2009 Lexus RX

Name: 2009 Lexus RX owner-filed safety complaints per 1,000 sold
Creator: YearsTell

For every car sold, owners filed more complaints about the 2009 RX than about the typical RX year: 1.4 times as many. Among the 7 RX years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about this one, the 2009 (0.28 per 1,000 sold) and the most about the 2010 (0.87).

Safety complaints filed by owners in the first three years, per 1,000 sold.

0.28 per 1,000

1.4 times this nameplate’s own median

Counted from 25 complaints filed in the first three years, of 129 ever. 95% lower bound 0.17.

Every RX model yearComplaints per 1,000 sold, first three years

This yearOther yearsToo few complaints to rankTypical year, 0.21

Against its own model years

The model year carries far more information than the badge, so this is the comparison that matters. The bar is how many complaints each rate rests on.

Model year	Per 1,000	Complaints
2008	0.53	45
2009	0.28	25
2010	0.87	82
2011	0.15	13
2012	0.17	15
2013	0.20	20
2014	0.11	12
2015	0.20	21
2016	0.39	41
2017	0.37	40
2018	0.15	17
2019	0.32	36
2020	0.15	16
2021	0.09	10
2022	0.21	22
2023	0.40	42

Issues owners of the 2009 RX report

No phrase appears often enough in these complaints to describe them reliably.

When it breaks

22% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 59,100 miles, from 96 complaints that recorded one).

Failures arrive late and spread out, which looks like wear. Service history matters more than model year here.

What NHTSA did

No NHTSA investigation covers this model year.

That is not a clean bill of health, and not a criticism of the agency: investigations open for many reasons and complaint volume is only one of them.

Questions buyers ask about the 2009 Lexus RX

Is 2009 a good year or a bad year for the RX?

What problems does the 2009 RX have?

The parts owners named most often in complaints filed to date: Steering (33), Engine (21), Structure (19).

Is the 2009 RX reliable?

Complaint records cannot settle that on their own. They count safety problems owners chose to report to the federal government, not every repair. What they do show is how this year compares with the other RX years: for every car sold, owners filed more complaints about the 2009 RX than about the typical RX year: 1.4 times as many.

Which RX year has the fewest complaints?

Among years with enough complaints to compare, the 2009, at 0.28 per 1,000 sold. Every RX year, ranked.

What the used-car guides say

No guide we read covers the RX.

Check this yourself

Example records behind this page, each on NHTSA’s own site:

Limits of this figure. It counts safety complaints filed with the federal government, which is a floor on failures and not a census: problems that only cost money are under-reported. Complaint rates also reflect how likely a brand’s owners are to file, which cannot be separated from how often the car fails. Sales are calendar-year and the denominator for this nameplate is taken year by year from published US sales figures, each one quoted from a named source.