yahj

I agree, turning the car off should be your last resort, you never know what else power you are going to lose when the engine is off.
Put it in neutral till the car slows down to stop then apply ebrake or apply ebrake to stop.

Regarding the electric steering, you can always try it by turning the acc on while park.

EMSLEXUSRX

Depending on what package she had on that Kia, she should have had bluetooth capability, but you'd be surprised at the amount of people that are driving newer cars these days that do have the bluetooth capability in their vehicle, but don't use a cell phone that's compatible.

Getting back to the SUA. since I was curious if it really is hard to go from drive to neutral at an average speed, I attempted to put the gear in neutral while going down a two-lane road at about 40 to 45 mph in my RX, and had no trouble putting the gear in neutral. Of course, I did not attempt to press and hold the stop/start button on my vehicle to see what would happen. I have read the article on that story of what happened several times because some of it didn't make any sense to me. Actually, I think the feat of holding down on the brakes and at the same time sticking her toe under the accelerator to lift it back up would have taken quite a bit of coordination as she's trying to keep the vehicle straight on the road or trying to avoid hitting another vehicle.

RX330inFL

... and at the same time talking to the 911 operator with the cellphone held to her ear.

I have known for years that at least for my 2004 RX330 I could place the gear in N any time I pretty much wanted while driving down the road. Was not sure if there was anything regarding a lockout in the newer vehicles. That there is not is good to know. So many nanny features on vehicles these days.

What next... a kill switch that determines if the vehicle is in gear and yet no weight on the driver seat?

As for what Lexus has to say on the matter, it took me a bit, but I found the appropriate section in the Owner's Manual. Found on page 940 of the online electronic edition at Lexus Owners:

http://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/do.../sec_05_02.pdf

LexRexBlue

She was interviewed yesterday on the Today Show. There was a problem with the phone through the car's system going in/out.

RA122022

I believe that there are other ways to turn off 2013 models (besides holding the Start button down). 2013 owners might want to check (I do not have a 2013 model nor a 2013 owner's manual). (This is from memory - reading about technical updates to 2013 software).

hypervish

I don't think the Lady in the KIA was even trying to stop. I didn't see the brake lights go on at a single point in that video. It's very unlikely that the car would not go into neutral. I don't' buy it for one second.

Don't the RX350's have something where if you press down both the gas pedal and brake pedal then the power from the engine is cut off?

BobBass

I just watched the video w/o the sound.

Not only could she ALLEGEDLY not put it in neutral, she didn't put it in PARK when she stopped. Either that or the transmission's PARK function was not working.

She's so busy talking on the phone when the officer comes up she merely exits the vehicle and forces him to get in and stop it from rolling forward.

It's hard to tell in the video if her brake lights came on while she was going 100+ but you sure can see them at the end.

I'm with HYPERVISH; this is another one of those BOGUS UI events.

LeoDLion

As I am reading the threads, this is what comes to mind. What on earth is preventing her from putting the gear into neutral? The only thing I can think of is she is in panic mode and lost her presence of mind.

Johnny

This is an urban legend. Power steering, or boost as you call it, is designed to assist the driver at low speeds or when the car is not moving. When you are traveling at normal or high speed, the steering effort is very low, and the car actually induces more steering resistance. Back in the Fifties & Sixties, there was no such resistance, and the steering effort was so low, that power steering was actually dangerous as an unintentional motion could easily send the car out of control. Try shutting off your engine sometime; you'll be surprised how much control you still have over your car!

dewkn

Can you just shift into neutral? This way you can keep the power steering and the brake on.

RX330inFL

No one here has this problem. For us, this is a non-issue. There is no lockout on any of us shifting into N. Why this lady was not able to do so in her Kia is an unknown.

The point of my original post was to get a handle on what an owner of a 2013 Lexus RX needs to know in an emergency situation as what the lady experienced and if Lexus had provided any guidance for such. Indeed, they have. The URL I noted above at #18 for the Owner's Manual on page 940 has this info. Worth a read.

RX330inFL

Quite right. I have several old vehicles in my stable without power steering. The only time I have a problem driving them now that I a bit older is when attempting tight turns and low speeds. You really have to muscle the steering wheel. At speed, there are no issues.

Quatro40

I drive my 2010 RX mostly on local roads and at night when there is not much traffic. I can tell you that I drive it with the engine off most of the time. I accelerate to 35-40, hold down the power button for 3 seconds and the engine goes off. If there is light traffic I hit the power button again to have the turn signals and the speedometer working. I still have steering for light curves but if the curves are to steep expect to use elbow grease, also the breaks work unless you press them and down and loose the vacuum. When the car drops speed I just lightly press the break pedal and then hit the button again, engine turns off back to drive, then bring it up to 35-40 and off again. I only fill up once a month and the miles are not recorded.

Cruiter

OK, I understand you're trying to save gas like the NASCAR guys . But be careful, you don't have the CVT tranny and stuff is turning in there w/o lube from the oil pumps. I'm thinking doing that a lot could cost a lot later .