2016 Lexus RX350

I WAS DRIVING MY 2016 LEXUS RX 350 EXITING THE HIGHWAY WHEN I HEARD A LOUD BOOM. IT WAS LOUD LIKE A SHOTGUN. WE DIDN'T SEE OR FEEL ANYTHING HIT THE CAR, BUT THE NOISE WAS LOUD AND SCARY. SINCE THERE WAS NO OBVIOUS EVIDENCE OF ANYTHING, I CAREFULLY OPENED MY VISOR FOR MY SUNROOF TO SEE THAT MY SUNROOF HAD SHATTERED. IT JUST EXPLODED. NOTHING HIT IT OR FELL ON IT. THE SUNROOF WAS CONVEX LIKE IT EXPLODED AND NOT CONCAVE LIKE SOMETHING HAD FALLEN ON IT.

I WAS DRIVING ON I-10 EAST CLOSE TO THE TX-LA BORDER, ON PAVEMENT THAT WAS EVEN, ALTHOUGH NOT WITHOUT SOME OCCASIONAL ROUGHNESS. TRAFFIC WAS HEAVY AND MOVING AROUND 65 MPH. IT WAS 67 DEGREES AND CLOUDY. I HAD BEEN ON THE ROAD FOR ABOUT 3 HOURS, WHEN MY FRIEND AND I HEARD A LOUD CRACK. IT SOUNDED AS IF SOMETHING HIT GLASS, BUT WE SAW NO FLYING OBJECTS AND THE SOUND WAS SINGULAR; NO ADDITIONAL OR RESIDUAL SOUNDS. WE BOTH JUMPED AND STARTED LOOKING TO SEE IF THE WINDSHIELD WAS DAMAGED BUT DID NOT SEE ANY DAMAGE. LATER WHEN WE STOPPED FOR GAS WE WASHED THE WINDSHIELDS AND DID ANOTHER LOOK, INCLUDING LOOKING FOR PAINT DAMAGE. WE FOUND NOTHING. WE CONTINUED DRIVING TO OUR DESTINATION. THE NEXT MORNING WHEN WE GOT IN THE CAR AND SHUT THE DOOR, WE HEARD GLASS FALLING. I STOOD ON THE OPEN DOOR AND SAW THAT THERE WERE TWO SMALL HOLES IN THE SUNROOF AND THE ENTIRE SUNROOF WAS SHATTERED. THE COBWEB EFFECT WAS 100%, AND EXTENDED TO EVERY SQUARE INCH OF THE GLASS, ALL THE WAY AROUND THE PERIMETER. I CALLED THE LEXUS DEALERSHIP NEAREST ME; AND I CALLED OUR INSURANCE PROVIDER TO START A CLAIM. GIVEN I WAS SOME DISTANCE FROM HOME, IT WAS LATE FRIDAY, AND NO ONE COULD GET THE GLASS, I HAD A LOCAL AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR SHOP (THE LOCAL AREA CONTRACT FOR OUR INSURANCE COMPANY) COLLISION WRAP THE ROOF SO I COULD DRIVE HOME, AVOID FLINGING GLASS ON TRAFFIC, AND BE PROTECTED IN CASE OF RAIN. MY HUSBAND NOTIFIED THE DEALERSHIP WHERE WE LEASED THE VEHICLE AND MADE AN APPOINTMENT (WE GO TOMORROW). NO ONE FROM THE TWO DEALERSHIPS OR THE INSURANCE COMPANY MENTIONED THAT SUNROOFS ON LEXUS/TOYOTA HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO SPONTANEOUSLY "POP" SINCE 2010. THE CAUSE OF THIS RISK MUST BE DEFECTIVE DESIGN AND/OR GLASS; THE SUNROOF MATERIALS BEING USED ARE EVIDENTLY UNABLE TO TAKE THE PRESSURE AND ABSORB THE SHOCK. THE ROOF'S MOST VULNERABLE PART IS EXPLODING AS A RESULT. 2016 MODEL; DRIVEN 6 MOS; >6000 MI.

