hoping it becomes a recall because of the safety issue. I can't imagine what would of happened if I was on the freeway.
The vehicle dashboard comes up with several warnings. 1) check vsc system. 2) check pcs system. 3)check abs. 4) brake malfunction. 5) check brake system. It says to pull over and to not drive the vehicle. Lexus diagnosed my vehicle as needing to have the brake actuator replaced at a cost of nearly $3500! the dealer said that they had already replaced several of these on this model vehicle in just the past few months. After looking online, I found that there are a lot of Lexus owners with the exact same problem that occurred in my vehicle, with some owners already having the part replaced twice! this is obviously an ongoing problem. Lexus have since made a newer, improved version of the part. There was also a tsib (technical service information bulletin) issued on December 2, 2009 for "brake actuator knock noise" l-sb-0178-09 Lexus are now covering this part for 48 months or 50,000 miles. I believe strongly that there should be more done as this is a very serious problem that is a known defect. A safety recall is necessary before someone gets seriously injured or killed as a result of this know defect. This is a huge safety concern for me as this is our family vehicle that we drive on trips and it is used as a daily driver for my wife and child.