Complaint volume
70 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2021 Lexus RX Complaints
70 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Lexus RX, grouped by component category.
70 Total complaints
9 Crash reports
0 Fire reports
6 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are air bags, seat belts, tires. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 9 crash reports, 0 fire reports, 6 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 4 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 39,515 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to air bags, seat belts, tires?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2021 Lexus RX?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Lexus RX
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Lexus RX complaints?
9 Crash
0 Fire
6 Injury
0 Fatality
6 Towed
3 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Lexus RX complaint categories?
AIR BAGS 43
SEAT BELTS 4
TIRES 2
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2
AIR BAGS,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1
AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE 1
ENGINE 1
70 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2024 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2021 Lexus RX350. The contact was notified of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | AIR BAGS,STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I was driving on the freeway in Stockton California and I entered into a connecting on-ramp curve going about 30mph and a lady hit me from behind on the passenger side going 65mph as she was trying to change lanes to get behind me and my car instantly speeded up spinning out of control Into a gully filled with stored freeway construction materials such as poles . The car kept spinning out of control because the ground was mud-slush from the rains. I kept construction poles came into my windshield, I kept spinning and sliding as I slammed into 2 trees and as the car sustained severe damage all over the vehicle and I kept slidding landing over in a second gully on the opposite side of the freeway. No airbags deployed no sensor went off nothing. I was in the car with my autistic daughter. The car is brand new. I contacted Lexus filed a claim and they sent me letter they don’t want to tak responsibility for their product liability | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2021 Lexus RX350. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | SEAT BELTS | The contact owns a 2021 Lexus RX350. The contact stated that while attempting to remove the [XXX] child from the rear passenger seat the rear passenger seat belt had become entangled around the child's torso and was extremely difficult to remove causing severe distress to the child and the child experienced difficulty breathing. The contact used scissors to cut the seatbelt which freed the child. During the incident, the child sustained bruising of the back and torso which did not require medical treatment. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. A dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 58,000. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 | 58,000 |
| May 2024 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2021 Lexus RX350. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Multiple Models and Model Years Passenger Airbag May Not Deploy NHTSA SENSORS not working. The campaign number is 23V865 : OCS Sensors May Short Circuit An air bag that does not deploy during a crash increases the risk of injury. NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 Manufacturer Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing Components AIR BAGS The official recall release date was December 20, 2023. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | VISIBILITY | On my 2021 Lexus RX350L, the left-hand side outer rear-view mirror vibrates. This can be observed when the car is driven >35mph or when driving on rough roads. At freeway speeds, the mirror vibrates to such a degree that it is difficult to see from it and causes perception issues. I noticed this issue even more pronounced on some other 2021 RX350 vehicles that I test drove before purchasing the one I own. The issue seems to mimic that of L-SB-0058-22. I suspect the cause and remedy are likely the same. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | I am writing to you regarding the vehicle safety which I became aware of recently but there was no solution provided. IF this happened to me, it can happen to anyone driving the same model and needs to be addressed as soon as possible before the fatality occurs as this is danger to the public.I was driving a vehicle on [XXX] after just picking it up from service (serviced at Ray Catena Lexus on [XXX] for 15,000 miles service and oil change) at the rate of speed approximately 65 mph. All of sudden the vehicle started making noises, transmission shifted from auto to lower manual gear and I was barely able to keep control of the vehicle. Luckily, I was able to pull over safely, turned it off, gave it some break and turned back on. Vehicle seemed to be operational and since I was close to the AmTrak train in Washington DC, I have decided to take the train as intended