Lexus RX loss of power problems

Filed Oct 23, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · WA

While driving my 2026 Lexus RX350h, the vehicle suddenly lost propulsion and would not respond to the accelerator. After coming to a stop, pressing the gas pedal did nothing. I had to shift to Park, press the brake, and press the Start button to get the vehicle moving again. A short time later, while making a right turn, the vehicle lost power again while still moving, forcing me to repeat the Park–Brake–Start sequence in the middle of the turn. This is a serious safety issue because the hybrid system appears to shut down unexpectedly, causing loss of propulsion in traffic. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who stated the battery was “good,” but no cause was identified. This needs investigation because the vehicle can unexpectedly lose power and require a restart while driving.

Filed Aug 27, 2026 · Electrical, Locks · 1,000 miles · OR

The contact owns a 2026 Lexus RX 450h+. The contact stated that while occupying the vehicle, the battery lost power, causing the power door locks to fail to disengage and leaving the contact trapped inside the vehicle. Approximately 15 minutes later, the contact located the manual emergency release, unlocked the door, and exited the vehicle. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact of the manual emergency door release. The following day, the vehicle failed to start. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 1,000.

Filed Aug 18, 2026 · Transmission · AZ

While driving on [XXX] in [XXX] with my young child in the vehicle, my 2023 Lexus RX 350 F Sport suddenly lost acceleration. The vehicle initially would not accelerate beyond 50 mph and then progressively lost power, eventually being unable to accelerate beyond 40 mph. This occurred during rush-hour traffic, with vehicles traveling faster than me and passing closely. I attempted to move farther onto the shoulder because I felt unsafe being so close to traffic, but the vehicle became completely unable to drive. I had to stop and attempt to determine what was wrong with the vehicle. There were no warning lights, dashboard warnings, or notifications through the Lexus app before or during the incident. I had driven approximately 200 miles that day and had not noticed any unusual noises, odors, and nothing sounded abnormal prior to the failure. The vehicle had been regularly serviced every 5,000–10,000 miles. Its most recent service was in late March 2026, four months before this incident, and I was not informed of any transmission problems at that time. The vehicle had 80,000 miles at the time of the failure, and the scheduled transmission service/check was not due until 90,000 miles. The vehicle was taken to Lexus for diagnosis. Lexus determined that the transmission needed to be replaced and is holding my vehicle as transmissions are on back order. Lexus has agreed to cover the replacement transmission and is charging me $1800 for labor costs. I am reporting this incident because the sudden loss of acceleration and eventual complete loss of the ability to drive occurred while traveling on a freeway with a child in the vehicle and surrounding traffic, creating a significant safety concern. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Aug 10, 2026 · Fuel system, Transmission · CA

First incident. 71 mph, 101 degrees out traveling along a straight highway, I hit the seat cooler button and when I did, my car lost power. I could not get any response when I hit the accelerator. I tried several times. This was on XXX with around 500 miles on the car in the odometer. I had it less than a week. Second incident on XXX 25 mph, 105 degrees outside with 1300 miles in the odometer, I again, lost power and was unable to accelerate. I was on a windy road that required the use of both hands on the wheel. With this incident I lost the AC in the cabin. I had to pull over both times and turn off my vehicle and turn back on. There were no lights, or warnings or beeps letting me know that my car was going to lose or lost power. I took the vehicle to Crown Lexus in Ontario, they had it for 7 days and they could not find anything wrong with it. When they ran a diagnostic on it, there were no codes other than they said I put the car in neutral while driving. Which did not happen. My husband was with me both times. I then had the car towed to Lexus of [XXX] and we went for a test drive, as they wanted to see how I drive to rule out human error and to see if the car would have another incident. It did not. They kept it overnight and could not find anything. The first dealer drove it about 70 miles and the second around 10 miles to diagnose. The green ready light was on the dash. As to what component failed? I am not sure other than I could not accelerate and the ac went out. My safety and my husbands, along with other drivers, was put at risk due to the fact my car was traveling at a high rate of speed and it just lost power. I could have been rear ended. I could have been on a road without a shoulder to move over to. This could have been a major catastrophe. The dealer(s) have been unable to reproduce the incidents. There has been no inspection other than at the dealer, and during both incidents, no warning lights, or beeps were seen or heard INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA)

Filed Aug 3, 2026 · Transmission · KS

had transmission replaced 2 times and update to transmission. this is a brand new car purchased in 2023. first transmission replaced at 20,963 miles, 2nd replaced at 33,543 miles, 35,221 miles transmission update. It was cumulative 33 out of service. We feel this vehicle is unsafe to drive. Even after all the transmissions replaced om the is vehicle had 2 more incidents. One was loss of power in traffic and another was on a highway transmission would not shift into higher gear. This is not new there have been hundreds of people with the same exact problems. Lexus has internal TSB L-SB-0059-23 detailing these problems.

