Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Lexus RX300

The contact owns a 2003 Lexus Rx300. The contact stated that the hvac system was inoperable. Additionally, the vsc and check engine warning lights were illuminated while starting the vehicle. The vehicle was diagnosed at an autozone with a catalytic converter failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 106,000.

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On January 17th, 2016, I took my '99 Lexus Rx300 to church, parked the car, and joined the Sunday service. An hour after parking the vehicle (during which time it was not running or in use), I was told that there was smoke coming from it and went outside. Within minutes, the front end was bursting in flames. The fire destroyed the entire front portion of the car, including the engine, transmission, tires, and dashboard. I don't know what could have been the cause; it was seemingly random.

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Incident because of sudden unintended acceleration when my foot on the break.

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Tl- the contact owns a 2000 Lexus Rx300. The contact stated that the only gear that would engage was drive. Although the contact could shift into any gear, the gears would not engage. The contact also mentioned that approximately four pistons misfired and the 02 sensor was defective. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the technician stated that the transmission needed to be rebuild and the O2 sensor needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not repaired. The failure mileage was 127,000 and the current mileage was 128,700. Kmj.

I have just sat and read probably 50 complaints; safety and defective, concerning the transmission for the 2001 Lexus Rx300. From what im reading, I guess I should consider myself lucky, I currently have 142,000 miles on my vehicle and although I've experienced non-periodic shifting abnormalities, I haven't experienced any of the horrific problems I've been reading in the NHTSA complaint section of this site. It is obvious there is a manufacturing defect that needs to be addressed before someone (if not already) is mangled or worst, killed. It astonishes me that a company that survives by there reputation for quality would not address what is obviously a serious and costly burden to there loyal customers. We are talking about a 35,000 dollar vehicle in 2001. Apparently Lexus is not planning on resolving the issue, so what can consumers do other than complain which obviously is doing nothing to force big business to take responsibility for there poor design that resulted in unsafe costly products, leaving the consumer powerless, with no option but to pay them again to fix the problem they created in the first place.

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My 2000 Lexus Rx300 had an unexplained sudden unintended acceleration where the vehicle almost killed me and my son. I was driving residental backroads by my house, accelerated slightly to get up a hill and that's when it took off. The brake pedal was unresponsive, the emergency break was unresponsive, I pulled the floor mat out for good measure, nothing worked, it kept accerating at a high rate until I finally slammed it through gears to "park" to get it to a stop. I had it towed to the Lexus dealership, where the tow truck driver even told me when it started the car to get it up on the truck, after being turned off for over 12 hours, it was still red lining the engine, and even lurched forward but because the car was in park, it didn't crash into the back of the tow truck. Lexus investigated the car and did absolutely nothing. They wouldn't tell me why it happened. I demand an explanation and a replacement vehicle - one that doesn't have a history of having sua problems. I fear for my life everytime I have to drive this vehicle.

While entering a freeway onramp the transmission slipped out of gear. I tried to accelerate but there was no power the engine just revved. The transmission reingaged as I was pulling to the shoulder so I continued my trip home. Later on the same drive home, at an interchange between freeways it happened again but this time the transmission didn't re-engage and there was almost a deadly multiple car accident. It was towed to a transmission specialist who had to replace the transmission. Soon after replacement I was on another trip and I attempted to accelerate to pass a car, the transmission slipped and I barely avoided being in a deadly auto accident on the freeway with a big rig. On this same trip I almost lost my life three times due to this identical occurrence. It is absolutely unacceptable and unforgivable that Toyota hasn't taken responsibility for this manufacturing error and announced a complete recall and replacement of all transmissions for this year, make and model of vehicle. If, I keep this car and I have an accident due to their manufacturing negligence action may be taken.

While pulling into a parking space in my office parking lot, I had an unattended acceleration while my foot was on the brake. The car lunged over the curb, up a slight incline, hit a small tree which knocked down the perimeter fence. I called the Lexus dealership and they gave me an 800 number to call. I reported what happened and they sent a tow truck to bring my car to the dealership because I was afraid to drive it. At the dealership they indicated to me that I was not suppose to bring it to them so I had the manager drive it to their collision place where I had the bumper repaired. My insurance company did not pay for a rental replacement. The repair cost me $250 (my deductible) + the rental car cost of approx. $210. 00. My insurance paid for the tree and fence repair of about $2,000+. My car was subsequently inspected by Toyota's inspection company. It took about 3-4 hours and the end result was that the car did not have any defects. I continue to be concerned about whether or not this will happen again and maintain a large distance between vehicles. In 2007 my car had a similir problem when it accelerated to a high speed because the throttle got stuck due to a mechanic's service error when worked on the day before. Since Toyota said my vehicle is okay, I had to pay the almost $500 for the repair and rental car and my insurance will probably go up due to the payment made to my company for the tree and fence repair. I think the throttle has a faulty design and I told Toyota that this was my opinion.

