2024 Lexus RX 350 Problems & Owner Complaints

Electrical System 18 3 injury

“I am reporting a recurring electrical and mechanical system failure on a 2024 Lexus RX 350h Luxury. On [XXX], the vehicle suffered a total power loss that rendered the electronic door latches unresponsive to all inputs. Because the occupants were a [XXX] and a [XXX] strapped into car seats, they were physically unable to reach the interior manual overrides. Critically, the mechanical backup key also failed to unlock the vehicle from the exterior, preventing immediate rescue. This created a life-threatening entrapment scenario. The doors only responded after multiple minutes of repeated manua…”
NHTSA complaint #11722677, 2026 · 2 injury(ies)

“The contact owns a 2024 Lexus RX. The contact stated that while idle at a red stoplight, the entire vehicle began to violently jerk back and forth. No warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with a software malfunction, and the failure was replicated. The vehicle was repaired. Medical attention was sought for severe depression, anxiety, PTSD, memory loss, concussion, head, neck, and back injuries. No police report was filed. In addition, the contact stated that after the injuries, she was no longer able to work or drive. The manufacturer was…”
NHTSA complaint #11703643, 2025 · 1 injury(ies)

“The contact owned a 2024 Lexus RX 350H. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and running, it unexpectedly turned off with the electronic malfunction error message displayed. The vehicle could not able to be restarted, and the contact was unable exit the vehicle due to the failure of the power locks. Roadside Assistance assisted with removing the contact from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with battery failure. The contact was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The v…”
NHTSA complaint #11723513, 2026

Unknown Or Other 16 1 injury

“I experienced a sudden release of toxic fumes from the vehicle between the steering column and instrument panel area on June 29, 2025, while driving. The fumes struck my face, caused immediate bitter chemical-like taste and made me feel physically ill and extremely concerned for my safety. The fumes were strong enough to leave a lingering taste described as “bitter and green” with initial symptoms of headache, lightheadedness, nausea, vomiting green substances, eye irritations, nose and throat irritations. The local auto dealership inspected the vehicle, no mechanical defect was identified, an…”
NHTSA complaint #11673022, 2025 · 1 injury(ies)

“While on a long road trip on a hot day, on the interstate, the car suddenly lost speed and would not accelerate. It was like the car had shifted into neutral. I was coasting on the interstate, steadily slowing, and was forced to pull over to the shoulder. I turned the car off and waited a couple of minutes then turned the car back on. No error messages were displaying at that time. About 5-10 minutes later, I pulled over for a planned stop. My husband assumed driving responsibilities when we got back into the car. Upon trying to get back on the interstate, the car would not accelerate, and mu…”
NHTSA complaint #11754510, 2026

“The sunroof exploded spontaneously while driving on major road at 65 MPH, nothing hit it and no other vehicle around. No abnormal weather conditions. No warning just a burst into air. Remaining glass fell into vehicle when I opened shade.”
NHTSA complaint #11752913, 2026

Engine 6

“When coming from a stop, the car will not respond to the gas pedal being engaged OR it will begin to engage and then no response leaving the car rolling for a few seconds until a response is recieved and the car engages again. This has caused us to be put in harms way MANY times with oncoming traffic when making turns or in front of oncoming traffic in intersections. The dealer states this is not a known issue however it is all over the internet that hundreds of reports of this issue have been made. The dealer states no fix since they don't "have a problem". MAJOR safety issue. We have reporte…”
NHTSA complaint #11714118, 2026

“When accelerating at slow speed, the engine or turbo turns off which causes the nose of the car to take a hard nose dive and then turns back on within 1 second but results in a big loud sound coming from engine/transmission. This issue almost caused on accident because it does a hard engine break where I was almost rear ended but from other drivers perspective, it might seem that I’m break checking them. Showed car to Lexus but they said it is normal but it not normal and should be investigated as it can cause harm to everyone involved if accident were to occur. Situation occurred 3 times this…”
NHTSA complaint #11711012, 2026

“When we purchased this car in June 2024 it did not have an engine revving issue. The engine, electrical or transmission maybe all of them have SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUES! When driving and you let off the gas pedal the engine starts revving very loudly, it scares the heck out of you because you don't know if you can stop! I have a serious mechanical background, there is always the possibility of the transmission not disengaging and forcing the car NOT to stop! This issue is VERY DANGEROUS AND SCARY! We get very nervous driving a car we paid almost 70K for! Yes reported to the dealer Mungenast Lexus…”
NHTSA complaint #11684648, 2025

Service Brakes 6

“I was stopped at a red light with brake on, my vehicle leaped forward on its own three times, with the brake on, the force was so strong I thought someone rear-ended me. No warning lights, the acceleration was load.”
NHTSA complaint #11723240, 2026

