Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 12 of 29 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
Engine. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Air Bags. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Electrical System. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
4 crash reports2 fire reports2 injury reports
What owners actually said
29 reports
Mileage unknown · Jul 15, 2023
Electrical SystemEngineStructureFire
On Saturday July 15, 2023, at between about 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. CDST the vehicle was parked overnight in a garage, spontaneously caught fire and burned and was a total loss. There was a smell I would associate with an electrical fire. People reported hearing a car alarm and a "popping sound" before the fire. The fire department e…
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On Saturday July 15, 2023, at between about 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. CDST the vehicle was parked overnight in a garage, spontaneously caught fire and burned and was a total loss. There was a smell I would associate with an electrical fire. People reported hearing a car alarm and a "popping sound" before the fire. The fire department extinguished the fire and had the car towed out of the garage of a condominium association. Fire damage to property (except the subject car) was minimal but there was extensive smoke. In my opinion based on this incident, electric/hybrid cars should not be parked indoors.
NHTSA ODI #11532457
Mileage unknown · Dec 3, 2022
EngineUnknown Or Other
Oil poured out under vehicle under right side passenger side from oil cooler line overnight in my garage. Lexus stated that I was lucky that this did not occur while driving as oil would have blown completely out due to the pressurized line and damaged the engine. There was no warning lights on. I backed the car out of the gara…
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Oil poured out under vehicle under right side passenger side from oil cooler line overnight in my garage. Lexus stated that I was lucky that this did not occur while driving as oil would have blown completely out due to the pressurized line and damaged the engine. There was no warning lights on. I backed the car out of the garage leaving a stream of oil and discovered the problem. I had the vehicle towed to the dealership as I never saw anything like this. According to Lexus service representative this is a known defect and has been upgraded by Lexus to a solid metal line at failure only but only for a specific amount of time. (Evidently the vehicle was manufactured with a part metal and part rubber coolant line that split on the rubber portion of the line.) Seems to me that this should have been a recall to prevent major damage to the vehicle and during driving hazard to consumer as the vehicle would stopped completely as oil would be blown out completely. My cost was estimated and paid for at $695.00. I think this should have been a recall.
NHTSA ODI #11495927
Mileage unknown · Oct 25, 2022
Engine
Oil cooler line ruptured while driving. Lexus issued an extended warranty to 12/31/2016 on the Oil Cooler Line. Lexus sent an advisory letter to owners of record several months prior to our purchase. Our dealer: Rohrich Lexus, did not inform us of the problem when purchased 09/2014. Nor did they address the problem when they…
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Oil cooler line ruptured while driving. Lexus issued an extended warranty to 12/31/2016 on the Oil Cooler Line. Lexus sent an advisory letter to owners of record several months prior to our purchase. Our dealer: Rohrich Lexus, did not inform us of the problem when purchased 09/2014. Nor did they address the problem when they serviced the vehicle in 08/16, an oil change. Now we have $500 plus in repair costs for the Oil Cooler Line replacement which could have been avoided if Rohrich Service Department had advised us of the Extended Warranty that covered our vehicle. THE OIL COOLER LINE WAS RUBBER AND THE FIX WAS A METAL LINE.
NHTSA ODI #11490775
Mileage unknown · Dec 5, 2021
Engine
I have never had any issues with the oil and this car has had all of its oil changes on time and regular. Last evening I was driving home and the low oil pressure light came on. Within moments I started hearing a knocking Noise. I parked the car cause I was at home at that time and I checked the next morning and there is no oil…
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I have never had any issues with the oil and this car has had all of its oil changes on time and regular. Last evening I was driving home and the low oil pressure light came on. Within moments I started hearing a knocking Noise. I parked the car cause I was at home at that time and I checked the next morning and there is no oil in the car now. There's oil all underneath the undercarriage. I looked online and found a story of another guy this happened to and it ended up being an oil cooler pipe. I guess these are rubber and there's a recall warranty notice on these. My car has not been driven since I parked it. Please advise. Car is included in this warranty recall.