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The contact owns a 2001 Lexus Rx300. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to a local mechanic for routine maintenance and was advised that there was a sludge buildup in the engine. The mechanic replaced a valve cover and stated that the failure was a common issue with the year, make and model. The mechanic made the replacement because the vehicle was loosing oil excessively. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer. The failure and current mileage was 147,000.

The contact owns a 2002 Lexus Rx300. The contact noticed that the check oil light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the oil was contaminating the engine through a cracked piston ring. The manufacturer was aware of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The approximate failure was 94,000 and the current mileage was 96,000. The VIN was unavailable.

The contact owns a 2002 Lexus Rx300. The contact stated that the vehicle consumed oil excessively. While driving 55 mph, the vehicle suddenly slowed down and began to sputter. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where the contact stated that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The transmission also became stuck and took an extended amount of time to shift into gear. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where the contact was informed that both the transmission and motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current mileage was approximately 140,000. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

The contact owns a 2000 Lexus Rx300. The contact stated that the transmission was replaced in 2008. He recently heard a noise coming from the engine and the rpms displayed inaccurate readings. While idling at a traffic light, the vehicle failed to accelerate. The contact was able to shift into a low gear and moved the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 75,360.

I have read as many of the owners of 1999 Lexus Rx300 SUV , I am not surprised to know that I am now a proud owner of a brand new transmission that failed on my wife while returning from greenville to columbia SC. The transmission was indicating problems by shifting slow as many other complaints that have been filed . When these transmissions start to fail you experience slow shifting when the car has been sitting , even if you let the car warm up first before moving into any gear drive or reverse. When you try to back up in reverse the transmission will not shift into gear, then jumps into gear hard. I have been in the mechanical field for 35 years working for bridgestone/firestone ias a managing partner of retail locations and know this is the signs of transmission problems. This vehicle has been serviced only by Lexus only. Also are severe oil sludging problems, have serviced hundreds of these models and every horror story is the same . Oil sludging causes severe engine damage restricting oil flow through out the engine. When is our rights as consumers going to be upheld by our government . I don`t think I want to buy other new transmission from Toyota corporation or another Toyota product . The cost to repair was $4075. 00 and the only transmissions available are thru Toyota with apparently with the new design . These problems were corrected in 2002 with the new design, what about us the owners of the defective ones!!!! chapin s. C.

The contact owns a 2000 Lexus Rx300. The contact stated that the engine warning indicator consistently illuminates on the instrument panel. She has not taken the vehicle to the dealer to determine the cause of the failure. The failure and current mileages were 121,399.

My 2001 Lexus Rx300 died on the freeway. I am told my transmission is ruined and needs to be replaced. I regularly serviced my car and there is no way it should have a blown transmission with only 84,000 miles. After seeing all the similar complaints on the internet, I think there should be a class action suit against Lexus.

We purchased a 2000 Lexus Rx300 with a v-6 in April 2003 with 36,000 miles. We have recently found out that the engine had been rebuilt due to sludge problems at 31,000. We changed the oil every 5,000 - 7,500 miles. I have never had an oil related engine problem in 28 years of driving and have never worried about keeping oil change receipts. I only have receipts from 44,000 and 60,000 miles. The place that changed it does not have record of the two other changes at about 39,000 and 51,000. I have copies of the special adjustment letter that you refer to in your TSB's. Lexus however, is telling me since we are not the original owner that this letter and offer do not apply to us. They have offered to pay half of the repair which we have worked down to our portion $4,200. They have not pulled the heads or the oil pan and yet they know that the whole engine needs to be replaced. This tells me that they have had experience with this issue before. Our vehicle has needed an engine every 30,000 miles. I have kept engines up to over 120,000 miles without failure. If we have them fix the engine I am told that they will machine the heads at the Lexus dealer, not replace them, yet the block needs to be replaced. My investigating on the internet leads me to believe that the problem is in the heads. Just machining them and putting them back on will only ensure that I will be dealing with them in another 30,000 miles for the same problem. It seems that they have a problem with this engine that they don't want to stand behind because we are not the original owners or at least that seems to be their easiest route to take. My vehicle has been unuseable for a month now and there is no end in site.

Engine oil sludge.

Resolving oil sludge repair problem on used RX 300 with third party Lexus dealer--car broke down on 1200 mile road trip. Lexus paid for rental car for return trip. Repair is under warranty. My problem is the dealer we purchased the car from must have known this problem existed with these vehicles and had ample evidence of lack of oil changes in the repair history, yet did not pull the valve cover off this vehicle to determine if oil sludge problem existed. Isn't that standard practice for all used car inspections? am told by third party Lexus dealer therer is a maintenance procedure that requires this sludge inspection on all v-6 Toyota engines, yet dealer we purchased car from says this is not required.