It's time for your dealer to get serious about it, before you run out of warranty. Keep your documentation.

 

I would not leave the dealership or take the vehicle back until they address the issue. If they do not listen, demand an appointment be setup with the Dealership Manager or the Regional Manager. Let them know your frustration. If they brush you off, complain to a Lexus representative at 1-800-25-LEXUS (1-800-255-3987). Keep us posted!

 

I'll try my best but we live an hour away from the dealership so we'll need the vehicle. I'll see what they can do about it since I will also be there for them to check two tsbs!

 

Does your dealership provide courtesy loaners? You can also call them ahead and let them you will be coming in for the TSB application but would like to have the DSC issue resolved. Let them know you will be frustrated if they cannot get to the root of the issue and will need to escalate it up the chain. No need to be aggressive or disrespectful, but hold your ground. Good luck!

 

They do but it'll be up to my parents to make final decisions. They said they'll have to recreate the malfunction to fix it, which is unlikely.

 

We've serviced our car today at Reliable Lexus and they said a few things. After letting them know someone had their transmission replaced because of this issue, they actually checked the transmission! They said a reflash/update of the transmission will fix it, only time will tell.🤷‍♂️ It was $185 to fix it. I also had them reflash the trans and engine ECU under a hesitation tsb for free.

 

You're beyond the 70k mile power train warranty?

 

Nope, currently at 64k. The dealership said it was outside of warranty and wouldn't do anything about it.

 

So I had this exact error message pop up on my dash today as well. Looks like a "reflash/update" of the transmission is the fix? The message popped up on my dash while starting the car on a cold morning. It went away after shutting the car down, and restarting it again.

 

On my car they updated the transmission software and said it was the fix, I have not seen the message since but don't know if it'll pop up later on. The cost of reflashing will be $185 if your dealership thinks it's not under the power train warranty. Also if you just drive the car after the message pops up it'll go away like it never appeared.

 

Don't forget that you are no longer just starting an engine, but also a computer so the same glitches that appear on you home computer will appear here and like the home computer a "reboot-restart" is all that is needed.

 

Hey y'all, I'm back with another update! The reflash of the transmission DID NOT help, the malfunction popped up again today (12-16-20). I'll include a picture, but we'll probably be forcing our Lexus dealership to look harder into this since we paid $180+ for a repair that would "fix" this. This is something that should've been covered under warranty. Disappointed? Slightly, still a great vehicle though!

 

Yeah, this should definitely be a warranty issue. They charged you $180, and the problem is still there.

Had a similar case to you...

5 days ago, I tried to start my RX350, and it wouldn't start in the morning. A "Drive-Start Control Malfunction" message popped up on the dash shortly after. I turned the car off, and it finally started on the 4th try. The message went away and did not come back for the time being. Everything seemed fine from that point on...

Fast forward 5 days, and I had the "Braking power Low", followed by the "Stop in a safe place" message pop up on my dash during my failed initial start. The car would "click" and vibrate slightly during the failed startup, and eventually a new message would pop up on the dash along the lines of "AWD transmission failed, in 2wd Mode". Called the dealership, and of course, this is the first time they have heard about this issue. Said they would send a tow truck in 2 days, because they are slammed.

When the dealership fails you, Club Lexus to the rescue! Many other members have had this problem as well, and it turned out to be a dead battery in my case. The battery was leaking from one of the terminals and was starting to corrode. Went and got a new battery for the RX, and she fired up perfectly fine. No more error messages and back to smooth startups in the morning. I will keep an eye on it over the next few weeks and report if any error messages come back.

Thanks for the help Club Lexus.

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This is something ALL owners of late model cars ought to store in their heads We must change our view on the battery! An under performing or failing battery can cause a number of electronic problems and as in this case the 1st place to look into is the electrical system.
One more thing to have in our tool-box is a smart charger and use it at least once a year to maintain a healthy battery, if not replacing the battery every 4 years is another solution.

 

First step, I would ask for a refund and insist this is a warranty issue. Second, I would advise them to locate the root cause of the issue, obviously. This is very disappointing to see the number of people having this issue, I hope I do not run across this, would bother me immensely, irrespective how great the vehicle is.