Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (accelerator pedal, throttle, sudden acceleration, cruise control).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2010 Lexus RX350 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Driver was pulling into a parking spot, just rolling to a stop with her foot on the brake. The car suddenly accelerated into a brick wall and a tree. The front bumper of the car was smashed and the frame was bent. Air bag did not deploy as it should have. Owner contacted Lexus legal department the next day and filed a claim. 16 days later a third party investigator recovered the data from the event data recorder. It has been 50 days since the claim was filed and we got a letter today from Toyota stating "no defects were identified!" this is totally unacceptable. Toyota settled a 1.1 billion dollar class action law suit regarding "unintended acceleration" cases. Obviously there is a big problem. We will be following up with legal representation. In the mean time the car sits in the garage, while we make payments on a car that is totally unsafe to drive!
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Lexus RX350. While the contact's spouse was pulling into a parking space at 5 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle accelerated. The engine revved and the contact drove over a snow mound before crashing into a wall. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to bergstrom Lexus of appleton (3060 n victory ln, appleton, wi 54913, [phone]) where a third party specialist was sent to examine the vehicle. The findings would be reported to the contact at a later date. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact stated that the crash was in relation to NHTSA campaign number: 12v3005000 (vehicle speed control). The failure mileage was 115,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Lexus RX350. While the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle accelerated independently and struck a building. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent body shop. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and obtained the vehicle's event data recorder. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 12V305000 (vehicle speed control). The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Lexus RX350. While driving at approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a truck. The vehicle sustained significant damage to the front end. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 43,000. ..updated 06-15-15 updated 9/18/15
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Lexus RX350. While driving 55 MPH, the vehicle accelerated rapidly. The contact lost control and crashed into another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The other driver was injured, but did not require medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was excluded from NHTSA campaign number: 12V305000 (vehicle speed control). The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
I was pulling into a parking spot at my workplace at very low speed and the Lexus accelerated wildly over the curb onto plants and iceplant into a tree, which stopped the car. The hood was dented, the grill cracked and the bumper was ripped off both sides. I took it to the dealership immediately. The edr was supposedly checked by a 'neutral' third party and I was called by the dealership to come pick up the vehicle and the factory would respond in writing in 30 days. Unacceptable.
My farm is 1/2 mile off weld county road 16 in keenesburg colorado. There is a gravel drive around the house to a short concrete driveway in front of the garage. When we drive onto the concrete portion, we are angled north east toward the garage door and have to back up a short distance to head the car east to enter the garage. We drive very slow through the yard as we have animals to watch out for and make a slow entry towards the concrete driveway. As she turned around the house toward the driveway the car seemed to be going faster than normal and she took her foot off the accelerator and eased on the brake but the car did not slow and she felt the accelerator was pulling her forward faster than she wanted. The brake pedal did not slow the car. The car angled across the concrete driveway, narrowly missing the corner of the garage and struck a tree on the north side of the house. …
On 7/29/2010 my 2010 Lexus rx 350 experienced unintended exhilaration causing a collision with a parking lot collision safety post (metal pipe filled with concrete) causing extensive frontal damage of the vehicle. The incident occurred at approximately 1245 on a clear day dry pavement with no other vehicles in the parking lot near the scene of the collision. The incident occurred when I was pulling into the a parking spot making right hand turn. As I was entering the parking spot at approximately 1/2 way I tapped the accelerator pedal to complete the parking maneuver and that is when the car lunged forward with a speed indicative of hard acceleration colliding with the post before I could take any action to slow or stop the vehicle. The acceleration detailed above has happened once before when my husband was driving the vehicle and experienced sudden acceleration. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Lexus RX350. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH with the cruise control engaged the vehicle suddenly accelerated up to 80 MPH. While the vehicle was accelerating the brake malfunction light came on. The contact shifted the vehicle into neutral and chose the power button in order to shut the vehicle off and drove onto the emergency lane. The contact stated the brakes were also smoking although nothing was stuck underneath the accelerator pedal. The contact stated the Lexus help service center was not available at the time of the acceleration. The contact called the dealer but the service department was closed. The contact called the manufacturer regarding the sudden acceleration and they authorized that the vehicle to be towed to a dealer. …
Unintended acceleration without ability to brake with my Lexus rx 350, at 2 pm on Saturday March 12th 2011 with 5 passengers. I was driving at around 30 MPH. The choice was to crash in the car ahead stopped at a red light or go on the side walk, up a steep mount and crash in a brick wall. This is what I did. Nobody was hurt. Police was called and the car was towed. Car was inspected by Toyota, no cause was found, car was repaired at a geico approved repaired shop, and I am now asking the Lexus dealer pohanka to allow me to return the car and break my lease. In good conscience although no one was hurt, I am not willing to risk a more serious accident after my experience. We would have gotten hurt at a higher speed. This was my first ever crash driving 20,000 miles per year, driving for more than 35 years. There is no doubt something outside of my control happened.
Related recalls
Vehicle speed control › Accelerator pedal
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2010 Lexus RX350 and RX450h vehicles, manufactured from November 28, 2008, through September 1, 2010, and model year 2008 through 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles manufactured from September 1, 2007, through September 5, 2011.
Remedy: Toyota and Lexus will notify owners of affected vehicles and dealers will modify or replace the accelerator pedal and replace any driver's floor mat not specified for the vehicle.
Acceleration complaints in other RX350 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2010 Lexus RX350?
NHTSA has 38 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2010 Lexus RX350, 40% of the model year's 94 complaints. The component named most often is accelerator pedal (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2010 Lexus RX350 acceleration problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 12V-305 (accelerator pedal, Jun 29, 2012). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2010 Lexus RX350 acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 25,000 miles, and 50% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 13 crashes, 3 fires and 3 injuries and 1 death to speed control & acceleration problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.