2011 Lexus RX Engine Problems

I made a 6-mile trip from my garage and back (12 miles total). The next day, my neighbor asked me to come outside to inspect my driveway where I found a trailing stream of oil. The oil leak was substantial enough to visibly observe an unbroken ribbon of oil spanning the entire length of the asphalt street leading to my driveway and a large pool of oil where I waited momentarily for the garage door to open. Needless to say, I then discovered a large pool of oil under the front of the engine on the passenger side. It was the lower oil cooling line. No warning signal appeared reflecting the leak or low oil pressure. I remembered receiving a letter from LEXUS Corporate stating that this was a known defective part and could be repaired at the dealer at no cost to me. However, the caveat was that the age of the car could not exceed 10 years and the mileage 150,000. My mileage was only 106,400, but the car age exceeded the 10 year limit. Did LEXUS think that the defective part would magically heal itself after 10 years? Why put a limit? LEXUS would NOT assist me in any way, so I had the repair completed at an independent shop. I only repaired one side and now fear the other side will go out and the leak will not be discovered in time before blowing up the engine. I'm white-knuckle driving in a car I used to love. I'm extremely disappointed in the lack of "good-will" provided by LEXUS for a known defective part (a rubber hose, replaced with a metal one) because they would not stand behind their product. Loyalty is a delicate trait, and they have lost mine.

NHTSA ID

11712933

Incident

Jan 15, 2026

My 2011 Lexus RX350 was running fine as I ran errands for groceries and other items around town one day. Then, out of the blue, I realized that after returning home and parking in my garage, there was a trail of oil in my driveway, leading to my vehicle. I looked under the engine area and noticed a pool of oil. I had a certified mobile mechanic come to my home and provide a diagnosis. This diagnosis was that a hole had formed in the rubber Engine Oil Cooler Line, and drained nearly all the oil in my engine. He mentioned that one more mile and I could have had total engine failure. He proceeded to replace it with a new Genuine Lexus, all metal Oil Cooler Line. I contacted Lexus about this incident, but they provided no compensation for this occurrence, even though there was a short 4-year technical service bulletin they issued barely a year after production, that called out this was indeed a flaw in their design. After doing some research, I see this is a VERY common issue, with many in the past most recent years having this very issue. Yet, Lexus has not recalled this, nor reimbursed those that have suffered from this manufacture defect. I am really hoping that something can be done by NHTSA and/or Lexus to resolve this issue that I am certain is still plaguing thousands of Lexus owners on the road, and putting our and those around us' safety at risk. Surely, a part that obviously and very consistently degrades over the course of 5+ years so often, needs to be addressed and recalled for the sake of safety and integrity.

NHTSA ID

11577357

Incident

Mar 4, 2024

On Saturday July 15, 2023, at between about 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. CDST the vehicle was parked overnight in a garage, spontaneously caught fire and burned and was a total loss. There was a smell I would associate with an electrical fire. People reported hearing a car alarm and a "popping sound" before the fire. The fire department extinguished the fire and had the car towed out of the garage of a condominium association. Fire damage to property (except the subject car) was minimal but there was extensive smoke. In my opinion based on this incident, electric/hybrid cars should not be parked indoors.

NHTSA ID

11532457

Incident

Jul 15, 2023

Oil poured out under vehicle under right side passenger side from oil cooler line overnight in my garage. Lexus stated that I was lucky that this did not occur while driving as oil would have blown completely out due to the pressurized line and damaged the engine. There was no warning lights on. I backed the car out of the garage leaving a stream of oil and discovered the problem. I had the vehicle towed to the dealership as I never saw anything like this. According to Lexus service representative this is a known defect and has been upgraded by Lexus to a solid metal line at failure only but only for a specific amount of time. (Evidently the vehicle was manufactured with a part metal and part rubber coolant line that split on the rubber portion of the line.) Seems to me that this should have been a recall to prevent major damage to the vehicle and during driving hazard to consumer as the vehicle would stopped completely as oil would be blown out completely. My cost was estimated and paid for at $695.00. I think this should have been a recall.

