The contact owns a 2008 Lexus ES350. When she attempted to merge into traffic at approximately 10 mph the vehicle drifted, hit the curb and accelerated out of control. The vehicle came to a complete stop when it crashed into a rail road parking lot fence. She received injuries to her chest. The Connecticut police report 2009-015560 was filed. The insurance company declared that the vehicle was destroyed. Updated 05/04/2010. Updated 07/16/10

- New Canaan, CT, USA

I purchased a 2008 Lexus ES 350 on February 21, 2008. On May 28, 2008, I took the car to the dealer, Lexus of jacksonville, fl, because the gas pedal stuck on May 26, 2008. When this occurred, the car accelerated to over 80 mph and I had to insert my foot underneath the pedal to unstick and raise the pedal to decrease acceleration. Lexus of jacksonville checked the pedal and I was told the pedal had been adjusted. The problem has not recurred. On February 19, 2008, I was contacted by Lexus of jacksonville to schedule the vehicle for service as a result of the recall of the gas pedal sticking and an engine hose replacement.

- Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, USA

I was driving a 2008 Lexus ES 350 down Wisconsin avenue in bethesda, md and was stationary at a red traffic light at the intersection of Wisconsin avenue and bradley blvd. When the light changed to green, upon lightly pressing the accelerator to get my car moving again, it started to rapidly accelerate (out of my control) and, despite my pressing the brakes with full force, the car was moving very fast and stopped only after a few hundred feet, when it crashed into the vehicle in front of me. That vehicle crashed into another vehicle in front of it. A car hit me from behind as well. My airbags went off and my car was damaged so much that it had to be towed away. I am convinced that this accident was caused by a accelerator defect in the car. This is consistent with the ongoing Toyota investigation into accelerator defects in my car model. I am lucky that I survived. Had I not been in heavy traffic, that forced my car to stop, I can only imagine how much more speed I would have gained resulting in likely much greater damage to life and property.

- Ellicott City, MD, USA

Acceleration problem 2008 Lexus E350. While entering the Florida turnkpike, I accelerated quickly to merge ahead of traffic. I pushed the accelerator pedal to the floor. The pedal stuck. It felt like the vehicle speed control took over. I accelerated quickly from 45mph to 85 mph. My first reaction was to hit the brake pedal. As I looked down at the accelerator before I hit the brake, it was depressed. When I hit the brake several times it released. While shaken, I continued on to my destination in miami. I was careful not to accelerate quickly. When I returned to West palm beach I took the vehicle to the Lexus dealer and informed them of the problem. The Lexus dealer indicated my vehicle was part of the recall for floor mats. The floor mats were not secured to the hooks. The floormat hook holes were behind the hooks and mats were back against the front seat supports. The mats were no where near the brake pedal or the accelerator at the time of the incident or when I arrived at the Lexus dealership. The service manager insisted the problem occurred due to the floor mats. I disagreed knowing the position of the mats when the incident occurred and the reaction of the vehicle. The dealership replaced the recalled floormats. My complaint is they denied there is a problem with the vehicle speed control and insisted it was a problem with the floor mats. I have a difficult time understanding why they are not also checking the vehicle speed control software. While this is the only occurrence of this type of incident since I have owned the vehicle, I now have a very uneasy feeling about accelerating quickly. Since I have owned the car, there have been very few times I accelerated quickly. I don't feel my concern or complaint has been properly addressed. There was never any indication from the Lexus dealer that they looked any further than the floormats to solve the problem. The dealership is Lexus of West palm beach. Please advise.

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Lexus ES350. While parking the vehicle the accelerator pedal extended to the floor while having his foot was on the brake pedal and accelerated over a curb and hit a restaurants wall. There were no injuries. The police was notified and they didn't provide a report. The vehicle was towed to a Lexus dealer, diagnosed and they didn't tell him what caused the acceleration. The front end was repaired by the insurance company. The failure mileage was 7000. The current mileage was 9000.

