I drive a 2002 Lexus RX300. I was smelling a burning odor from below my car and called up to have it checked by the Lexus service. They said they couldn't see me for a week and made an appointment to take the car in for check up. I expressed my concern about driving the vehicle while this smell was present and was told to check if :there was any object such as a plastic bag stuck under my car. *checked the oil, since he said that the engine oil lubricates the entire power train. After telling him that the dipstick showed that there was no need for oil he said that the vehicle "should be ok until I bring it in for checkup. By this time I had developed a false sense of security and totally forgot about the odor. Until Saturday night August 30 when I was heading West on the cross bronx expressway.I was driving at approximately 60 mph when suddenly I heard this loud bang and the vehicle started to spin out of control on the high way with 18 wheelers on either side of me. God I was terrified. Fortunately I remembered to steer the car in the direction of the skid and was able to stabilize the vehicle and prevent a rollover. After coming out of the car and inspecting it I found that there was no visible damage but the [xxx] car would not move. Here I was cris-crossed 21/2 lanes of traffic on the cross bronx expressway with other people yelling at me to move my[xxx] vehicle out of the way and I had absolutely no way of moving it because the rear axle was jammed. After not having my car for 1 month to be exact, I was given back my vehicle and told that there was damage to the rear differential that caused the axle to seize up. Fortunately it was covered by warranty. I do not know what kind of damage could have occurred especially since this car only had 17,000 miles on it and was driven only on paved surfaces. I seriously think the there was a defect and that it should be investigated. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Englewood, NJ, USA