Problems with 2007 Lexus ES 350 VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

On may 20, 2007 when i was driving in a high traffic private parkway the vehicle suddenly accelerated and hit three other cars. the road had a very gentle up slope and a small curve. the engine was roaring very loud as i tried very hard to brake, but the brake was not effective. i hit three cars: right, front and front right. one of the by stander told me that her parents had a similar experience with the same model car less than a week before that on a highway. also, the front car passenger reported that she heard an unusual loud engine noise from my car in the police report. later, the insurance company's assessor informed me that there was a memorandum from the manufacturer to insurance companies about the all weather floor mat for this model could cause sudden acceleration on the throttle. i reported the accident to the customer service specialist from the manufacturer on may 21, 2007. they have sent a field technician to inspect the car on june 7 , 2007, and he concluded there was no mechanical problem with the car. the specialist told me to submit any car rental expense claim through the insurance company ,and any further action will have to deal directly with their legal department. i also talked with two service staffers from 2 different dealerships, and they informed me that they were aware of the floor mat problem about the same model of my car. since then i have found 18 similar complaints about the same model car in the national highway traffic safety administration web site. i want the manufacturer to reimburse all my car rental expenses and to replace my car because i have no confidence about the car warranty, and i should not be bearing the depreciation cost for a crashed car. the manufacturer should recall all the cars that have the floor mat package.*ak

Intermittently, but not often, when taking my foot off of the gas, the car would increase in speed and the engine would speed up, but would quit when i braked. when accelerating to pass vehicles, i noticed that on occasion the engine would hesitate and then grab suddenly and then shoot off, but would slow down when i took my foot off of the accelerator. on april 20 my car had about 2,300 miles on it when i gave the car some gas to get up to speed to enter the busy freeway. as soon as i did the accelerator locked and felt like it was in passing gear. it was at 85 mph while braking as i entered the freeway. the engine was revving loudly after i got it into neutral. after about mile, it slowed enough so i shoved it into park but it would not shut off. as it finally did disengage, the engine was still revving at a high speed while entire car shuttered, shook and made loud noises. i kept my feet on the brake while i called lexus 24 hour road service. i was very lucky that no one was injured. the car has been at lexus for 11 days at this point. *tr

The vehicle owner claims that the vehicle suddenly accelerated and that she applied the brakes but the vehicle did not slow down. she also tried the emergency brake but that did not slow the vehicle either. she then hit another vehicle and that stopped her vehicle. the vehicle then started on fire after the collision.*tr

Driver was injured when driving her new (six weeks old) lexus es350 with approximately 700 miles on the odometer. due to a defect with the automobile, the car, while proceeding on a roadway, suddenly and unexpectedly accelerated. the car would not stop even though the driver had fully applying the brakes. the driver, jamming on the brakes, was able to slow the car. the driver, unable to turn off the engine by pushing the ignition button and unable to stop the movement of the car by the application of the brakes, intentionally crashed the car into a parked automobile to stop. after the car finally stopped, driver was unable to turn off the engine even after moving the stick into the "park" position. *jb

While attempting to enter freeway, after passing through tollbooth, vehicle locked at 40 mph, unable to accelerate or brake. *tr

While driving my new lexus es350 on the interstate in january 2007, the car suddenly accelerated out of control. as i applied the brake initially with one foot and then both feet. i also pushed the ignition button and tried everything i could think of to slow the vehicle-nothing seemed to help. the engine continued to power the car forward. eventually the car ran off the road into a snow bank. lexus and the dealer (lexus of portland maine) claimed they could find no problem with the car. we are hopeful for some type of resolution either from lexus or the dealer. we would be interested in hearing from others who have experienced similar problems with a lexus. *jb

While driving the car on the falmouth connector with the toll booth in sight, i lifted my foot from the accelerator to decelerate and suddenly the accelerator just took off. i immediately applied the brake but the car continued to try to accelerate, i then applied both feet to the brake as i tried desperately to stop the car while the front wheels were spinning and burning rubber. i tried to shut down the ignition with the pushbutton on the gear shifter and also desperately tried to move the gear shifter from drive but could not. neither the ignition button nor the gear shifter would respond. the car continued to try to accelerate but i was able to steer the car into the snow banking off the road and it finally stalled in a black cloud of rubber and smoke. the dealer did an inspection of the car and could find nothing wrong and denied knowing of any problems. i have been traumatized by this event and continue with medical attention in recovery. *nm

Unexplained acceleration / timing cover seal to the engine block my 2007 es350 accelerated out of control reaching the speed of 95 miles per hour. the only way i was able to slow the car down was to put the car in neutral. and then it began to slow down. i took into to my local dealer and they where not able to diagnose the problem. in april of 2207 i notices my es350 had a small oil link when the dealer inspected the vehicle thy found that the timing cover to the engine block was poorly sealed and would need to be repaired. i was told there was a service bulletin out on the seals and my car would need to be in the shop about a week to repair. *tr

