YearsTellEspaƱol

2019 Lexus RX

For every car sold, owners filed more complaints about the 2019 RX than about the typical RX year: 1.6 times as many. Among the 7 RX years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about 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.

0.32 per 1,000

1.6 times this nameplate’s own median

Counted from 36 complaints filed in the first three years, of 69 ever. 95% lower bound 0.22. Not counted: 7 complaints that reported only that a recall repair was unavailable, not a failure.

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 yearPer 1,000Complaints
20080.5345
20090.2825
20100.8782
20110.1513
20120.1715
20130.2020
20140.1112
20150.2021
20160.3941
20170.3740
20180.1517
20190.3236
20200.1516
20210.0910
20220.2122
20230.4042

Issues owners of the 2019 RX report

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

When it breaks

91% of reported failures happened before 30,000 miles (median 5,500 miles, from 23 complaints that recorded one).

Failures cluster early, which is the signature of how the car was built rather than of wear. A low-mileage example has not yet passed the risk window.

What NHTSA did

1 investigation covering this model year, 1 of which list a recall campaign.

Pedestrian alert sounds

Questions buyers ask about the 2019 Lexus RX

Is 2019 a good year or a bad year for the RX?

For every car sold, owners filed more complaints about the 2019 RX than about the typical RX year: 1.6 times as many. Among the 7 RX years with enough complaints to compare, owners filed the fewest about the 2009 (0.28 per 1,000 sold) and the most about the 2010 (0.87). The typical year is the median across its model years.

What problems does the 2019 RX have?

The parts owners named most often in complaints filed to date: Fuel/Propulsion System (25), Forward Collision Avoidance (13), Service Brakes (13).

Is the 2019 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 2019 RX than about the typical RX year: 1.6 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.