2007 Lexus ES350-1-adult passenger sat in the front seat and I notice that the airbag off indicator light was on. 2- I have experienced a dangerous sudden surge of acceleration when braking, even with all weather mat properly secured. I believe the surge may be a software and/or sensor flaw. 3- when the engine is first started (cold-after sitting), the mechanical engine noise is very pronounced as if proper lubrication is not occurring.

- Cornwall On Hudson, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Lexus ES350. While driving 60 mph, the contact attempted to apply the brakes, but the speed only decreased to 20 mph. She placed the vehicle in park while it was still in motion, which caused the vehicle to smoke and jerk instantly. The failure caused her to run three red lights and Dodge other vehicles on the road. She called Lexus and they stated that the floormats may have been installed improperly and caused the vehicle to surge forward. The vehicle is currently at the dealer being inspected and the contact is awaiting a follow-up phone call. The failure and current mileages were 1,100.

- Stockridge, GA, USA

I purchased 2007 Lexus ES 350 in December of 2006. Sometime in last month, when I was driving the vehicle on a highway, its brake stopped working all of a sudden, and started accelerating by itself. I looked at my foot wondering if my foot was on gas pedal, instead of brake pedal, but it was on brake pedal. I was in a total panic, but managed to drove the car away to the shoulder of the highway by putting the car in park mode. I thought I was dead at that moment. I am trying to sue the Lexus. I honestly believe that car will kill someone. Before starting a legal proceeding, my attorney sent a letter to Lexus headquarter, and was told that the vehicle had no problem, and that the cause was the floor mat. But, it was not. As I said earlier, I looked at my foot when the vehicle did not stop, and after I stopped the car, I carefully looked at both gas pedal and brake again. I am not blind. Have you seen any other complaints for similar problems? please let me know. It will be really helpful for me to win the case. I am not trying to make money by suing Lexus, but trying to have Lexus recall all of its ES 350 since it will kill someone.

- Fort Lee, NJ, USA

We bought a 2007 Lexus ES 350 in November. At ~1,000 miles on the odometer I had one episode of unwanted acceleration. I was merging onto the highway. I was trying to keep a constant speed but the car accelerated in the blink of an eye. I do not remember the specifics. I think I was going about 30 and the car zoomed to 60. I put my foot on the brake and the car slowed down. I do not remember the exact dates so I am estimating for the entry below. I have also had some problems with stopping. I would slow to stop and put my foot on the brake but the car would continue to lurch forward. There again I just kept pushing hard on the brakes. This did not occur at a rapid rate of speed. Since I had the rubber floor mats reinstalled I have not noticed it. I dropped the car off at the dealership in may of 2007. I explained that I had heard there had been some problems with the black rubber mats and I requested they install them properly. I had tried to install them myself but was unable to remove the carpet mats that came with the car so the mats had been sitting on top of the carpet mats. The dealership checked out the car and said it was okay.

- Dayton, OH, USA

Here is the description I gave my local Lexus dealer along with the photographs of the witness marks of the impact to the door. Lexus is evaluating the car. I have asked for a factory assisted replacement car of a different model. They have not responded yet: Dave, attached is the extract from the NHTSA on this problem with the ES350 model along with the measurements on the garage door and photos of the car. There is the description: I was watching my wife slowly (3-5 mph) approach our garage door when the car suddenly lurched forward and crashed into our garage door at 10-15 mph. My wife said her foot was hovering over the brake after transitioning from the throttle as the car was coasting toward the door. She jammed on the brake but couldn't get it stopped fast enough to keep from hitting the door. I'm a licensed professional mechanical engineer and own a drive a ferrari F355 spider for fun so I am very familiar with how a car suspension and body angle responds to acceleration and braking. It looked to me like the car launched but was immediately forced into a nose down attitude as my wife was desperately trying to stop. Unlike like the Audi problem of a few years ago had she mistakenly hit the throttle she would have never been able to hit the door in a nose down attitude and there wouldn't have been time to take her foot off the gas and onto the brake - as a result - it had to be an uncommanded acceleration. The car launched in a way that would be consistent of at least 2500 RPM minimum. I made some very careful witness mark measurements on the broken garage door and the impact point for the license plate screw is 3/8 of an inch lower than its normal free standing height on the car indicating she must have had her foot on the brake by the time of the impact thus ruling out the Audi scenario. Make no mistake this is not the floor mat problem and we restarted the car to confirm the cruise control was off.

