Lexus Brake Failure page
On June 26, 2026, while I was driving my 2015 Lexus NX 200t on the highway, the brakes applied hard on their own. I did not touch the brake pedal, and the dashcam video shows what happened. An independent forensic engineering firm retrieved the vehicle's own event data, and it records no accelerator input and cruise control off. It also records brake pressure jumping from zero to full in a fraction of a second, with no record of the anti-lock braking system (ABS) activating. Since then, I have been trying to get Lexus and Toyota to tell me what happened. Months later, they have given me no findings and no explanation. They have told me the car is safe to drive, but have shown me no inspection results, no repair, and no reasoning to support that. I do not drive it. I'm sharing the video and the key findings from the report so you can see the evidence for yourself.
Highlights of the Forensic Report
I commissioned a forensic report from licensed and certified professional forensic engineers and this is what was found.
The incident in question was captured on video from two cameras inside the Lexus: one facing out the front windshield and the other facing out the rear window. The forward-facing video shows the Lexus traveling southbound on Interstate 75 in the area of mile marker 12.8 at approximately 70 mph when it encounters an uneven pavement seam across the roadway.
Immediately after traversing the pavement seam, squealing of tires can be heard, and the vehicle begins to rotate and departs the roadway into the median. The rear-facing video depicts the same events while showing the roadway and vehicles behind the Lexus. After the Lexus encounters an uneven pavement seam across the roadway, squealing of tires can be heard, and two tire marks can be seen in the travel lane behind the Lexus (See Figure 4 below). These tire marks are consistent with wheel lockup from the Lexus; subsequently, the Lexus rotates and departs the roadway into the median.
As previously mentioned, between -5.0 seconds and -3.5 seconds, the Lexus is decelerating at a rate that is consistent with firm braking (0.32g); however, the service brake was not applied during this time. This deceleration without the brake application is consistent with the tire squealing and wheel lockup depicted in the videos. Overall, the EDR data and events depicted in the videos are not consistent with an intentional act or loss of control on the part of the Lexus driver.
Conclusions
1) The EDR data from the Lexus shows deceleration consistent with firm braking without application of the service brake.
2) The videos show the Lexus traversing a pavement seam on Interstate 75, and immediately thereafter, there is squealing of tires and wheel lockup, producing tire marks. Subsequently, the vehicle rotates and departs the roadway into the median.
3) Overall, the available evidence is not consistent with an intentional act or loss of control on the part of the Lexus driver that ultimately led to the vehicle rotating and departing the roadway into the median.