I am pleased to see something is finally being done about the lexus es 350 2007 acceleration problem. i filed a complaint in dec 2006, as i was spared from a fatal crash due to the acceleration problem. the recall that came out the following spring was only for lexus mats and i did not have a lexus mat but had another store bought mat. the 2007 recall program did not properly address the issue. i discussed with this agency and sent letters to toyato in japan and to the lexus headquarters in ca. i kept copies of all correspondence sent in 2006 so they knew about the problem. i even sent copies of complaints posted on this website, as the lexus dealership denied any reportable incidence. i am so disappointed that people died after my attempt to get someone to listen. i am still fearful of our car, but can't sell it for a fair price so we have continued to drive it with much concern for not only our family but others on the road. these cars should have been taken off the road in 2006. i still have nightmares about the car accelerating and probably will for a lifetime. i feel your agency should have been more aggresive in 2006 when this first started. toyota/lexus has failed those who have died or been injured and any additional potential injuries or losses that may occur before april 2010 when the new software and pedals become available will be their fault as well. *tr

We bought our lexus 350 on sep 29, 2006 within 3-5 months we had issues in acceleration pedal. we took to the workshop and stated our complaint on increase is speed the 1st 10 min of driving. the replaced the transmission. but sometimes we still have that issue. but when we take to the dealer they say they couldn't reproduce that. we are now worries about the sticky gas pedal issue. once we even hit a cyclist is the turn when i couldn't control the speed on the turn. we tried to reduce our speed, but it was kind of accelerated to 40, where as it should be in 25. the incident happened in school zone. *tr

I had a life threatening experience in my 2007 lexus es350 on thanksgiving day 2006. i was driving with 3 other family members to payson, az from fountain hills, az. payson is in the mountains at higher elevation. i like to use the cruise control when i am driving any distances. while in heavy traffic going up a mountain grade, the car started accelerating by itself. the first thing i did was hit the brake, when that did not disengage the cruise or acceleration, i stomped on the brakes with both feet. the vehicle was now accelerating at over 100 mph in heavy traffic, then i finally put the car in low which did finally disengage the cruise and accelerator. this was a very scary event. the following day i immediately took the car in with this complaint to scottsdale lexus service department. i had no doubts that they would immediately take care of this life threatening problem. to make a very long and time consuming story short, i was told to drive the car until it happened again and that they had never heard of this problem before. perhaps the next time i want be able to miss all of the cars that were in my way and could just go over the edge of the mountain. i have spoken to a lot of lexus people with no results and finally decided to drop it until i had time to try and deal with the situation. i did not get a new lexus so i could be consumed with my time wasted with innumerable phone call and repetition of stories. i put $6000 down on my new lexus lease that is for 3 years and now have a vehicle that i do not feel safe to drive. i certainly would never set the cruise control again. *jb

2007 lexus es350. excessive rpms during start up cause the car to sharply accelerate when put into reverse. rpm stays at 1700+ for up to a minute after engine start. when putting the transmission into reverse at this high rpm, causes the car to lurch backwards as if the accelerator pedal had been floored. has caused car to hit a pole and a tree on 2 separate occasions. dealership says this is normal. lexus customer satisfaction has not returned calls.*jb

While merging onto i-40 interstate in my 3 month old 2007 es 350, i accelerated to 65 mph, but the car continued to accelerate on its own. the cruise light came on by itself. i disengaged the cruise, applied the brake with both feet, and shifted into lower gears, including neutral. i applied the emergency brake & shifted into reverse, as the car was now approaching 100 mph. i traveled almost 6 miles at 110+ mph with the gearshift in reverse before the brakes took hold. toyota motor co. denies this can happen, but this car needs to be recalled. i will never drive this car again and am thankful to be alive everyday. *jb updated 05/24/10 *bf updated ivoq 09/02/10*jb

Consumer request for investigation on the 2007 es350 speed control. *ts the consumer stated the vehicle suddenly accelerated, after attempting to apply the brakes. the unwanted acceleration caused the vehicle to crash into the highway guard rail and consequently the vehicle rolled over. the consumer suffered serious back, neck and pelvic injuries. *jb update (february 21, 2007): ms. hodges said that she was traveling on i-75 for 15 minutes and the cruise control was not turned on. she was merging onto route 59 and applied the brakes. however, the vehicle not only not slowed down but actually accelerated to what she believe was 75-80 mph. to avoid crashing the vehicles ahead, she moved from the right lane to the left lane and hit the guard rail. the vehicle rolled over and totaled. she was cited by the police but the citation was later dismissed. toyota sent her a letter saying that their investigation found nothing was wrong with the vehicle. see also 10174732 *dsy.

2007 lexus es 350. consumer states unintended acceleration *tgw the consumer stated on numerous occasions he has experienced sudden acceleration while driving between 30- 40 mph. the first experience occurred within a few weeks of owning the vehicle. the floor mats were removed, however the vehicle continued to accelerate. each time the consumer went to the dealer to voice his concern, no repairs were made. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated while traveling 30 mph, the vehicle began to accelerate uncontrollably. the vehicle would not slow with both feet depressed on the brake pedal and in neutral. the vehicle stopped once in park. the vehicle was towed to the dealership, but they are unable to determine the problem. the manufacturer has sent technicians to look into the problem. the vehicle is a 2007 lexus es350. *ak