NHTSA ODI #11442729
Mileage unknown · Jul 20, 2021
EngineEngine And Engine Cooling
Something had broken causing oil draining out of the car while driving on the highway. The car lost power and I pulled over immediately and shut off the engine. I opened the hood and saw nothing wrong, however when I checked the oil, there was no oil. I then proceeded to look under the car and there was oil all over the under ca…
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Something had broken causing oil draining out of the car while driving on the highway. The car lost power and I pulled over immediately and shut off the engine. I opened the hood and saw nothing wrong, however when I checked the oil, there was no oil. I then proceeded to look under the car and there was oil all over the under carriage. I then did a walk around and found oil all over the back side. Me and my family were stranded while we waited for a tow truck. We had the tow truck take the RX350 to the local Lexus (Kuni in Denver) dealership where this car has been serviced all its life. When I received the initial call from the service department, He had said he is 99% sure this is the oil cooler pipe. He then said this is a known defect in the design of this part. When I googled "RX350 oil cooler pipe" numerous complaints came back. The initial design is rubber and now they installed one that is metal. This could have been fatal if we had traffic near us. Also this could have major damage to the engine. This should have been recalled however Lexus decided not to and just call it a warranty notice. Even with all the information out there about this highly defective part, the dealership would not cover the cost and told us to directly deal with Lexus. If anyone is reading this, and you have not change out this part, I would get this done! It is not an if this will happen, it is when it will happen. The design of this pipe is elementary and will fail. I thought Lexus being a luxury manufacturer would take more care with their customers! But as you can see, they are not.
NHTSA ODI #11425648
Mileage unknown · May 28, 2021
Service Brakes
While driving Brake & Abs warning lights displayed on the dash with the warning brake malfunction, Took it to the shop they diagnose Bad brake module. My brake pads & rotors and all scedule maintenance uptodate.
NHTSA ODI #11418926
Mileage unknown · May 10, 2021
Air BagsCrash
AIRBAGS FAILED DURING A MAJOR ACCIDENT
NHTSA ODI #11415950
92,000 miles · May 10, 2021
Air BagsCrashInjury
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 LEXUS RX 450H. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT 30 MPH, THE CONTACT REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE BUT NONE OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THE CONTACT WAS THE ONLY PERSON THAT SUSTAINED INJURIES (BODY SORENESS) BUT DID NOT SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE CONTACT STATED NO WARNING …
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 LEXUS RX 450H. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT 30 MPH, THE CONTACT REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE BUT NONE OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED. THE CONTACT WAS THE ONLY PERSON THAT SUSTAINED INJURIES (BODY SORENESS) BUT DID NOT SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE CONTACT STATED NO WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED DURING THE INCIDENT. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONTACTS RESIDENCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 92,000.
NHTSA ODI #11415932
168,000 miles · Feb 3, 2021
Service Brakes
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 LEXUS RX 450H. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE AT A STANDSTILL, THE ABS AND TRACTION CONTROL WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALER LEXUS OF RICHMOND (9703 MIDLOTHIAN TURNPIKE, RICHMOND, VA 23235, (804) 323-8000) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH NEEDING THE BRAKE BOOSTER TO BE REPLA…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 LEXUS RX 450H. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE AT A STANDSTILL, THE ABS AND TRACTION CONTROL WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL DEALER LEXUS OF RICHMOND (9703 MIDLOTHIAN TURNPIKE, RICHMOND, VA 23235, (804) 323-8000) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH NEEDING THE BRAKE BOOSTER TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 168,000.
NHTSA ODI #11394490
200,000 miles · Nov 7, 2020
Engine
MY 2011 LEXUS RX 350 HAS A FRONT TIMING COVER LEAK. TO FIX THE FRONT TIMING COVER LEAK, THE DEALERSHIP HAS AN ESTIMATED PRICE OF $4,000.00. IN ORDER TO REPLACE A GASKET ON THE TIMING COVER, MANY ACCESSORIES AND PARTS NEEDS TO BE REMOVED. I THINK IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE IF THE ENGINE IS LOSING OIL AND IT STOPS RUNNING. I ALSO BE…
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MY 2011 LEXUS RX 350 HAS A FRONT TIMING COVER LEAK. TO FIX THE FRONT TIMING COVER LEAK, THE DEALERSHIP HAS AN ESTIMATED PRICE OF $4,000.00. IN ORDER TO REPLACE A GASKET ON THE TIMING COVER, MANY ACCESSORIES AND PARTS NEEDS TO BE REMOVED. I THINK IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE IF THE ENGINE IS LOSING OIL AND IT STOPS RUNNING. I ALSO BELIEVE THAT IT IS A POOR ENGINEERING DESIGN, OR A MANUFACTURER ERROR. IN ORDER TO REPLACE A SIMPLE GASKET, IT REQUIRES MONUMENTAL EFFORT AND EXPENSE. THERE ARE MANY OTHER GASKETS IN THE CAR ENGINE THAT ARE EASILY ACCESSIBLE AND LASTS MUCH LONGER.
NHTSA ODI #11373612
Official recalls
0
No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0
No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
2011 Lexus Rx Problems, Complaints & Recalls | Skip That Year