to Florida along with a vehicle. Upon arrival in Florida, I was able to take the vehicle to the dealership JM Lexus on [XXX]. I explained the problem and they checked the vehicle and released it to me shortly saying that there was nothing wrong. This dealership charged me $141.92. As I just left the dealership and got on the highway, the vehicle started to act up again. I was only able to take it back to the same dealership on [XXX], the mechanics did another check on the vehicle and discovered that the spiral cable had an oily residue on it and that was the reason for the electronic issue I was having, but that cable was not covered by the warranty and I was quoted $1,800.00 to get it fixed. Which is odd considering that not only did I buy out of this vehicle a few weeks prior but the vehicle was just serviced on [XXX] (with odometer reading at 12,728 miles) never giving any issues prior. After having a back and forth conversation, they dropped the price to nearly $1,000.00 but being concerned for my and my spouses safety, I had no choice but to pay. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2021 Lexus RX350. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | ENGINE | My car has 171,000 miles on it and I have a blown head gasket. This vehicle has only been driven by myself and was purchased brand new. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2023 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING,BACK OVER PREVENTION | I want to bring 2 issues to your attention: First, with all the technology in vehicles today, I can't figure out why there isn't an audible warning if the lights aren't on at night and why they don't come on automatically when windshield wipers are turned on. I often find that I am driving without lights because either my wife or some valet turned them off from 'auto' without my knowledge. I have to imagine accidents have occurred because of this and it seems like such a simple problem to fix. Supposedly there is a law (though I've never seen it) in Florida that you have to have your lights on when it's raining. So why not just have them cone on with the wipers? Second, I am from Detroit so am familiar with cars. Or at least used to be. I recall some time ago that there were regulations to minimize costs and damage during low speed impacts. I am attaching a document I found on line as an example. We had some issues with the sensors on the rear of this Lexus. The dealer said it was going to cost around $3000 to repair and it wasn't covered by warranty, because it must have been caused by someone hitting the car. I don't know if anyone hit the car. We were not in any accidents. And if we were it had to be so minor it wasn't noticed. So how can it cost $3000 to repair such a problem and of course if they aren't working, there is a safety issue when backing up. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2023 | STEERING,AIR BAGS | 1.) My SUV locked up when I swerved to avoid hitting a car in front of me. 2.) My vehicle wouldn't stop and I had no control over it as it "threw me around" the highway. The only reason it stop was when it collided with another vehicle. 3.) It is sitting at the collision center right now waiting to be worked on. 4.) The insurance adjuster. 5.) The message that came on was "brake." | Crash: Yes Fire: No Towed | Unknown |
| Sep 2022 | SEAT BELTS | Motor Vehicle accident with damage to vehicle front end and drivers side quarter panel. Vehicle was not drivable and required towing service at the scene. Front seat belts of the vehicle failed to engage resulting in the driver being bounced up in the seat and then down resulting in a serious compression fracture of the vertebrae of the spine. An inspection was completed of the vehicle by a third party and reported to the Toyota Claims department on August 19, 2022. Toyota did respond with notification related to the results of the inspections to include: "The seatbelts were found to be operational. The front drivers' and passengers' seatbelt ELR (Emergency Locking Retractor) were tested and found to be operational. The EDR readout recorded that the drivers' and passengers' front seat belts were buckled at the time of the incident, and the seat belt pretensioners were not commanded to deploy. The owners manual advises that the pretensioners help the seat belts to quickly restrain the occupants by retracting the seat belts when the vehicle is subjected to certain types of severe frontal or side collision or a vehicle rollover." The owners manual related to seat belts on page 28 also documents that "the pretensioners do not activate in the event of a minor frontal impact, a minor side impact or a rear impact." NTSB Safety Alert SA-005 July 2012 documents "What can you do to save lives and reduce injuries? Make sure seat belts are worn by everyone in your vehicle and talk to your state and local lawmakers and urge them to support NTSB recommendations for seatbelt use laws." Why encourage all to use seat belts if they do not engage in the event of an accident and the general public believes that the seat belt will engage in the event of an accident, again to help prevent not only death but serious injuries... Al Law related to seatbelts, section 32-5B-4; Requirement of front seat occupants of passenger car must be fastened about body when car is in motion. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The PCS detected another car in front and my car went into PARK, but kept rolling and the engine revved to 7500 rpm. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2022 | SEAT BELTS | I was involved in a single car accident in which the vehicle went off of the road hit an embankment and the vehicle bounced. The front drivers side hip and shoulder seat belt did not engage, and sustained a compression fracture to the vertebrae. The passenger front seat belt at the hip did engage with the sudden stop but the shoulder harness did not engage. The back seat passenger seat belt did fully engage and resulted in seat belt markings to the right shoulder and clavicle area of the passenger requiring evaluation at the Emergency Department. The rear seat passenger did have the Live 360 app and the mobile app did respond to the sudden stop and alerted the passenger if 911 was needed. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 Towed | Unknown |
| Jul 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The sole occupant driver drove into a slightly elevated driveway and stopped. The driveway is maybe 5 degree incline. The shift select lever was placed in Park and the Driver visually confirmed it was in park. Driver sat in the car for 12 seconds before exiting the vehicle with the engine running and AC on. The driver exited and was standing outside of the vehicle with both feet on the ground for 6 seconds reaching back inside at which time the vehicle began to suddenly roll down the driveway causing injury to the driver. This seems to be a failure of the parking system of the vehicle causing serious injury to the driver. The vehicle has not been inspected yet and investigation is ongoing. It is unknown if there were any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, but there was no prior service work performed on the near new vehicle. There is a video of the incident. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 Medical attention | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | while driving on the interstate the moon roof exploded into little glass fragments. It sound like a bomb going off. if the slider would have been open, it would have been critical for anyone sitting in the back seat There was no other cars around me or in front of me. it was day light and nothing hit the car | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2022 | TIRES | I had previously owned a 2018 Lexus RX350L that came with OEM Michelin Premier LTX tires. That car handled very well on rain, snow and ice. I eventually replaced those tires with Continental Crosscontact LX25 that were even better to the point that I woud say they were excellent on snow and ice. When I purchased my 2021 Lexus RX350 F Sport, it came with Bridgestone Ecopia H/L 422 Plus tires in 235 / 55 R 20. The Bridgestone tires were more prone to hydroplaning but I was able to adjust driving in wet rainy situations. The Bridgestone tires however are absolutely useless in even the slightest dusting of snow. They are prone to locking the Anti-Lock Brakes at single digit speeds and are resistant to making even slight turns or steering corrections. On the morning of February 6th 2021 I experienced driving in light snow for the first time with new car equipped with the Bridgestone tires. While making a right turn, I noticed that there was a multiple car accident on the road I was entering. As I had only begun to enter the turning lane, I decided to abort that turn. I attempted to ease the car back to the left but it would not correct. At this point, I was at single digit speeds already and I pressed the brakes. The Anti-Lock brakes locked and the car began sliding forward regardless of steering input. I released the brakes but they remained locked which I assume is because the car kept them applied because it was sliding. I slid into a car at the opposite stop light. After the accident, I drove to an empty parking lot and attempted snow driving maneuvers such as stopping slowly and making gentle turns. These tires proved incapable of the slowest, gentlest of maneuvers in a light snow situation. I am attaching both the Review and Ratings from the Tire Rack website which support that these "All Season" tires should likely not see rain and are most definitely dangerous if not deadly on snow and ice. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2021 | STRUCTURE | The drain system failed to properly route water out of the car after heavy rain and an automatic car wash in two separate incidents. The water would leak through the sunroof along the edges and leak down into the passenger side compartment and land on the floor mats. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2020 | STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | I WAS DRIVING HOME ON US HIGHWAY 82 AND MY DRIVER SIDE DOOR OPENED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. I KNOW THE DOOR WAS COMPLETELY CLOSED BEFORE I BEGAN DRIVING. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS OR AUDIBLE ALARMS UNTIL THE DOOR AUTOMATICALLY OPENED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. | Crash: No Fire: No | 60 |