Lexus RX Hybrid loss of power problems

Filed Feb 22, 2019 · Brakes, Engine · 202,144 miles · WA

While driving from florida to fairfax, ca the vehicle stalled ~10 time unexpectedly with loss of power brakes and power steering, making a very dangerous situation. The "check hybrid system and check vsc system" showed on the dash. Clearing the codes restarted the vehicle. I stopped in denver, co at kuni lexus of greenwood village, whom road tested the vehicle for 30 miles but were unable to duplicate the fault. Obdii dtc p3105 was read on my scanner before arrival. I have researched the failure more and found out on lexus tis system; on 01/15/2014, lexus of miami claimed to have completed safety recall 13v396000 (intelligent power module (ipm) solder failures) but they only diagnosed some other problems and did not have time to perform this recall, neither did the inform me of it! I stopped at lexus of tacoma at fife, wa and they denied diagnosis due to minor body damage on the rear quarter panel where they claim water came in. This is not the location of water intrusion! The location is due to body seam cracks above that plain of the quarter panel damage, near the rear gate struts and hinges (see l-sb-0019-09), but they wouldn't look at that either and told me to go to their sublet body shop where the manager agreed with me that the water leaks into the high voltage battery pack/controller area was from the l-sb-0019-09 and not the quarter panel area. I sealed up all possible water intrusion areas and disassembled the hv battery pack area to see how much and where the water was (many photos) and dry it out with several days of sunshine here in fairfax, ca. I informed lexus corp about the relative recall/sb and they denied to complete it! The vehicle is back together and I am waiting on your response. I can be reached by email (I don't carry a cell phone) thank you!

Filed May 26, 2018 · Brakes, Engine · 109,000 miles · MA

While driving 50 MPH on a busy road in ma the car abruptly stalled and lost power and ability to control it other than with a glide and manual steering to pull off the roadway and out of busy traffic, which could have been deadly for both our son and the people driving around him. Upon having it towed to the lexus dealership, they informed us that the dashboard sensors were indicating a faulty oil pump and possibly a failed inverter. "they had no way of determining if the inverter was faulty without first repairing the oil pump for $1200." upon repairing the oil pump, we learned the inverter ($8000 repair) was damaged and needed repair. The dealer could not explain this and had "never seen or heard of such a thing." further investigation on our part, showed that over 235,000 2006 and beyond toyota hybrid vehicles had been recalled for a faulty inverter in 2013. While our vehicle VIN does not show up on the recall list, we believe we are experiencing the exact same problem. Lexus corporate is denying any part in this and refused to stand behind the vehicle with only 109,000 miles and quickly closed the case. Our concern is there are more vehicles out there with this issue, and that it could be deadly for operators and drivers. If the inverter was identified as faulty already on over 235,000 vehicles, an expanded search on additional vins needs to take place. Lexus was very comfortable in confirming that they did not and would not stand behind their vehicles beyond 100,000 miles, and essentially, it was good that our son did not get injured, and sorry our car was essentially totalled (value of vehicle is approx $9000 based on kelly blue book) for the faulty inverter which was not identified on the recall.

Filed May 16, 2017 · Engine · HI

Driving on the interstate between 60-70 MPH, the car completely shut-off. Lost all power and "check hybrid system" lights came on. Was able to restart the vehicle. Notified and took the vehicle to local lexus dealer who checked the vehicle and said they can't find anything wrong with it and returned it to me. Same problem again a week later with same results. Lexus continues to say they can't find anything wrong with the vehicle nor can they find any recalls. But car continues to shut down at least once a month.

Filed Jan 27, 2017 · Engine, Fuel system · 45,000 miles · FL

In october my wife was returning from a 9.5 hours trip with 1 fuel stop approx 4 hours from home. Exiting i95 the car had numerous warning lights with a complete loss of power (vsc, check hybrid system, awd system and others). She coasted the car to a parking lot, attempted to turn it off and back on, but there was still no engine or drive power. All dash lights working. We had the car towedto our home and I tested the battery and charging voltage, then had the battery load tested and found to be bad. Purchased an optima yellow top battery and all other dash warnings ceased. In november, again returning from a trip exiting i95 the car stalled and displayed only the check hybrid and awd lights. This time turned the car off for 30 seconds and then back on. The engine turned on and hybrid motor function resumed with the "check hybrid light" still illuminated. I disconnected the battery for a minute and all warning lights went off with normal engine and hybrid drive function. I was told to contact lexus if it occurred again. One month later again returning from a trip, exited i95 and once the car was slowed to about 35 MPH car lost power, warning lights "awd" and "check hybrid" illuminated and car had entered a "limp" type of mode with some power with the gas pedal and limited speed. Power distribution screen showed no power movement from the engine/battery/wheel charging. The check engine light was also illuminated. Pulled to a parking lot turned off momentarily and then back on, resuming normal function. "awd" warning went away, but "check hybrid" and check engine lights were both on. One day prior to the appt at lexus the car was used with the warning lights still illuminated, still functioning normally. The lights, at some point during the drive went out on their own. The service appointment was again cancelled on the wednesday before the schedule.

