2006 Lexus RX Hybrid body problems

Filed Feb 26, 2018 · Body · 80,128 miles · FL

The vehicle dash has developed premature cracks, and is shining and sticky. Lexus claims this is only a cosmetic issue however the dash is an integral part of the vehicle and with the dash deteriorating the foam padding is harding creating a safety issue in event of crash. Lexus has admitted to the issue however has only offer repairs to a limited arbitruary number of owners while arbitruarily excluding other owners. There should be a manatory recall on this issue as is a safety issue.

Filed Jan 10, 2018 · Body · 100,000 miles · SC

Dashboard has developed cracks in 2017 and am told there was a recall. Contacted lexus and was told that the recall has ended. I never received notification of recall. Lexus is refusing to honor the recall.

Filed Feb 29, 2016 · Body, Driver assistance · GA · crash

All service lights are on, ABS vsc, and info display states some sort of vsc malfunction.

Filed Jul 29, 2014 · Body · 75,000 miles · FL

Multiple cracks and melting dashboard. The dash is very sticky and is falling off in pieces. I'm concerned if the airbags ever deploy this defective dash will become an ied!

Filed Jun 6, 2014 · Body · 148,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 lexus rx400h (hybrid). The contact stated that the passenger side dashboard exhibited vertical cracks near the air bag housing area. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 148,000.

Filed Jun 6, 2014 · Acceleration, Body · 144,693 miles · CA · crash

While slowly pulling into a parking space in a parking structure, the car suddenly accelerated and crashed into the cement block wall in front of me. Since the distance from half-way into the parking space to the wall was small (probably three to four feet), I had no time to slam on the brakes before impact. The car was towed to a lexus dealer. I was immediately referred to their legal department who handled all transactions after that. An independent evaluator inspected the car, retrieved the crash data retrieval recorder and issued a report. The cdr indicated that the accelerator and the brakes were not pushed until after the crash, and that the speed in the few seconds before the crash went from 3.7 to 60.9 MPH. Lexus refused to admit there was a problem, stating only that the brakes, accelerator and floor mats seemed to be in good working order. I refused to drive the car again or have only the body fixed and sold to an unsuspecting third party. It was eventually declared a total loss by our insurance company. There was no help or admission of a problem from lexus, except to try to charge us for car storage at the dealership during the process.

Filed May 4, 2014 · Body, Fuel system · 90,000 miles · PA

Having enjoyed owning a lexus rx300, I made a huge "investment" and purchased the 2006 rx400h. In april of 2014, the vehicle would not start due to a failure of the hybrid system. I attempted to jump start the vehicle as suggested by the lexus dealer. Upon further investigation I discovered the carpet inside the cabin area was soaking wet! The car had been outside in the rain with the windows, sunroof and doors closed. Also, I take the car to an automatic car wash on a regular basis. While loading the car on to the jerr-dan tow truck, a large amount of water poured out of the rear trunk area. The tow truck operator was amazed at the amount of water that was pouring onto the driveway. The vehicle was taken to the lexus dealer. After several days, a leak in the rear hatch area was found to be the source of the water. There apparently is a metal seam where the welds do not hold up or were not welded properly. Water collected in the hybrid battery area causing over $7000 damage. Of course, luckily for lexus, the vehicle warranty had expired. The only recourse I had was to make a claim to my insurance, which only covered the damages but not the cause. My out of pocket expenses are approximately $3000. Water leaking from the outside into the cabin of a vehicle, especially one of this price, is unacceptable. And to have water collect into the "heart" of the vehicle and render the vehicle inoperable is frightening. I could have been on an isolated road or a busy highway and the vehicle could have suddenly quit. Lexus knew about this potential problem but did not advise their customers to watch for any signs of moisture. The repair to the popped seam could have been done by any body shop or, I'm told, the use of a good quality silicone. There is a technical service bulletin from 3/10/2009 that specifically addresses this problem: tsb-l-sb0019-09 rev 1.

Filed May 1, 2014 · Body · 82,000 miles · FL

The vehicle developed cracks in the passenger side of the dashboard. We were told this could be a safety risk related to function of the airbag. Lexus offered to provide a new dashboard if we paid the labor charge of $800. Eventually the dealer split the labor charge with us and we replaced the dashboard.

Filed Apr 14, 2014 · Body, Transmission · 104,000 miles · OH

The car is a hybrid. It would not start (the ready light would not come on), therefore it was inoperable. Fortunately, the car was parked and did not die while driving. If it would have died while driving, many dangerous possibilities could have incurred. After having it towed to a lexus dealer in columbus, the source of the problem was diagnosed as water in the hybrid battery area. After lengthy discussion with lexus service personnel, they concluded that "welds" near the hatch hinges had come apart, which allowed water to seep into the interior of the car to the hybrid electronic controls. Lexus service had experience these problems before, and had guessed at a variety of reasons (such as excessive opening and closing of the hatch, wind catching the hatch while it was open, and other lame reasons). There is no ticker on the hatch to count how many times it was opened nor what there any gust of wind that would have cause the welds, two welds, to break allowing water to seep into the car. My conclusion is that since the problem has occurred before, that there is either a manufacturing issue, an engineering issue, or both. I am neither an expert in these areas, but do have some common sense. Lexus corporate or the dealer would not confess to the wrongdoing and therefore I had to shell out over $1600 in repairs. They wanted another $1100 to re-weld the 3 inch gap on both sides with painting included. Due to the expense, I had to opt for using silicone to seal the gaps and am forced to drive the car in dry weather.

Filed Aug 11, 2013 · Body · 45,000 miles · CA

The black plastic finish trim on the driver side rear triangular window blew off on the freeway at 65 miles per hour. Apparently this is a very common occurrence, since now that I am aware of it...I have noticed that other lexus SUV's of the same or similar models have that piece missing! I saw 3 others just yesterday! I am thinking that whatever is suppose to hold that piece on is not sufficient to do so!