nmtomcat

The brake pedal on my 2013 RX350 engages the brakes initially when the pedal is about half-way down. I have owned and driven many cars, but never had the brakes feel this way. Always the brakes will initially engage at about one-quarter down.

I took it to the Lexus dealer here in Albuquerque, and the service adviser had a technician ride with me, driving my car. The tech told me the brakes felt normal to him. I then drove a new RX350, and the brake pedal engaged about one-quarter of the way down, as it should. I suggested that the brake pedal free play may just need adjusting. The service tech told me there was no adjustment. I was very surprised to hear that!

I really, really dislike the way the brakes on this RX feels. I have almost run into the backs of two different cars that were stopped ahead of me when I was making a gradual stop, applying light brake pressure. When getting a lot closer than I wanted, I had to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting them. Not only do the brakes feel uncomfortable to me, I feel it is possibly a safety issue.

I did a search on this thread before posting, but did not find anything. Has anyone else experienced anything similar?

droopy128

Believe mine feel normal, nothing out of ordinary comparing to my other cars.

Maybe you should go to a different dealer to get other opinions.

What i dislike is the lag when on sudden throttle, about one second lag.

txt

mntomcat,

How long do you own the car ?
When did you start noticing the soft brakes ? From the first day of ownership or just recently ?

Forget about the Lexus dealership. Bring car to a brake repair shop and ask them to bleed the brakes. Perhaps there's air in the brake fluid. Or you bleed the brakes yourself.
If brakes still feel soft then the RX may have some problem.

I have a 3rd generation Honda Odyssey and the brakes felt noticeably softer compare to my RX350.
Soft brake earned a universal thumb-down from the 2nd gen Odyssey owners.
I've bled the Ody's brakes 2 times and felt no improvement so I just learn to live with it.

afpj

How many miles on your Rx? If low mileage and you notice a definite difference between yours and the new on lot one as you indicated, see another dealer. You really can't compare to other makes, models. Our gmc has soft spongy brakes...that 's just the way it is. Rx has very twitchy almost overly sensitive brakes by comparison.

nmtomcat

[QUOTE=txt;8152876]mntomcat,

How long do you own the car ?
When did you start noticing the soft brakes ? From the first day of ownership or just recently ?

I just leased the RX August 29. When I test drove it with the salesman, the brakes felt normal to me. However, after it was detailed and I took it home, the brakes felt "different". I thought at first I was just imagining things, but the feeling hasn't changed. It has less than 500 miles on it.

I just spent a week driving my wife's 2012 Toyota Camry on vacation, and that has made the difference even more noticeable.

afpj

Right after detailing? May have sprayed lube on the rotors. Get some brake cleaner & clean rotors. That tire shine stuff kinda slick if it gets on the rotors too. Make sure cap is on brake fluid reservoir....ya never know.

nmtomcat

But, how would that make the brake pedal engage at a lower point? The brake reservoir cap was the first thing I checked. It was okay. You may have a point. I felt a great deal of difference right after the detailing. I couldn't think of anything they might do that would cause the different feeling in the brakes.

afpj

I am assuming that it's not truly pedal free play but rather it takes more force for felt braking force due to something slick on the rotor. This is purely a guess based on chronologic events (detailing).Have you found a remedy? Inquiring minds would like to know.

nmtomcat

No remedy yet, but am taking it to the Lexus dealer in the morning so they can clean the rotors and (I guess) pads. I will post when I know something more.

Here is the correspondence so far with Lexus Customer Satisfaction:


RX359 leased 8/29/2013. Brake pedal feels different than any auto I have ever driven. Pedal goes about half-way down before brakes begin to be applied - usually brakes will apply about a quarter of the way down.

I contacted the Lexus service advisor, Daniel, who had a technician ride with me and also drive my car. He said it felt normal to him. We then drove another new RX350, and it felt fine to me. I feel like there is too much free play in the brake pedal. The tech told me there is no adjustment. I was very surprised.

