Hybrid Propulsion System Inverter Problems of Lexus Rx400h

Leakage of coolant from the radiator discovered and in less than 50 miles an engine warning light lit, indicating failure of the hybrid synergy drive system , namely the hybrid inverter. Vehicle was brought into a Lexus dealership and the radiator and inverter were replaced.

See all problems of the 2006 Lexus Rx400h 🔎.

The contact owns a 2006 Lexus Rx400h. The contact stated that she received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 13v396000 (hybrid propulsion system) and stated that the parts were not available. The manufacturer was notified. The contact had not experienced a failure.

This potential safety problem involves hybrid inverters in Lexus hybrid vehicles. This particular case involves a 2006 Lexus Rx400h vehicle with about 109,000 miles on it that had received all recommended, scheduled, routine maintenance. In the course of normal driving, all power to propel the vehicle completely and abruptly vanished. In addition, the vehicle concomitantly lost power steering and skid control as evidenced by notices on the dash. Fortunately in this case, momentum allowed the vehicle to coast to the side of the road without incident. The car was put in neutral and manually pushed off the road. Later it was towed a great distance to the dealer, at considerable expense, the dealer being the only place capable of this type of repair. The dealer found the hybrid inverter faulty. No reason for the failure could be provided. The warranty no longer applied therefore the cost of repair was quoted as an astonishing $9,000. 00 ! Toyota eventually agreed to pay the dealer for the part, but not its installation. The faulty part was not returned. Should this type of incident not prove isolated, such abrupt and uncontrolled power loss renders all these vehicles untrustworthy at minimum, and raises potentially catastrophic safety concerns dependent on conditions that include where and when hybrid inverter failure and complete power loss suddenly occurs.

The car failed without warning while I was traveling 70+mph on the highway. I was left only with brakes. My passenger noted a couple of minutes before the failure that the engine sounded strange, but there were no indicators on the dash. Car was towed to Lexus dealership which stated that the inverter was completely gone and quoted $9,000 for part and $500 for labor. Car had been fully serviced for routine maintenance at same dealership just a few weeks earlier. I was told new inverters come from japan and used are difficult to find.

1a. After putting the key in to key hole, if your start the car right away, it will give you a failure "check vsc system" or"shift to "park" before starting" even it was already parked. 1b. Power drained if radio was on for 10-20 min and car will not start 2. It usually happens when the car is cooled. I had to wait for a few seconds after putting the key in the ignition before turning start to get it start. 2 years after having the car, the starter battery was replaced with the similar situation described above. Dealer now claims that battery needs replacement again. 3. Replacing starter batter was done the first time. I really doubt that battery died out so quickly, so I've done a bit research (provided link below) and found quite a few talked about inverter failure causing similar issues, and it not only result in high cost to replace the inverter, possibly life because vehicle brought to stop when in motion. . Read more...

Component: electrical system:alternator/generator/regulator summary: at a steady rate of speed on the hwy, the car surges and pulls and is impossible to maintain a smooth ride. When braking experience short bursts of acceleration. I am concerned as this seems to be leading to an inverter failure.

Driving off a stop light and the car just died. Check awd - cvt - hybrid system warning lights went on . Towed to dealer next morning and they called to say lucky it is under warranty ( I have 64000 miles , warranty is 70 k ) and it needs a new invertor. I have not seen bill but here it is $ 7 to $ 9000 yikes ! this is a problem as it shakes my faith in Lexus bought from USA to bring to canada and relied on Toyota - Lexus brand --- this should not be happening and from what I can see the Toyota Lexus hybrid system needs a longer warranty !!!! I beleive it is a faulty current invertor made of plastic, they replace with newer metal one.