WHEN I'M DRIVING, THE PHONE CONTACTS ARE GREYED OUT, LOCKING ME FROM ACCESSING THEM TO MAKE A CALL. I CAN MAKE A CALL USING THE VOICE COMMAND, BUT THAT IS LIMITED SINCE I DON'T REMEMBER ALL MY CONTACT NAMES OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. CALLED LEXUS AND THEY SAY THAT IS A SAFETY FEATURE. HOWEVER, IF SCROLLING THROUGH CONTACTS IS A SAFETY THING, THEN WHY CAN I ACCESS MY FAVORITE CONTACTS AND SCROLL THROUGH RECENT CALLS? THIS DISTRACTS THE DRIVER IN MAKING A PHONE CALL BY "ENCOURAGING" HER TO MANUALLY DIAL THE NUMBER OFF THE PHONE DIALPAD. YES, THAT'S ILLEGAL AND NOT SAFE. HENCE THIS POST.

VEHICLE VIBRATION FELT STANDING STILL AND WORSENS AS ACCELERATION SLOWLY STARTS FORWARD. CONTINUES ALSO AT SLIGHT ACCELERATION AT HIGHER SPEEDS JUST TO MAINTAIN SPEED LIMIT. VIBRATION CAN BE FELT IN STEERING WHEEL, ACCELERATOR PEDAL, GEAR SHIFT AND AT SPECIFIC START UP SPEEDS THE ENTIRE VEHICLE. THIS DOES NOT CHANGE WHEN DRIVING ON DIFFERENT SURFACES OR ROADWAYS. VIBRATION HAS BEEN NOTED AND EXPERIENCED ALSO BY DEALERSHIP TECHNICAL PERSONNEL WITH NO REMEDY. THIS PROBLEM HAS EXISTING SINCE PURCHASING VEHICLE IN JAN 2016 AND DEALERSHIP COMPLAINT AT 997 MILES ON VEHICLE.

2016 RX350 IS A NEW PLATFORM. THE PASSENGER SIDE CAR PASSING INDICATOR DOES NOT ALWAYS INDICATE A CAR IN THE "BLIND SPOT". AFTER DRIVING THE CAR FOR A FEW MONTHS, I NOTIFIED MY LOCAL LEXUS DEALER. MY SALESMAN AND I DROVE MY VEHICLE FOR A TEST RUN AND THE PROBLEM CONSISTENTLY AROSE. THE SALESMAN SAID THAT THIS WAS A NEW EXPERIENCE FOR HIM IN A LEXUS VEHICLE WITH THIS FEATURE. LEXUS HAD A TEAM INSPECT THE VEHICLE. LEXUS SAID THAT THE LACK OF THE PASSING INDICATOR TO SEE ALL VEHICLES IN THE BLIND SPOT WAS NORMAL FOR THE 2016 LEXUS RX 350. I HAVE DRIVEN THE CAR FOR 8 MONTHS. I FIRST NOTICED THE APPARENT MALFUNCTION DRIVING BACK TO PA FROM FL. I BELIEVE THAT THE CAR PASSING INDICATOR SYSTEM USES RELATIVE DIFFERENCES OF SPEED BETWEEN MY CAR AND THE CAR BEING PASSED TO ACTIVATE THE FEATURE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE INDICATOR LIGHT WILL NOT GO ON WHILE I PASS A CAR A MUCH GREATER SPEED THAN THE CAR BEING PASSED. I WOULD GUESS THE DIFFERENCE MAY BE 20 MPH OR SO. HOWEVER, IF I PASS A CAR SLOWLY OR AT A LOW DIFFERENCE OF SPEED, THE CAR PASSING INDICATOR LIGHT FUNCTIONS AS ONE WOULD EXPECT. OF INTEREST IS THAT MY WIFE HAS A 2013 LEXUS RS350 WITH A CAR PASSING INDICATOR SYSTEM AND HER CAR WILL ALWAYS INDICATE A CAR IN THE BLIND SPOT REGARDLESS OF HOW FAST THE RS350 PASSES ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE LACK OF INDICATING A VEHICLE IN THE RIGHT BLIND SPOT AT ALL TIMES IN MY VEHICLE IS DANGEROUS. THIS SAFETY FEATURE HAS POOR DESIGN. THE 2016 WAS JUST INTRODUCED IN LATE 2015. LEXUS KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND CALLS IT A NORMAL FUNCTION. I HAVE NOT YET RECEIVED AN ADEQUATE EXPLANATION FROM LEXUS WHY THE CAR PASSING INDICATOR SYSTEM IN THE 2016 RX350 WAS DESIGNED THIS WAY PURPOSELY. I BELIEVE THAT THIS ISSUE IS A SERIOUS FLAW. I HAVE ENCLOSED TWO DOCUMENTS I HAVE RECEIVED FROM LEXUS. I DID NOT ASK FOR PROTECTION UNDER THE LEMON LAW.