“On Feb. 10th 2026 I was driving north I405 (Los Angeles). The car suddenly applied emergency breaks in the middle of the freeway, while there was no car in front of me, at least for 100m. I was lucky that the car behind me didn't hit me. It could be a serious multi-car collision.”
NHTSA complaint #11717700, 2026

“Heard clicking noise coming from steering wheel. Car shimmied when breaking off of freeway. Newish car, only 20,611 miles. Took into dealership before anything went awry. Dealership said never heard of the steering problem before. Turned out it was a tie rod going bad and repair was covered by warranty. Break issue was also covered by warranty.”
NHTSA complaint #11693872, 2025

Power Train 5

“While on a long road trip on a hot day, on the interstate, the car suddenly lost speed and would not accelerate. It was like the car had shifted into neutral. I was coasting on the interstate, steadily slowing, and was forced to pull over to the shoulder. I turned the car off and waited a couple of minutes then turned the car back on. No error messages were displaying at that time. About 5-10 minutes later, I pulled over for a planned stop. My husband assumed driving responsibilities when we got back into the car. Upon trying to get back on the interstate, the car would not accelerate, and mu…”
NHTSA complaint #11754510, 2026

“When coming from a stop, the car will not respond to the gas pedal being engaged OR it will begin to engage and then no response leaving the car rolling for a few seconds until a response is recieved and the car engages again. This has caused us to be put in harms way MANY times with oncoming traffic when making turns or in front of oncoming traffic in intersections. The dealer states this is not a known issue however it is all over the internet that hundreds of reports of this issue have been made. The dealer states no fix since they don't "have a problem". MAJOR safety issue. We have reporte…”
NHTSA complaint #11714118, 2026

“Below is the email that I sent to both the manufacturer and the dealership: I hope your Christmas Eve was better than mine. My son and I were driving up to the Poconos [XXX] to go skiing and I noticed the sonar detection light come on. When we were driving back from the Poconos, the transmission would not catch around the second or third gear. The RPMs would shoot up. The dash / warning lights lit up. I pulled over to the side of the road and I called Lexus dealership, service center, and road side assistance. However, due to the fact that it was [XXX], the offices were closed. I managed to ma…”
NHTSA complaint #11636883, 2024

Forward Collision Avoidance 4

“On Feb. 10th 2026 I was driving north I405 (Los Angeles). The car suddenly applied emergency breaks in the middle of the freeway, while there was no car in front of me, at least for 100m. I was lucky that the car behind me didn't hit me. It could be a serious multi-car collision.”
NHTSA complaint #11717700, 2026

“I went to reverse the car. Suddenly, the car's automatic emergency breaking system engaged. This occurred on 2 separate occasions. The first time, was in a parking lot during a sunny day. There was definitely nothing behind me, not even a person, but the camera saw a leaf or something small, and engaged the automatic emergency brake. The second time, it was raining in the evening, the sky was dark. I went to reverse (to complete a u-turn in an empty lot). Suddenly the automatic emergency braking engaged. In both instances, if I was reversing (as part of a u-turn on a busy street, this would ha…”
NHTSA complaint #11708478, 2025

“Automatic Emergency Braking 6 times on a new car has violently and suddenly engaged at low speeds. Twice in the middle of the street with no obstacles near by.”
NHTSA complaint #11577729, 2024

Structure 3

“The moonroof spontaneously shattered while driving on the freeway at night. This limit the speed to less than 20 mph since the moonroof continued to shatter at a higher speed.”
NHTSA complaint #11698301, 2025

“The material (most likely) plastic used as a trim on the vehicle is melted or started to melt. This is the trim (b-pilar) between the driver's door and the rear passenger's door. We believe the quality of the material used for the trim is defective and should be addressed by the manufacturer.”
NHTSA complaint #11627511, 2024

“Mileage 3445, vehicle age 3.5 months. Car located in home garage with doors unlocked. Car Locked itself making entry impossible. All systems refused to open with “clicker” or mechanical key. Possibly battery issue. Four (4) different tow truck drivers over 4 days could not gain entry. Safety hazard as a child or disabled person could have been locked inside. Tow driver could not “pop” the door lock. Despite pulling up on the inside handle, the door would not open. Towed to dealer. Thus far dealer has no solution. Dealer said they are contacting Lexus. No warning lights, etc. Veh…”
NHTSA complaint #11617988, 2024

Vehicle Speed Control 3

“On Feb. 10th 2026 I was driving north I405 (Los Angeles). The car suddenly applied emergency breaks in the middle of the freeway, while there was no car in front of me, at least for 100m. I was lucky that the car behind me didn't hit me. It could be a serious multi-car collision.”
NHTSA complaint #11717700, 2026

