My vehicle is displaying a hybrid system check message, and the hybrid system malfunctions. this is causing the vehicle to stall in drive while the vehicle is in motion. the vehicle loses all capabilities to properly function. i was on a city street when this happened, and had to coast the vehicle downhill in traffic to pull over. my engine check light also illuminated. this vehicle has not been driven regularly, as i just purchased it from a dealership that had been sitting on it for some time. the carfax check out for the vehicle, so it could be a faulty electrical system inverter.
Check hybrid system lights came on and the vehicle failed to start. this is the second occurrence. the inverter was replaced following the first occurrence in 2011. the vehicle was moving during the first occurrence.
Engine shuts down with no warning with no power to control or navigate the vehicle. this happens while the vehicle is in motion.
Years ago, i began to have a series of battery failures while still under warranty. each time, lexus just told me it was a dead battery, and replaced it (pro rata, not free to me). i gradually became aware that these failures were being accompanied by a message to "shift to p when turning off ignition," which i always do. i suspected that the vehicle was somehow sensing that the vehicle was not level and was wrongly engaging some sort of stability system, draining the battery. the current episode is accompanied by a "vsc" error message, which is indeed a stability system. others have reported this online as having killed their vehicles while they are in motion. i am fortunate that this did not happen to me...yet. however, i am now out of warranty and am told this will cost over $8000 to fix. i therefore want to add my voice to the growing number of affected customers--lexus should be responsible for this clear flaw in their manufacturing!
I was traveling 60 mph on the highway and my display started reading "check hybrid system" and "check vsc system" simultaneously. i searched and saw there was a recall for this exact issue (intelligent power module inside the inverter module) for certain vehicles of my exact make/model/year but for some reason my vehicle is not on the recall list. i took it to the dealership and they said the regular 12 volt car battery was the issue so they replaced it and the light went off and the car tested normal for several days however when traveling on the highway about a week later the same lights came on again.
All service lights are on, abs vsc, and info display states some sort of vsc malfunction.
As we were approaching a stoplight, a warning sound went off, followed by the entire car shutting down and refusing to turn on again. the "hybrid battery failure" warning message came on, and we were unable to turn the car on again. we were able to move the car to a parking lot, where we waited for a tow truck. the dealership told us we must have left the windows open - not the case, since it was still towards the end of a cold winter. the windows and everything else had been closed for several months. however, through some research, it appears that this issue occurs in these vehicles after a cold and wet period; certain seams will come apart, the internal components will flood with water over time, and the hybrid system will short out to the tune of 5+ thousand dollars. since this is a known issue, and not due to neglect or lack of maintenance by the consumer, it seems that this is the fault of the manufacturer. *tr
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, nhtsa 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. *tr
Leakage of coolant from the radiator discovered and in less than 50 miles an engine warning light lit, indicating failure of the hybrid synergy drive system , namely the hybrid inverter. vehicle was brought into a lexus dealership and the radiator and inverter were replaced. *tr
The check engine light and p0aa6 warning illuminated and vehicle went completely dead, could not start up. there were cracked body seams above the rear door strut mounts allowing water intrusion to flood the entire bottom well under the floor boards which shorted out the entire hybrid battery system. there were no visible signs of water intrusion inside the cabin of the vehicle, nothing was wet. apparently, lexus has two tsb's on this issue, l-sb-0019-09 & l-sb-0045-09, on how to repair the seams since over time there appears to be a structural flaw allowing the seams to separate. the water intrusion happens silently and without warning and presents a severe safety hazard as you get water into an electrical system and parts begin shorting out without advanced warning. imagine traveling at a high speed and the hybrid battery shorts and the vehicle abruptly stops! or an electrical short starts a fire! lexus is aware of the potential problem and how costly the damage is and the safety risks associated as a result and has chosen not to issue a recall or limited campaign to allow for a simple repair of the seams to prevent major damage from occurring. *tr
Abs system intermittent failure and master brake cylinder failure. *tr
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 lexus rx400 hybrid (na). while driving approximately 70 mph, the power system shut down suddenly with no power brakes or power steering. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer who stated that a new hybrid system needed to be installed. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 lexus rx400h. the contact stated that while driving 70 mph, the vehicle stalled but he was able to coast it to a stop on an exit ramp. the hybrid system light illuminated after the failure. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer who stated that the hybrid battery was the cause of failure. the contact planned to have the vehicle repaired. the vin was unavailable. the current and failure mileages were approximately 70,000.
I read on the edmunds site for lexus 400h, many owners are complaining about the failure of the electric inverter on the model year 2006. i own this car and i have not experienced any problem. i believe your agency should be looking into this situation as it appears that owners are reporting that lexus is not admitting to this situation. one owner reports that lexus knew about the problem in 2006 and changed to a different inverter starting with vin #'s greater than 60036526. my car's vi # falls below that cutoff and i am very worried. when the inverter fails, all power to the vehicle fails and the driver is in serious trouble. thank you for your concern for my safety while driving. *tr updated 06/02/11
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 lexus rx400h. while driving approximately 75 mph the vehicle stalled. the vehicle would not restart. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the inverter failed which also caused the computer and engine to fail. the inverter was replaced by an authorized dealer. the failure did not recur. the failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was unknown. updated 10/15/10 bf updated 10/19/10
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 lexus rx400h. while driving 70 miles per hour the warning lights on the dashboard began to flash. the contact stated that the vehicle also lost power while driving. the contact was advised that the inverter was defective and that she would have to pay $700 to have the part installed. the failure and current miles were 140,000.
While driving on highway, car shut down totally. *tr