RoadVitals

2003 Lexus RX Problems

Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
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Latest Jan 27, 2024
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
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Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
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What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2003 Lexus RX, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Reports by component

Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category

  • Airbags133.3%
  • Driver assistance133.3%
  • Seat belts133.3%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Each component in detail

What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words

Airbags

Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights.

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report

From owner reports, verbatim

SIX MONTHS AGO, THE DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BELT WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. TWO WEEKS AGO, THE DRIVERS SIDE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. THIS APPEARS TO BE A WIDE SPREAD ISSUE WITH THESE LEXUS RX 300'S EVIDENCED BY THE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS LOGGED ON THE WEB. MY CAR WAS GARAGE KEPT FOR THE MAJORITY OF IT'S LIFE. THIS ISSUE SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING AND SHOULD BE REPAIRED BY LEXUS AT NO COST TO THE CONSUMER. *TR

NHTSA ID 10648906 · filed Oct 20, 2014

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Driver assistance

Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

AS I WAS DRIVING THE CAR STARTED TO SPEED UP UNCONTROLLABLY AND WOULD NOT SLOW DOWN EVEN WITH THE BRAKES APPLIED. I HAD TO PUT IT INTO NEUTRAL TO APPLY THE BRAKES BUT WE WENT FROM 45 - 85MPH IN A MATTER OF SECONDS WHILE DRIVING IN 45MPH ZONE IN THE INNER CITY. WHEN I TURNED THE CAR BACK ON WHILE IN PARK THE ACCELERATOR WAS STILL STUCK UP TO 100MPH + SO IT WAS NOT DRIVABLE. WE FOUND OUT LATER FROM THE MECHANIC THAT THE THROTTLE WAS STICKY AND STUCK IN THE OPEN POSITION.

NHTSA ID 11353239 · filed Sep 4, 2020

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Seat belts

Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

MY SON WAS INVOLVED IN A HEAD-ON CRASH RESULTING IN BOTH VEHICLES BEING TOTALED. THE DRIVER OF THE OTHER VEHICLE RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES FROM HIS AIR BAG. MY SON HOWEVER PUNCHED HIS HEAD THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD RESULTING IN SIGNIFICANT INJURY TO HIS HEAD AND FACE. BOTH AIRBAGS DEPLOYED, AND HE WAS WEARING HIS SEAT BELT. IT IS MY BELIEF THAT THE SEAT BELT DID NOT LOCK CORRECTLY UPON IMPACT

NHTSA ID 11289794 · filed Dec 18, 2019

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .