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2001 Lexus RX300

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2001 Lexus RX300 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 88.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

152 reports with mileage · 17 unknown

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.

  • Power Train. Review the 123 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 13 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

14 crash reports2 fire reports7 injury reports

What owners actually said

169 reports
48,000 miles · Mar 4, 2010
Power TrainVehicle Speed Control

2000 LEXUS RX 300 (THIS IS A TOYOTA CAMRY ENGINE IN A LEXUS BODY) CAR TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT CHANGE INTO HIGH GEARS 3 & 4 FOR HIGHWAY DRIVING, PREVENTING ACCELERATION. LEXUS OF NORWOOD, MA REPLACED THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION UNDER WARRANTY. 5,000 MILES LATER THE NEW TRANSMISSION WAS DOING THE SAME THING, AFTER A WEEK THEY FINALLY…

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2000 LEXUS RX 300 (THIS IS A TOYOTA CAMRY ENGINE IN A LEXUS BODY) CAR TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT CHANGE INTO HIGH GEARS 3 & 4 FOR HIGHWAY DRIVING, PREVENTING ACCELERATION. LEXUS OF NORWOOD, MA REPLACED THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION UNDER WARRANTY. 5,000 MILES LATER THE NEW TRANSMISSION WAS DOING THE SAME THING, AFTER A WEEK THEY FINALLY GAVE IT BACK TO AND SAID IT WAS REPAIRED BUT NOT WHAT THEY HAD TO FIX AND WERE VERY SKETCHY, IT WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. FINALLY THE REPAIR TECHNICIAN TOLD IN LOW TONES SO NOT TO BE HEARD THAT IT WAS COMPUTER SOFTWARE PROBLEM AND THAT;S WHY THEY WOULD NOT TELL ME. SO THEY REPLACED AN ENTIRE TRANSMISSION AT 48000 MILES INCORRECTLY WHEN ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS DO A SOFTWARE BUG FIX. I THINK THIS IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE THE COMPUTER PREVENTED ACCELERATION BUT COULD PROBABLY ALSO CAUSE UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. THEY DO NOT HAVE CONTROL OF THEIR SOFTWARE RUNNING THESE ENGINES AND DON'T WANT TO ADMIT BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10316731

Mileage unknown · Mar 2, 2010
Engine And Engine Cooling

LEXUS 2001 LX300 SENSORS ARE DEFECTIVE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10315831

60,000 miles · Feb 25, 2010
Vehicle Speed Control

THE GAS PEDAL ON MY 2001 LEXUS RX 300 SOMETIMES STICKS. I WAS NOT TOO CONCERNED UNTIL THE RECALL OF OTHER TOYOTA PRODUCTS FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. FOR THE MOST PART, THE PEDAL STICKS IN THE IDLE POSITION SO IT HAS NOT BEEN A PROBLEM. THE FREQUENCY OF STICKING CAN BE DESCRIBED AS INFREQUENT, OCCURRING ON 10 TO 20 OCCASIONS OVER A…

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THE GAS PEDAL ON MY 2001 LEXUS RX 300 SOMETIMES STICKS. I WAS NOT TOO CONCERNED UNTIL THE RECALL OF OTHER TOYOTA PRODUCTS FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. FOR THE MOST PART, THE PEDAL STICKS IN THE IDLE POSITION SO IT HAS NOT BEEN A PROBLEM. THE FREQUENCY OF STICKING CAN BE DESCRIBED AS INFREQUENT, OCCURRING ON 10 TO 20 OCCASIONS OVER A TWO YEAR PERIOD. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10314407

130,169 miles · Feb 24, 2010
Power Train

CAR WAS BEING PARKED WHEN IT SUDDENLY WENT TO MAX ACCELERATION JUMPING THE CURB. THE CARS FORWARD ACCELERATION WAS STOPPED BY LARGE DECORATIVE ROCK IN THE PARKING MEDIAN STRIP. CAR ENDED UP RESTING ON THE ROCK. CAR WAS TURNED OFF BY KEY. THIS IS THE ONLY OCCURRENCE OF THIS SURGE ACCELERATION THE CAR HAS EXHIBITED TO DATE. CAR …

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CAR WAS BEING PARKED WHEN IT SUDDENLY WENT TO MAX ACCELERATION JUMPING THE CURB. THE CARS FORWARD ACCELERATION WAS STOPPED BY LARGE DECORATIVE ROCK IN THE PARKING MEDIAN STRIP. CAR ENDED UP RESTING ON THE ROCK. CAR WAS TURNED OFF BY KEY. THIS IS THE ONLY OCCURRENCE OF THIS SURGE ACCELERATION THE CAR HAS EXHIBITED TO DATE. CAR IS CURRENTLY AT AUTOMOTIVE SHOP FOR INSPECTION AND REPAIRS. CAR HAS SIGNIFICANT DRIVE SHAFT AND UNDERCARRIAGE DAMAGE, BUT WAS DRIVABLE TO NEARBY AUTOSHOP AFTER BEING JACKED OFF ROCK BY TOW TRUCK.*TR