NHTSA ID

11495927

Incident

Nov 23, 2022

Oil cooler line ruptured while driving. Lexus issued an extended warranty to 12/31/2016 on the Oil Cooler Line. Lexus sent an advisory letter to owners of record several months prior to our purchase. Our dealer: Rohrich Lexus, did not inform us of the problem when purchased 09/2014. Nor did they address the problem when they serviced the vehicle in 08/16, an oil change. Now we have $500 plus in repair costs for the Oil Cooler Line replacement which could have been avoided if Rohrich Service Department had advised us of the Extended Warranty that covered our vehicle. THE OIL COOLER LINE WAS RUBBER AND THE FIX WAS A METAL LINE.

NHTSA ID

11490775

Incident

Jun 3, 2022

I have never had any issues with the oil and this car has had all of its oil changes on time and regular. Last evening I was driving home and the low oil pressure light came on. Within moments I started hearing a knocking Noise. I parked the car cause I was at home at that time and I checked the next morning and there is no oil in the car now. There's oil all underneath the undercarriage. I looked online and found a story of another guy this happened to and it ended up being an oil cooler pipe. I guess these are rubber and there's a recall warranty notice on these. My car has not been driven since I parked it. Please advise. Car is included in this warranty recall.

NHTSA ID

11442729

Incident

Dec 4, 2021

Something had broken causing oil draining out of the car while driving on the highway. The car lost power and I pulled over immediately and shut off the engine. I opened the hood and saw nothing wrong, however when I checked the oil, there was no oil. I then proceeded to look under the car and there was oil all over the under carriage. I then did a walk around and found oil all over the back side. Me and my family were stranded while we waited for a tow truck. We had the tow truck take the RX350 to the local Lexus (Kuni in Denver) dealership where this car has been serviced all its life. When I received the initial call from the service department, He had said he is 99% sure this is the oil cooler pipe. He then said this is a known defect in the design of this part. When I googled "RX350 oil cooler pipe" numerous complaints came back. The initial design is rubber and now they installed one that is metal. This could have been fatal if we had traffic near us. Also this could have major damage to the engine. This should have been recalled however Lexus decided not to and just call it a warranty notice. Even with all the information out there about this highly defective part, the dealership would not cover the cost and told us to directly deal with Lexus. If anyone is reading this, and you have not change out this part, I would get this done! It is not an if this will happen, it is when it will happen. The design of this pipe is elementary and will fail. I thought Lexus being a luxury manufacturer would take more care with their customers! But as you can see, they are not.

NHTSA ID

11425648

Incident

Jul 18, 2021

MY 2011 LEXUS RX 350 HAS A FRONT TIMING COVER LEAK. TO FIX THE FRONT TIMING COVER LEAK, THE DEALERSHIP HAS AN ESTIMATED PRICE OF $4,000.00. IN ORDER TO REPLACE A GASKET ON THE TIMING COVER, MANY ACCESSORIES AND PARTS NEEDS TO BE REMOVED. I THINK IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE IF THE ENGINE IS LOSING OIL AND IT STOPS RUNNING. I ALSO BELIEVE THAT IT IS A POOR ENGINEERING DESIGN, OR A MANUFACTURER ERROR. IN ORDER TO REPLACE A SIMPLE GASKET, IT REQUIRES MONUMENTAL EFFORT AND EXPENSE. THERE ARE MANY OTHER GASKETS IN THE CAR ENGINE THAT ARE EASILY ACCESSIBLE AND LASTS MUCH LONGER.

NHTSA ID

11373612

Incident

Nov 6, 2020

Mileage

200,000 mi

OUR 2011 LEXUS RX 350 OIL COOLER LINE FAILED CAUSING ENGINE DAMAGE. A FAMILY MEMBER WAS DRIVING AND THE LOSS OF MOTOR OIL COULD HAVE LOCKED THE ENGINE AND CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. LEXUS IS WILLING TO PAY FOR THE PART, BUT NOT REPAIR THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE FAILED OIL COOLER LINE.

NHTSA ID

11364387

Incident

Sep 25, 2020

Mileage

134,370 mi

SOME HOW THE OIL WAS LEAKING ,I DON T KNOW WHY?LUCKY ME I WAS AT HOME DOING THE YARD WORK WHEN I SAW THIS MASSIVE OIL LEAKING ON MY DRIVE WAY

NHTSA ID

11131114

Incident

Sep 24, 2018

Mileage

120,000 mi