Filed Jan 24, 2017 · Fuel system · 101,000 miles · TX

Vehicle appeared to enter "fail-safe" mode with reduced power while driving on highway resulting in reduced ability to control vehicle. Several minutes later, while driving on city street, the vehicle eventually lost all power while stopped at red light and could not be driven, and power-steering also failed. Warning lights included "check hybrid system," "check engine warning light," "slip indicator," and perhaps others. After turning off and turning back on at red light, there sufficient power to drive vehicle again, though "check hybrid system" and "check engine warning light" remained illuminated. A couple hours later, after restarting vehicle, warning lights were no longer on and vehicle could be driven normally. The condition appears similar to issue in toyota safety recall 13v‑396. However, our vehicle's VIN is not in the range of that recall. We have not yet contacted lexus dealership regarding this issue.

Filed Dec 2, 2015 · Steering · 90,650 miles · TX

While driving on a city street, I lost power steering completely. P/s and brake dash lights came on along with "service hybrid system" and "service awd system". After a few more miles the vehicle lost complete propulsion power and I was forced to pull out of traffic. I turned off the vehicle and it started fine with no power steering. I made the next mile to the dealership. They replaced the ecu that had shorted out due to a bad steering rack. I am not sure why the electronic steering mechanism would cause complete loss of power from the engine/hybrid system?

Filed Mar 23, 2015 · Fuel system · GA

2006 lexus rx 400h. Consumer writes in regards to system inverter, intelligent power module safety recall. *smd the consumer stated on july 9, 2009 while driving on the highway, at 65 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly lost power. The vehicle stopped responding to any acceleration and the consumer had no choice but to coast off to the side of a nearby off ramp. After being towed to the dealer, it was determined there wa a short in the inverter assembly.

Filed Mar 8, 2015 · Electrical, Steering · 168,280 miles · TN

While backing out of my driveway, I bumped a tree with the passenger's side mirror. The impact was slight, estimated speed was 5mph as the driveway was icy. The wheels were not turned much as that portion of the driveway is straight. After the impact, I found that the wheel was very difficult to turn and the "p/s fail" light was lit on the instrument cluster. After examining the outside of the car, the only visible damage to the car was a paint chip on the mirror. There were no fluid leaks. There was a safety recall in nov. 2011 (lexus safety campaign 9lc) for this year make and model of vehicle due to others having similar sudden and unexplained loss of power steering. My insurance company denied my claim for repair because the experts they consulted said this type of impact could not have caused a loss of power steering. I have written lexus describing the issue and am awaiting a response. Had the power steering failure occurred after hitting one of the numerous potholes on the highways, instead of in my driveway, the consequences to my wife and I could have been much more severe.

Filed Mar 6, 2015 · Transmission · 114,275 miles · CO

While driving on I-70, elevated section down town denver, vehicle lost power, warning lights came on including hybrid system, check engine, antiskid, and several others. Vehicle coasted to a stop after difficulty getting to the safety lane nearly causing and accident. This incident happened after the recall where the ipm module was replaced. Towed to dealer but after 3 days of tests dealer reported that they could not replicate the malfunction. Similar incident reported on same car 6 months earlier just after recall. Owner traded car back to dealer and vehicle was towed to the auction 3 days later.

Filed Nov 27, 2014 · Electrical, Fuel system · 94,800 miles · WA

On november 12, 2014 evening, I was driving along and going up a hill in my city street and suddenly I heard a thump sound and then my lexus rx400h lost all power and the car stalled. It was dangerous because the vehicle lost power as I was going up a steep hill. Luckily, I was able to stop the vehicle and put the parking brake on. When the vehicle stalled, my dash lit up with "check hybrid system" , "check vsc" and other lights also came on. I tried to start the car, but the hybrid "ready" light would not stay on. The car would not start. I had to tow the vehicle to a lexus dealer. I put a new battery in the vehicle and that still did not fix the problem. Then, the lexus dealer mechanic did a computer diagnosis and said that it indicated "hybrid inverter problem". My vehicle was previously brought into lexus dealership for an earlier recall for ipm module but the dealer at that time said my vehicle was not within the serial range affected and nothing was done to the vehicle at that time. I phoned lexus USA on november 13, 2014, and they confirmed my vehicle was under the recall dlf, the federal safety agency recall number 13v396. I was never notified by letter. The lexus dealer then put in the ipm recall part toyota part 04001-29148 part and the vehicle started properly. My vehicle has about 94,000 miles and just over 8 years old and technically out of warranty. However, the lexus dealer replaced the part with labor at no charge. This repair costs thousands of dollars if not covered by lexus. When I bought my lexus hybrid, I did not be expect that the hybrid vehicle could fail in such a catastrophic way. I'm a little fearful to drive this vehicle again if it happens again, and I hope lexus will take care of this issue it happens again. There is definitely something defective with the hybrid inverter, and it could be dangerous if it fails while driving.