My 2000 lexus rx300 had an unexplained sudden unintended acceleration where the vehicle almost killed me and my son. I was driving residential backroads by my house, accelerated slightly to get up a hill and that's when it took off. The brake pedal was unresponsive, the emergency break was unresponsive, I pulled the floor mat out for good measure, nothing worked, it kept accelerating at a high rate until I finally slammed it through gears to "park" to get it to a stop. I had it towed to the lexus dealership, where the tow truck driver even told me when it started the car to get it up on the truck, after being turned off for over 12 hours, it was still red lining the engine, and even lurched forward but because the car was in park, it didn't crash into the back of the tow truck. Lexus investigated the car and did absolutely nothing. They wouldn't tell me why it happened. I demand an explanation and a replacement vehicle - one that doesn't have a history of having sua problems. I fear for my life everytime I have to drive this vehicle.
Lexus RX300 sudden acceleration problems
27 of the 722 owner complaints about the Lexus RX300 describe sudden unintended acceleration, most of them for the 2001 model year.
- owner complaints
- 27
- worst model year
- 2001
- typical mileage
- 91,000
By model year
Often reported together
No deployment 3Warning lights 2Knocking 2Brake failure 2Transmission failure 1Jerking 1
What owners say
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 lexus rx300. While driving at approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The brakes failed when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle was shifted into neutral and merged to the side of the road where the vehicle was turned off. The failure recurred once. The vehicle was towed to the contact's resident. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 200,000.
Incident because of sudden unintended acceleration when my foot on the brake.
Subject: sudden acceleration lexus 2002--near fatal crash comments: on 3.16.2012 at 8 :30 am I pulled into a parking spot in a parking garage in baltimore, maryland. The car was stopping in a parking space. Suddenly, the engine starting revving up and the car suddenly accelerated at such a high speed that the car jumped over the parking barricade and cables, went airborn and crash landed at the opposite end of the garage on the level below. If it had landed 12 inches further, it would have gone over the 6th story of the parking garage. The brakes did not work and prior to this, the car was almost stopped. I have owned this car for 8 years with one previous owner. I always do the recommended routine maintenance. The car was beyond repair and was totaled.
When parking the vehicle, the vehicle suddenly accelerated while the driver was not pressing the accelerator. Despite the driver's efforts to stop the vehicle, the vehicle jumped over a curb and headed toward a head-on collision with traffic. In an attempt to avoid a possibly fatal collision, the driver swerved hard to the left intending to hit a pole to stop the vehicle. The vehicle missed the pole and hit a starbucks with the vehicle ending up completely inside the starbucks. Six people who were inside the starbucks were injured. The driver never pressed the accelerator during the entire incident.
Tl- the contact owns a 2002 lexus rx300. The contact stated that while parking vehicle, there was an abnormal increase in engine rpms as the vehicle accelerated independently. The vehicle jumped the curb and crashed into a fence before coming to a complete stop. The air bags did not deploy and the contact suffered injuries to the right shoulder. The vehicle was not destroyed. The contact called the manufacturer and the manufacturer sent a technician to examine the vehicle failure. The technician stated that because there were two flat tires on the vehicle due to the sudden acceleration, the vehicle could not be properly examined. The failure mileage was 135,000. Kmj updated 01/13/12*lj updated 02/01/12 ....updated 02/10/12 *bf also, the air bag did not deploy. Updated 05/03/12
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 lexus rx300. The contact stated that while attempting to park, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward and crashed into a brick wall. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle sustained front end damage and the contact suffered minor injuries as her breast hit the steering wheel. The insurance company was not notified. Neither the dealer, nor the manufacturer, were made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 73,000.
In attempting to park my vehicle at a store parking lot, at very low speed (<1 MPH) with my foot on or hovering over the brake pedal, my car lunged forward, jumped the 'stopper' and ran into a handicap parking pole. The car engine continued to race/accerlerate until I removed the key from the ignition. The store surveillance system caught the accident on tape. Had it not been for the upright concrete pole, my vehicle very well would have caused injury to others. Fortunately, neither my passenger nor I were injured. My insurance company found no damage to my brakes; and resulting damage to the front end has been repaired. However, since the accident, I have had my front brakes replaced. I am considerably more cognizant of slight accelleration of the vehicle without my assistance!!
S10 appropriate handling-letter to the secretary from regarding her letter to toyota the unintended acceleration of toyotas. *kb the consumer stated as she applied the accelerator gently, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward, jumping the curb, knocking down and running over a steel post on the sidewalk that was anchored in concrete all the while the consumer was frantically stomping on the brake trying to stop the vehicle. The vehicle finally stopped about six feet from the wall of a department store. The second incident happened on jan 31, 2011. As the consumer pulled into a parking space, the vehicle suddenly accelerated forward, over the curb and hit the post in front of the curb. The impact knocked the vehicle back about three feet and bashed in the front fender and grill. *jb updated 05/19/11
I experienced sudden unintended acceleration in my 2002 lexus, rx300 on 4 aug, 2010. I was in a parking lot making a left turn into the parking area when the vehicle revved full throttle and surged forward. I applied the brakes fully and when the vehicle did not fully stop I put the vehicle in neutral while still applying the brakes and stopped the vehicle. It was still idling full throttle. I shut it off and let it sit a few minutes and started it again. It went to full throttle and would not throttle down. I then went under the hood and tried to jiggle the accelerator linkage but to no avail. I called the local toyota service department and they told me to get the vehicle there. I had it towed to the service center. They would not do any work on it or even look at it because it was a lexus and they had been instructed not to do anything with unintended acceleration problems on any type of vehicle that was not a toyota even though lexus is manufactured by toyota. I had to get it to a lexus dealer in tucson, az (~80 miles away) for diagnosis. The lexus dealer service center diagnosed the problem as a bent throttle cable. Some how a cover had come loose and the cable was exposed from its sheath and bent. I am sure the lexus of tucson service manager, mr. Paul minor could explain it exactly but that is my interpretation of what he explained to me. I asked him how this could have happened and he said he did not know. The repair was accomplished for ~$365.00 parts and labor. I will have the car back on friday 20 aug, 2010. I will have the old/bad parts on hand. I feel this is a problem in design that lexus should take responsibility to reimburse me and to issue a safety release and recall. There should be a fail safe if the throttle cable should bend. In my case the bent cable caused a full throttle condition and sudden unintended acceleration. I was fortunate that I was aware of what to do in that situation and that a pedestrian or another vehicle.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Lexus RX300 sudden acceleration
Which Lexus RX300 years have sudden unintended acceleration problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2001 (10 complaints), 2002 (7 complaints) and 2000 (6 complaints).
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