NHTSA ODI #10313774

129,095 miles · Feb 22, 2010
Power Train

OK I BOUGHT A LEXUS RX300 1/08/10 WAS CONSTRICTED IN DRIVING IT DUE TO THE SNOW STORMS HITTING THE NORTHEAST. I GOT THE CAR WITH 128,000 MILES ON IT AND NOW IT HAS 129,095. I GO TO DRIVE TO SCHOOL TODAY AND WHILE ON A BACK HIGHWAY DOING 45-50 MPH MY CAR LOOSES POWER AND I HAVE TO STOP IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AND PUSH IT OFF. I GO TO TR…

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OK I BOUGHT A LEXUS RX300 1/08/10 WAS CONSTRICTED IN DRIVING IT DUE TO THE SNOW STORMS HITTING THE NORTHEAST. I GOT THE CAR WITH 128,000 MILES ON IT AND NOW IT HAS 129,095. I GO TO DRIVE TO SCHOOL TODAY AND WHILE ON A BACK HIGHWAY DOING 45-50 MPH MY CAR LOOSES POWER AND I HAVE TO STOP IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AND PUSH IT OFF. I GO TO TRY AND MOVE THE CAR AND SHIFT GEARS AND IT DOESN'T MOVE. I CALLED THE TOW TRUCK AND GOT A TOW HOME AND CALL THE DEALERSHIP THEY TELL ME TO BASICALLY GO EFF' MYSELF. I SUSPECT IT IS THE TRANSMISSION AND WILL FIND OUT TOMORROW BECAUSE I CALLED LEXUS AND THEY TOLD ME TO GO TO A DEALER AND THEY WILL CALL ME IN 1-2 BUSINESS DAY. IF I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY DOING SPEEDS EXCESS 50 WITH MY SON IN THE CAR THE OUTCOME COULD HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFERENT I HOPE YOU CAN HELP. I HAD THE CAR FOR 45 DAYS.... *TR

NHTSA ODI #10312822

96,000 miles · Feb 19, 2010
Engine And Engine Cooling

ENGINE STALLED SUDDENLY WHILE DRIVING ON ROADS. ENGINE WOULD NOT RESTART UNDER ANY CONDITIONS AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. MECHANICS LOOKING AT CAR INDICATED NO ENGINE OIL WAS FOUND IN ENGINE DESPITE RECENT OIL CHANGE. MECHANICS ALSO FOUND NO POINTS OF ANY LEAKAGE OF OIL BY THE ENGINE. OIL WAS PUT PROPERLY AND WAS BURNING INAPPRO…

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ENGINE STALLED SUDDENLY WHILE DRIVING ON ROADS. ENGINE WOULD NOT RESTART UNDER ANY CONDITIONS AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. MECHANICS LOOKING AT CAR INDICATED NO ENGINE OIL WAS FOUND IN ENGINE DESPITE RECENT OIL CHANGE. MECHANICS ALSO FOUND NO POINTS OF ANY LEAKAGE OF OIL BY THE ENGINE. OIL WAS PUT PROPERLY AND WAS BURNING INAPPROPRIATELY AND GELLING IN ENGINE. LEXUS REFUSE TO COVER REPAIR UNDER GUISE OF ITS OWN INSPECTION. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10312270

97,144 miles · Feb 5, 2010
Engine And Engine Cooling

OIL SLUDGE CAUSE ENGINE FAILURE IN LEXUS RX300. NEED TO REPLACE SHORT BLOCK, OVERHEAD GASKET SET, VALVE COVERS,HEADS AND CAMS FOR AN ESTIMATED VALUE OF $14K. CAR ONLY HAS 95K MILES ON IT AND I CHANGED THE OIL EVERY 4-5K MILES BY A TOYOTA/LEXUS AUTO-MECHANIC. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10306779

31,000 miles · Feb 4, 2010
Vehicle Speed Control

2001 LEXUS RX300 SUDDEN UNEXPLAINED ACCELERATION CAUSING NEAR ACCIDENT. THIS WAS NOT DUE TO CARPET OVERLAPPING GAS PEDAL. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10305402

81,406 miles · Jan 29, 2010
Power Train

DURING NORMAL DRIVING THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE TRANSMISSION HAD TO BE REBUILT AT A COST OF OVER $4000. THE LEXUS DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT AGREES THAT THERE IS A DESIGN FLAW, BUT THE TOYOTA/LEXUS CORPORATION IS UNWILLING TO DO MORE THAN CONTRIBUTE $1000 TOWARDS REPAIR, AND ONLY IF IT IS REPAIRED AT A DEALER. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10303116

142,000 miles · Dec 14, 2009
Power Train

2001 LEXUS RX-300 1ST TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT 142,000 MILES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10295702

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.