Filed Mar 12, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · CA

I own a 2020 Lexus RX 450h with approximately 129,803 miles. The check engine light came on and the vehicle stored diagnostic trouble code P0A2D, which indicates a failure of the drive motor/temperature sensor circuit that is integrated into the transmission/hybrid motor assembly. According to the Lexus dealer’s diagnosis, the temperature control sensor located on the transmission/hybrid drive unit has failed. Because Lexus designed this sensor as part of the transmission assembly, the dealer has stated the sensor cannot be replaced separately and that the only repair is to replace the entire transmission. Lexus is refusing to acknowledge this as a manufacturing defect and is requiring me, the consumer, to pay the full cost of a complete transmission replacement, estimated at approximately $9,040.03, solely due to the failure of this internal temperature sensor. This is a critical component used to monitor drive motor/transmission temperature. A malfunctioning sensor of this type can lead to improper system operation, possible overheating, loss of power, or unpredictable behavior of the hybrid drive system while the vehicle is in motion, which presents a safety risk to occupants and other road users. This failure occurred during normal use on public roads and not due to any accident, abuse, or modification. I am requesting that the federal safety agency investigate whether there is a design or manufacturing defect in the drive motor/transmission temperature sensor and its housing or circuitry on the 2020 Lexus RX 450h (and related Toyota/Lexus hybrid models) that forces owners to replace the entire transmission when this internal sensor fails. This appears to be an unreasonable safety‑related defect and an unreasonable repair burden on consumers.

Filed Mar 7, 2026 · Electrical · CA · 2 injuries

I am reporting a recurring electrical and mechanical system failure on a 2024 Lexus RX 350h Luxury. On [XXX], the vehicle suffered a total power loss that rendered the electronic door latches unresponsive to all inputs. Because the occupants were a [XXX] and a [XXX] strapped into car seats, they were physically unable to reach the interior manual overrides. Critically, the mechanical backup key also failed to unlock the vehicle from the exterior, preventing immediate rescue. This created a life-threatening entrapment scenario. The doors only responded after multiple minutes of repeated manual attempts. Once entry was gained, the vehicle would not start and the headlights began blinking rapidly, indicating a total system communication failure. I had to use jumper cables to restore power. This is the second occurrence of this catastrophic failure, documented on Repair Order [XXX] at Lexus of Westminster. The failure of both electronic and mechanical failsafes constitutes an extreme occupant safety hazard. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Dec 6, 2024 · Transmission · NC

While driving on a local highway recently, my forearm brushed the automatic shift knob while reaching to place my phone on the wireless charging pad. The transmission shifted into neutral, resulting in an unexpected loss of speed. It took me a few seconds to realize what had happened - I shifted back into Drive, and resumed my trip. No accident resulted from this, but it has happened twice in the month that I have owned the car. I reported the issue to the dealership thinking my car had a problem - they said that this is the way the car is designed to function. I found a section in the Owner's Manual which confirms this - shifting from Drive to Neutral while stationary requires the knob to be held to the left for a couple seconds; for some reason, doing this while moving requires only a tap (see attached photo of the owner's manual). This seems like a design issue - the unexpected loss of power from bumping the shift knob to the left (no forward or backward motion is needed) could easily result in an accident. I don't understand why they specifically created a system where a "push and hold" is not required to shift into neutral when the vehicle is moving. I reported this issue to corporate Lexus today. They said they will consider this feedback in subsequent model designs, but I wonder whether a recall is appropriate. That's why I'm reporting the issue to you, as well.

Filed Nov 26, 2024 · Electrical, Engine · FL

For some unknown reason the car will suddenly display multiple warning lights, check engine, service needed, traction control off/inactive then the car will go into reduced engine power mode which prevents acceleration and causes the car to feel like it’s going to stall or shut off. This has happened several times on major high speed highways causing other cars to slam on their breaks, drive recklessly to avoid my failing car. My daughter has been in the car several times when this happened and it took everything in my power to not collide with another vehicle. We have taken the car to the Lexus dealership every time and they have tried to fix the car over a dozen times but it keeps happening. They don’t seem to know the issue or cause, trying several different solutions. How can a car manufacturer not know what is wrong with their own car not how to fix it? What am I supposed to do, just keep driving it and pray an accident never happens? There is no warning when this happens and no way to keep the car from swiftly decelerating or keep the car from using “minimal engine power” which I’m to,d is to protect the engine but I’m more worried about us. The date below is for the most recent incident.

Filed Mar 20, 2024 · Brakes · CO

Loss of power brake assist. The Lexus dealer diagnosed a failed vacuum pump. This is common with the 2016/2017 RX 350's. Lexus has admitted a manufacturing problem with the pumps and has a service bulletin (L-SB-0010-18) and a safety recall on the 2017's (JLD J2D). The recall should be extended to the 2016's. There are tons of people posting on the internet about failed vacuum pumps and resultant safety issues.