- Silver Spring , MD, USA

The contact owns a 2008, Lexus ES350. He stated while pulling into a parking space at speeds of less than 10 mph, the vehicle lunged forward and began to accelerate. The contact attempted to depress the brake pedal to no avail. The vehicle crashed into a tree. The frontal airbags deployed and caused minor injuries to the contact's face. The bottom airbags also deployed and caused injuries to the legs of both the driver and passenger of the vehicle. The police arrived at the scene of the crash and a police report was filed. The failure and current mileages were under 14,000. Updated 2/26/10 updated 09/07/10

- Greenwich, CT, USA

2008 Lexus 350 unexpected acceleration. Moving slow in parking lot pulling into parking space. Light pressure on brake. Engine went to high RPM car accelerated pushed hard on brake, put in neutral. Engine went back to idle. My bumper hit unoccupied parked car in front of me. Dealer denies anything wrong.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Lexus ES 350. While driving approximately 55 mph the vehicle began to accelerate without intention. After repeated brake application, the vehicle started to decelerate. The vehicle was in the process of being taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure and current mileages were 19,000. The vehicle identification number was unavailable.

- Hardeeville, SC, USA

On October 1, 2009 my 2008 Lexus ES 350 experienced uncontrolled acceleration. Upon entering the highway the vehicle increased in speed to approx. 90 mph without depressing the accelerator. The vehicle did not stop or slow down even after stepping forcefully on the brakes. I pushed the start/stop button on the dashboard numerous times and the car would not stop or cut off. Somehow, through the grace of god I begin shifting the gears, once the gear was placed in neutral the speed finally broke and the car slowed down. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road where the car had difficulty coming to a complete stop. Once the car actually stopped I called the Lexus dealership and a flatbed was sent and the car was towed to the dealership for service. The Lexus service department determined the damage consisted of burnt front pads and rotors and burnt rear pads and rotors that all occurred while trying to stop the runaway vehicle.

- Pickerington, OH, USA

On November 5, 2008 I was driving on a freeway in my 2008 Lexus ES 350 with the cruise control on. I gave the car a little extra gas to pass another car and the car just took off. I tried to disengage the accelerator by trying to turn off the cruise control switch as well as tapping on the brake pedal, but it would not disengage. I tried to turn off the engine by pushing the keyless ignition button, but it would not turn off. I checked the floor to make sure that there wasn't anything on the accelerator, and there wasn't. I then put the car in neutral, but when I did this, the engine sounded as if it were going to explode, so I put it back in gear. By this time, I was going well over 100 mph. My only choice was to stand on the brakes. Within seconds, the car was in a cloud of smoke coming from the 4 wheels/brakes. The car began to slow as thankfully the brakes were stronger than the engine which was going at its maximum RPM's. the car went over a mile before finally coming to a stop. I was then able to put the car in park and stop the engine. After a few moments, when I had calmed down a bit, I started the engine again and it immediately start racing at maximum RPM's again, so I shut it off and called hendrick Lexus. They sent a tow truck to tow the car in. When we got to the dealership, I told the service director that I was lucky that I wasn't killed and I did not want to ever get in that car again. He stated that he understood the seriousness of the event. Lexus investigated and said that there must have been something heavy on the accelerator. This is simply not true. The "experts" that Lexus brought in from out to do an investigation never even acknowledged that I was unable to disengage the cruise control during this life threatening situation. An internet search has determined that there are more than 40 cases of "runaway accelerator" reported to the NHTSA on the ES350, and many of these incidents have resulted in serious crashes and personal injuries.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Lexus ES350. On March 27, 2008, while driving 5 mph, the contact heard a high pitched sound coming from the engine. A second later, she heard a roaring noise like that of a rocket ship coming from the engine. The vehicle immediately accelerated on its own and stopped when it crashed into a tree. The vehicle is currently at the collision shop. The insurance company did not provide a report for the cause of the failure. The contact sustained serious injuries to her legs. A police report was filed. The failure mileage was 4,242. Consumer sent in additional information on 06/26/08. The repair shop stated the cause of the crash was the electronic wire accelerator. Updated 06/26/08

- Patchogue, NY, USA