NHTSA Complaint #10354700 — 2010 LEXUS RX350

I BOUGHT A NEW LEXUS RX 350 IN AUGUST 2010 AND HAD A COLLISION ON THE THIRD DAY DRIVING THE CAR. I WAS AT A PARKING LOT WAITING FOR A PARKING SPACE. THE ENGINE WOULD SHUT DOWN. WHEN I SAW A PARKING SPACE AVAILABLE, I STARTED THE ENGINE BY PRESSING THE ENGINE BUTTON WITHOUT PRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL (YOU DON'T NEED TO PRESS THE BRAKE WHEN YOU USE A KEY TO START THE ENGINE). I DID NOT KNOW BY DOING THAT, I ONLY STARTED THE RADIO AND AIR CONDITIONING BUT NOT THE ENGINE ITSELF. I THEN PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND SHIFTED TO THE DRIVING GEAR. AT THAT TIME, ANOTHER CAR WAS PULLING INTO THE PARKING LOT. I WAS GOING TO STOP MY CAR TO WAIT FOR THE OTHER CAR TO PASS BY ME. I PRESSED THE BRAKE BUT THE CAR DID NOT STOP AND KEPT GOING FORWARD BECAUSE THE ROAD IS A LITTLE STEEP. I FELT THAT I HAD NO CONTROL OF THE CAR - BOTH THE BRAKE AND POWER STEERING. MY CAR FINALLY STOPPED AFTER HITTING AN EMBANKMENT IN THE PARKING LOT. THERE WAS DAMAGE TO THE FRONT BUMPER AND SCRATCHES ON THE SIDE. TOTAL DAMAGE IS MORE THAN $2,000. WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THE RX 350 WAS DESIGNED IN THAT WAY - IF YOU PRESS THE START BUTTON WITHOUT PRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL, THE ENGINE WON'T START, BUT YOU ARE ABLE TO SHIFT THE GEAR TO DRIVING IF YOU PRESS THE BRAKE AT THIS TIME. IT CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS BECAUSE THE POWER STEERING AND BRAKE WILL NOT WORK PROPERLY IF THE ENGINE IS NOT STARTED. *TR