2024 Lexus RX Powertrain & Transmission Problems

While on a long road trip on a hot day, on the interstate, the car suddenly lost speed and would not accelerate. It was like the car had shifted into neutral. I was coasting on the interstate, steadily slowing, and was forced to pull over to the shoulder. I turned the car off and waited a couple of minutes then turned the car back on. No error messages were displaying at that time. About 5-10 minutes later, I pulled over for a planned stop. My husband assumed driving responsibilities when we got back into the car. Upon trying to get back on the interstate, the car would not accelerate, and multiple errors error messages appeared, including: ""System Malfunction/Visit Your Dealer," "Check Engine/Visit Your Dealer," "Drive-Start Control Malfunction/Visit Your Dealer," "Secondary Collision Brake System Malfunction/Visit Your Dealer," and "Traction Control Turned Off." He pulled into a nearby parking lot where we had to have the car towed to the dealership. It felt like the car was in neutral when this happened both times.

When coming from a stop, the car will not respond to the gas pedal being engaged OR it will begin to engage and then no response leaving the car rolling for a few seconds until a response is recieved and the car engages again. This has caused us to be put in harms way MANY times with oncoming traffic when making turns or in front of oncoming traffic in intersections. The dealer states this is not a known issue however it is all over the internet that hundreds of reports of this issue have been made. The dealer states no fix since they don't "have a problem". MAJOR safety issue. We have reported this many times to Lexus now with no resolve or help from them.

Below is the email that I sent to both the manufacturer and the dealership: I hope your Christmas Eve was better than mine. My son and I were driving up to the Poconos [XXX] to go skiing and I noticed the sonar detection light come on. When we were driving back from the Poconos, the transmission would not catch around the second or third gear. The RPMs would shoot up. The dash / warning lights lit up. I pulled over to the side of the road and I called Lexus dealership, service center, and road side assistance. However, due to the fact that it was [XXX], the offices were closed. I managed to make it to my parent’s home, but it was a very dangerous ride on [XXX]. The odometer stated that we were going 50 mph, but we were crawling and the RPMs were 4000. The RPMs at rest were always over 1000. Additionally at times, the gear would not shift into second or third and/or bottom out. Obviously the transmission is beyond malfunctioning. Below are pictures including: 1.) check your engine: A malfunction in the electric control of the engine, throttle or automatic transmission has been detected... 2.) a malfunction in the Intelligent Clearance, Sonar System has been detected 3.) traction control turned off 4.) Secondary Collision Break System malfunction, 5.) System Malfunction 6.) Drive-Start Control Malfunction. The vehicle has just over 3000 miles. I am beyond distraught. My phone number is [XXX] . However, I think it's best if we communicate through email at this point. I planned a family ski trip to Killington, VT for the New Year. I would like to request a loaner vehicle so I can salvage this holiday. I look forward to hearing from you and your service department. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

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.

I started to notice that when in reverse or coming to a brake at low speeds, the brake pedal and car starts to vibrate/stutter. I have driven hybrids for the last 5 years and never had this issue before. It is very strange that the car vibrates when coming to a stop and it is on going. It happens and then it stops, but always starts up again.