Basically, I was told it was "normal". I feel it is a safety issue, and have almost ran into the back of two cars while I was driving. I pushed on the brake as I normally would, but I guess it did not engage, until I got very close, and had to then slam on the brakes.

I cannot imagine that this brake situation is normal, and I ask for your help with this.

Neal


From: Lexus Customer Satisfaction

Dear Mr.

Thank you for contacting the Lexus Customer Satisfaction Department. Your concern is important to Lexus, and we appreciate the time you have taken to share your thoughts. We are dedicated to providing superior service. In circumstances that require our attention, we will assist in the resolution process.

I apologize for the concerns that you are experiencing with your vehicle. We would be more than happy to look into this further for you, but will need a little bit more information. Please provide your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and the dealership you worked with. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

If you require further assistance, please respond to this e-mail, or contact Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-255-3987, Monday through Friday, 5:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M., or Saturday, 7:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Pacific Time.

Customer By Email (Neal) 09/23/2013 02:59 PM

I would like to provide a bit more information about the brake problem I am experiencing with my 2013 Lexus RX350.

When I drove the RX with the salesman, everything felt fine. After the car was detailed, I immediately felt a difference in the brake pedal travel. Now I regret not bringing this to the dealer’s attention immediately. At the time, I couldn’t think of anything that would be done during detailing that will cause this.

I pride myself on being a very smooth driver, and when coming to a stop, I release the pressure on the brake pedal a fraction to keep the nose of the vehicle from diving and bouncing up. I am unable to modulate the brakes on this RX to stop the dive and bounce. I initially didn’t think this was related to the pedal feel, but I have never had this problem with any other automobile I have owned or driven. I am 74 years old, and that figure of owned and driven autos is over 100.

I am sending this to hopefully provide as much information as possible to help solve this problem.


Here is something else I just now thought of.

Someone mentioned to me on the Lexus Forum that that since the change in the feel of the brakes occurred after detailing, possibly when the RX was detailed, something, such as a lubricant or the stuff that is sprayed on the tires, was sprayed on the brake rotors also. That might explain the difference between when I first drove the vehicle and when I took it home.

Also, the service tech told me my car felt just like all the other 2013 RX350s he had driven. When we got a new RX350 from the dealer lot that had not been detailed, the brakes felt very different than mine, like I believe they should feel. If the same person at the dealership is doing the detailing on all the RXs, this may explain the difference between the new one from the lot and the ones he had driven before.

This may be totally irrelevant, but once again, I would like to provide you with as much information as I can.

Neal


Subject
2013 Lexus RX350 brake problem


Response Via Email 09/24/2013 11:02 AM

Dear Mr.

Thank you for providing additional information. I made sure to pass that along to your Case Manager for review.

If you require further assistance, please respond to this e-mail, or contact Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-255-3987, Monday through Friday, 5:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M., or Saturday, 7:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Pacific Time.

Sincerely,

Lexus Customer Satisfaction

nmtomcat

Lexus of Albuquerque service department cleaned the rotors and brake pads this morning. Now the brakes feel like they should to me. I am very happy with the results.

A special thanks to AFPJ for posting that something might have been sprayed on the rotors during detailing. That certainly seems to be the case.

Neal

BarrettF77

Do you know what product got on the rotors?

nmtomcat

No, I don't. I'll call Daniel tomorrow and ask him.

nmtomcat

I just talked to Daniel. He said they didn't find anything on the rotors. Strange.

oohpapi44

iTrader: (1)

That makes sense. There wouldn't be any liquid that would remain on the rotors after an extended period of time because of the contact between the pads and the rotors. The amount of heat generated would dry most substances.

Don't think you ever responded as to how long the problem persisted after you first noticed it.

nmtomcat

I leased the Lexus on 8/29 and noticed it the first day, so the time is almost a month. Actually, 3 weeks. We were on vacation for one week.

A nice-sounding lady from Lexus Headquarters called. She went over the problem, noted the dealer had cleaned the brakes, and asked if I had any other concerns or problems. I am quite impressed with the follow-up from Lexus and the service provided by Lexus of Albuquerque.