NHTSA complaint: 2014 LEXUS ES350 — VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES
I PURCHASED MY 2015 LEXUS ES350 ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH, 2014. ON NOVEMBER 27TH, I WAS TURNING RIGHT INTO A PARKING SPACE AND THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED AGGRESSIVELY ON ITS OWN CAUSING THE CAR TO RUN OVER THE CONCRETE PARKING SPOT STOPPER AND PROPEL 200-300 FEET UNTIL I HIT A PALM TREE, STOPPING THE CAR FROM ENTERING A NEARBY LAKE. THIS CAUSED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO THE CAR. MY WIFE AND I WERE IN COMPLETE SHOCK AS I WAS UNABLE TO STOP / CONTROL THE CAR - I ATTEMPTED TO PUMP THE BRAKES MULTIPLE TIMES (LEAVING TIRE TRACKS) BUT THE CAR CONTINUED ACCELERATING UNTIL WE HIT THE TREE. WE FILED A REPORT W/ THE FLORIDA SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT. ADDITIONALLY, THE DAY BEFORE (NOV 26TH), I NOTICED THE SIDE MIRRORS ON THE CAR DID NOT TILT PROPERLY WHEN IN REVERSE - THE LEFT MIRROR TILTED DOWN, THE RIGHT MIRROR TILTED UP. THIS MAY BE A RESULT OF THE 'MIRROR SWITCH BLOCK' BUT TOGETHER WITH A FEW OTHER MECHANICAL ISSUES, THIS LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THE 2-DAY OLD CAR HAD SOME SIGNIFICANT AND DANGEROUS MECHANICAL / ELECTRONIC ISSUES. I HAVE ATTACHED MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CAR AND A PICTURE OF THE PARKING SPOT WHERE THE ACCELERATION OCCURRED. PLEASE CONTACT ME ABOUT APPROPRIATE NEXT STEPS RELATED TO THIS SIGNIFICANT DEFECT. *JS
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation