I just made my complaint with NHTSA below: Oil leaked substantially while driving on the Highway.
As we were slowing down on WB I-94 due to construction, our red oil light was on, and then flashing. Eventually, all other warning lights were also on. The car was driven for about 1.5 miles from when the light was first lit to a safe location (local Honda dealership) where it was determined that the vehicle was no longer drivable. At this point, we were about 1.5 hours from home.
Upon inspection, 4 quarts of oil were lost and Lexus service center later confirmed that the rubber oil cooler tubes were broken and had to be replaced by the metal ones. Both Lexus Service & Lexus Corp had confirmed that the defective parts for Lexus RX350 year models 2007 - 2011 were installed. They later issued a campaign to have them replaced with the metal tubes.
The incident was quite a safety hazard to us (my wife and I) because had we maintained our normal highway speed, there could have been a catastrophic engine failure due to low or no oil. If this happened at night, we would have been stranded on the highway and in the worst case scenario, the engine would have blown up and could have caused fire.
After filing a complaint with Lexus Corp and seeking reimbursement for the repairs, Lexus refused to accept the claim, saying that my car was out of warranty. They claimed that notices were sent out, but we never received such notices. The initial representative said the notice was sent out September 2014, but the case manager later said it was October 2015 (very inconsistent here).
Meanwhile, I had another recall service done on April 4, 2016 (head lamp housing), which overlapped with their extended warranty campaign period (01.31.16 to 03.02.19) for these defective tubes, but we were never notified about this. My car is kept very well maintenance schedule - I have not missed any recommended services. There's no way that I would pass this type of repair notice.
The fact that Lexus did not issue a safety recall for this is a sham. Sudden catastrophic engine failures or potential failures is definitely a safety concern. This issue has been documented widely online and is prevalent within the Lexus community.
Side notes: Toyota product is definitely not superior to other competitors such as Acura or Infiniti. Year 2009, we bought 2 vehicles (2 months apart): RX350 for my wife and Acura MDX for myself. Up until now, MDX hardly had any issues, only a couple that were very minor and were addressed along with maintenance services. RX350 - from the beginning, we had to take our car in 2 times due to the issues with the radio. Recall on head lamp. Many more minor repairs than Acura and much more expensive to maintain than Acura. Now this oil gush! I've owned a total of 7 Honda/Acura vehicles and 1 Infiniti from 1998 to now and their repairs are mostly maintenance with a very few minor non-maintenance repairs. I'll be sure to tell all my family and friends to not touch another Lexus again. We certainly will not. This is after 2 decades of also owning multiple Lexuses/Toyotas as a family, being loyal to their brand and they wouldn't reimburse our costs (only $700) for their bad product? $700 not a big deal, but it speaks highly to how they value their customers. It's funny that I actually put my name on their waiting list for a new 2022 NX350h and also considered other Lexus/Toyota products for my wife in the near future. NOW NO MORE!!! I'm moving forward with the case and I'll be asking a lot more all the trouble we went through.
