general problems of the 2007 Lexus RX350

The passenger side outside mirror exploded sending glass shards and caustic liquid on the side window and painted surface of the door and fender areas. Explosion was spontaneous with no apparent cause, ambient temp 50's, no bird strike, thrown rock or projectile. Explosion was gun-shot loud. Vehicle was being driven at 10mph on neighborhood street. No other moving cars at the time and the mirror did not come in contact with anything. Internet search of exploding mirrors revealed similar complaints from owners of many brands of vehicles. Cause of the explosion has to do with the dimming function in the mirrors of late model vehicles. The exact mechanism can only be guessed. The caustic liquid might, under pressure and electrical charge tend to bend the mirror in some way, and after some time, fail catastrophically. This theory was confirmed by a state inspection officer who has heard of similar problems with late model year side mirrors with dimmer function. Cost of repair from one estimate was $1300 for a new mirror and repainting of the marred surfaces. Lexus has refused our request to reimbursement or even to consider that the mirror could have exploded. I would also add that had there been a passenger seated and the window down, glass shards and caustic liquid would surely have struck the passenger in the face. There is a problem with these mirrors and a recall is clearly in order.

I have noticed for sometime while driving with my wife. The airbag light on the panel for the passenger side does not come on. Sometimes it comes on after we have been driving for a while. I figure the airbag will not work if we were in an accident. I have no idea how many cars could be effected with this issue.

The car completely halted while driving on a city road. The steering locked and the car completely stopped in the middle of the road. The manufacturer inspected the car. During inspection they found a/c compressor locked up causing vehicle to stall under load. Once the a/c system is activated, vehicle will stall out. They also confirmed that this could happen while the vehicle is in motion on a highway going 60 mph and if it did, it would stall the car and lock up the vehicle just like it did in the first incident. It seems completely unreadable to stall a vehicle in motion for some confirm/convenience feature like a/c. I feel this is a fundamental engineering problem with the way the car is designed. I would like to ensure this is declared as an issue with the design of Lexus vehicles and there is a trigger to disconnect ac under such circumstances where ac can stall a car in motion.

Shortly after buying the vehicle used (one previous owner), upon cold start a loud rattling noise could be heard coming from the engine area for about 30 seconds. Took to a Toyota/Lexus dealership for routine oil change, vehicle inspection, and asked the technicians to also address the noise. We were told that they couldn't reproduce it, and that it shouldn't be a problem. Driving down the freeway in greater milwaukee, the car stopped functioning. After visiting a local mechanic, then later resorting to a Lexus dealership, found that the vvt bolts had fractured. All of this is exactly as outlined in NHTSA campaign 13v395000. Now we have a dead luxury SUV due to an engineering problem, but Lexus will not provide any resolution to their known problem, even with physical evidence (photos, and failed parts still in hand).

Moisture in headlights causing spread out light beam and possible rust/short circuit in electrical system.

Idiot/trouble lights all come on intermittently while driving; no apparent affect or impact on operation of vehicle; other than the anxiety created by the sudden appearance of all the dash trouble lights coming on all at once, for no apparent reason. This continues to occur intermittently while the vehicle is moving. After shut down and restarting, the trouble lights return to normal "all-off" status. This has been occurring for the last two (2) years. I have discussed the condition with two different dealers (coconut creek, FL and greenville, SC), but they cannot duplicate the condition.

Our two 2007 Lexus RX-350 (and all models 2004-2009) have electromagnetic field near the dashboard of approximately 100 milliguass. This is causing our knees and hand cells to degenerate as Lexus has not done adequate job of providing faraday cage or shielding from emf. This reading of 100 milliguass is what you find under high voltage transmission lines and studies have linked 2 to 3 milliguass to childhood leukemia, cancer, headaches or cell deneration. I contacted Lexus customer service but they brushed off our safety concern, saying most household appliances produce emf. For reference, 2010 Lexus RX-350 or current model ES-350s have 15 to 20 milliguass. Therefore Lexus has technology to shield but has done inadequate job of shielding 2004-2009 Lexus RX-350 bu issuing a recall. We are very concerned about this health and safety issue and need help from NHTSA as you are the only entity that cares.