- Maple Valley, WA, USA

My daughter and friends were driving in my 2007 Lexus ES 350 on a 2 lane hwy. As they approached a speed zone the driver noticed the cruise control light was on without being engaged. She turned it off, it came on again. She tapped the brakes to turn it off and the car lurched fwd. She tried to slow the car but when she braked the car accelerated. She continued to brake but the car kept speeding up. She shifted the car into neutral but the car sped up. She tried the emergency brake, pushing the start/stop button, but the car would not turn off. She kept repeating these actions but the car continued out of control. The driver was standing on the brake with both feet trying to stay on the road as it approached speeds of 90mph with no brakes. As they approached a 4 way stop the front passenger seat desperately threw the car into park at 90mph. The car lurched and skidded approx 150 ft to the side of the road. When I arrived at the scene I called our salesman to inform him of the incident and our car would be towed in. He asked me how many floor mats I had in the car, and I told him only the two they sold me, the carpeted one and the all-weather rubber mat. He told me they had just issued a recall on the rubber mat as it was sliding fwd and jamming accelerators. I checked and our mat was jamming the accelerator. After my car was examined by Lexus field tech's they determined the car had acted as designed and the expenses for a replaced transmission and new brake system would be mine- not covered by warranty. I disputed this and they offered to repair the car at no charge. If floor mats were contributory to this potentially fatal incident they were not the only dangerous element. The cruise control issues, inability to stop the car in an emergency situation by pressing the stop button, and the throttle seemingly overriding the other systems in a "sudden acceleration" pattern are all very strong concerns I have.

- Centralia, IL, USA

Car gained speed, could not brake the car, with foot on brake pedal it went even faster, hit other vehicles and smashed through a garage door, stopping only when it ran into a tree. Car was repaired at a cost of over $33,000. The vehicle had 400 miles on the odometer.

- Mahwah, NJ, USA

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.

- Brookfield, WI, USA

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.

- Central Point, OR, USA

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.

- Corona, CA, USA

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.

- Falmouth, ME, USA

On 3/22/07 at approximately 6:30 P.M. I was exiting the parking lot of island 16 cinema. As I was driving to the stop sign that merges with I495 East bound service road my 2007 Lexus ES 350 suddenly accelerated on its own. I immediately stepped with both feet on the brakes. The car's engine continued to race. I then put the car into neutral in attempt to stop the engine from racing. This also did not work. I was now stopped on the side of the entrance ramp with the engine still racing in neutral and my feet on the brakes. I then put the car into park and the engine stopped racing after a few seconds. I immediately called Lexus of smithtown and I had the car towed to the dealership as I was afraid to drive the car. On Thursday 3/29/07 I was informed by bob martinez the manager of smithtown Lexus that the car was inspected by rick holden a Lexus field rep who ran two system checks on the brakes and acceleration and stated that the vehicle was operating O. K. Mr. Martinez then stated that I could call the Lexus headquarters to lodge a complaint which I did. I spoke with eric ordemann who stated that someone would contact me in two days.

- Farmingville, NY, USA

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.

- Roslyn, NY, USA

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.

- Fountain Hills, AZ, USA

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.

- Falmouth, ME, USA

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. Updated 05/24/10 updated IVOQ 09/02/10

- Sevierville, TN, USA

While driving my 2007 Lexus ES 350 on a very busy P'way the vehicle accelerated on its own. The car just took off. I applied the brakes once, then again and again I had my foot on the brake pedal all the way to the floor and the car did not slow down. It was a horror. I had no control of the speed and ultimately caused a six car collision. People including myself were hurt and hospitalized. The purpose of my purchasing this vehicle was due to the 5 star rating and safety. After researching I found too many other complaints of this nature. The vehicle is much to dangerous and should H be recalled. Very disappointed an its a miracle I'm alive.

- Yonkers, NY, USA

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.

- Dallas, TX, USA

Consumer request for investigation on the 2007 ES350 speed control. 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. 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.

- Melvindale, MI, USA

: the vehicle stated while traveling 65 mph on dry road conditions, the vehicle began to accelerate uncontrollably to 70 mph. The cruise control was activated when this occurred. The vehicle was placed in neutral, and the brake pedal was depressed, which slowed down the vehicle. On another occasion while traveling 20 mph, sudden acceleration recurred, the vehicle was shifted into park and the ignition was turned off. The dealer was contacted, who determined that the floormat could have depressed the accelerator pedal. On 12/05/06, the problem recurred while traveling 30 mph. The brakes were depressed, which did not stop the vehicle. The automatic transmission was shifted into park, which completely shut the vehicle off. Smoke was noticed coming from the engine compartment. On 12/06/06, the manufacturer was contacted, who provided no assistance.

- Cypress, TX, USA