NHTSA Complaint #11316157 — 2013 LEXUS RX HYBRID

MY 2013 RX450H' ABS LIGHT SUDDENLY TURNED ON WHILE I WAS DRIVING IN A LOCAL ROAD. ALONG WITH THE ABS LIGHT, THERE WERE BRAKE WARNING LIGHT, MASTER MAINTENANCE WARNING LIGHT, SLIP LIGHT ON ALONG WITH "CHECK ABS" "BRAKE SYSTEM MALFUNCTION" WARNING MESSAGES APPEARING ON THE DASH BOARD. VERY UNSETTLING. I TOOK THE CAR TO A LEXUS DEALERSHIP AND THEY RETRIEVED ERROR CODE AS "C1391, ABNORMAL LEAK IN ACCUMULATOR. " THEY DIDN'T DETECT ANY LEAKAGE OR MOISTURE IN THE DIAGNOSIS, THEY RECOMMENDED TO REPLACE THE ABS ACTUATOR AND BOOSTER BUMP/ACCUMULATOR ASSEMBLY FOR A PRICE OF OVER $4300. AFTER I DID SOME RESEARCH OF THIS PROBLEM, I RAN INTO MANY COMPLAINT OF THE SAME ISSUE WITH VARIOUS TOYOTA AND LEXUS CARS, ESPECIALLY ON HYBRID MODELS. I ALSO LEARNED THE FAULTY COMPONENT IS THE ISSUE AND THE ISSUE HAS BEEN THERE ON MY CAR FOR A LONG TIME WITHOUT MY REALIZING IT. BECAUSE 1) THE ABS ASSEMBLY WOULD MAKE THE CHIRPING SOUND WHEN I START THE CAR. SINCE THE SOUND ISN'T LOUD, I WASN'T AWARE IT WAS ANY INDICATION OF A PROBLEM. 2) I ENCOUNTERED AN EVEN MORE SERIOUS SYMPTOM OF THIS ISSUE MANY MANY TIMES. WHEN I PUT THE GEAR ON REVERSE SHORTLY AFTER I SWITCH ON ENGINE, EVEN WHILE I AM STEPPING ON THE BRAKE, THE CAR WOULD JUST MOVE BACKWARD, OUT OF CONTROL OF THE BRAKE. I HAVE TO RELEASE AND REAPPLY MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE TO STOP ITS MOVEMENT. I FAILED TO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS THE SYMPTOM OF A FAILING ABS ACTUATOR EARLIER, AS I THOUGHT IT WAS SOMETHING THE HYBRID MODEL HAS WITH ITS ELECTRIC MOTOR KICK IN INSTANTLY. I ALSO LEARNED TOYOTA/LEXUS OFFERED CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAMS FOR THIS SPECIFIC ISSUE ACROSS MANY MODELS AS DETAILED IN THIS POST HTTP://WWW.DIY-TIME.COM/AUTOMOTIVE/TOYOTA/FAULTY-BRAKE-ACTUATOR-BRAKE-BOOSTER-PUMP-ON-TOYOTA-LEXUS-CARS/. LEXUS SHOULD ISSUE SWEEPING RECALL TO ADDRESS THIS PREVALENT ISSUE IN ITS PRODUCTS. THE ISSUE WOULD LEAD TO REAL SAFETY ISSUES FOR DRIVERS.