“I was trying to park behind a car. Slowed down the car. Just about 20 feet behind the car, the car suddenly started to accelerate. The speed was super fast. I had to step on the brake some hard to stop the car. Fortunately the car stopped just in time. No crash happened.”
NHTSA complaint #11653058, 2025

“When I was parking my car 20 feet behind a car by the street , the car suddenly accelerated. I stepped hard on the brake and fortunately stopped the car about 3 feet from the car in the front. No crash happened”
NHTSA complaint #11653060, 2025

Air Bags 2

“Was pulling into parking spot when car went haywire and started accelerating on its own. It would not stop until it has hit 5 cars and crashed into a cement wall. The brakes did NOT stop the acceleration. This occurred at the exact same time there was an incoming call which was not answered. The airbags did NOT deploy. The car appears to be totaled and has been towed to a State Farm affiliated auto yard. There were no indicator lights that something was wrong BUT the Lexus app showed 5 warnings that came in to my text messages same day. These 5 alerts are indicative of exactly what occurre…”
NHTSA complaint #11686483, 2025

“The contact owns a 2024 Lexus RX350H. The contact stated that while the vehicle was started, the Forward Collision Avoidance system and air bag warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for 17 days, where it was diagnosed that a software update was needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was informed that there was no fix for the failure. The failure mileage was 1,020.”
NHTSA complaint #11562080, 2023

Lane Departure 2 1 crash 2 injury

“The car comes with proactive driver assist. The system when activated will cause the car to unexpectedly turn the wheel and lunge usually left if the system suspects you are going off of track. It works even on unmarked 2 lane country roads. Very disconcerting and dangerous. My wife was then subsequently in a serious accident on a slippery and snowy night that totaled the car. We are not convinced that the proactive driver assist system was the cause of the accident but can't help but think it may have been a contributing factor to the accident. Her car swerved into the oncoming lane on a unm…”
NHTSA complaint #11634427, 2024 · crash · 2 injury(ies)

“When in cruise, the car will merge itself into the next lane if you hold the turn signal partially. If you keep holding it or fully engage the turn signal (maybe you forgot to turn off you signal, or held it too long), the car will merge through the solid white line off the road into a ditch. This happened to me once, and I noticed it trying several other times.”
NHTSA complaint #11731039, 2026

Latches/Locks/Linkages 2

“The contact owned a 2024 Lexus RX 350H. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and running, it unexpectedly turned off with the electronic malfunction error message displayed. The vehicle could not able to be restarted, and the contact was unable exit the vehicle due to the failure of the power locks. Roadside Assistance assisted with removing the contact from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with battery failure. The contact was informed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The v…”
NHTSA complaint #11723513, 2026

“Battery completely dead. Unable to unlock doors, close windows during rain storms or start vehicle. No electrical power at all! Dissatisfied”
NHTSA complaint #11649272, 2025

Steering 2 1 crash 2 injury

“The car comes with proactive driver assist. The system when activated will cause the car to unexpectedly turn the wheel and lunge usually left if the system suspects you are going off of track. It works even on unmarked 2 lane country roads. Very disconcerting and dangerous. My wife was then subsequently in a serious accident on a slippery and snowy night that totaled the car. We are not convinced that the proactive driver assist system was the cause of the accident but can't help but think it may have been a contributing factor to the accident. Her car swerved into the oncoming lane on a unm…”
NHTSA complaint #11634427, 2024 · crash · 2 injury(ies)

“Heard clicking noise coming from steering wheel. Car shimmied when breaking off of freeway. Newish car, only 20,611 miles. Took into dealership before anything went awry. Dealership said never heard of the steering problem before. Turned out it was a tie rod going bad and repair was covered by warranty. Break issue was also covered by warranty.”
NHTSA complaint #11693872, 2025

Visibility/Wiper 2

“Very poor quality front windshield, very fragile. Breaks and chips off very fast even with small rocks which impairs visibility even after repairs leading to replacement of front windshield due to poor visibility especially glare from the sun. Vehicle now has a lots of rock chip damage making to a position to costly repair from $3000 to $5000”
NHTSA complaint #11688539, 2025

“We just pick up this car last week from the dealership here at San Antonio. TX. As we were driving there is a downpour/rain due to hurricane beryl, turn on the wiper and did not work, just got stuck in the middle of the windshield. i almost got hit on the road because i can see in front of me. Maybe it is also my fault by not checking this things before i drove off. At this moment the car is back at the dealership and my service advisor says that the motor is defective and they will order the parts.”
NHTSA complaint #11603533, 2024

Back Over Prevention 1

“The rear backup camera does not work when put into reverse”
NHTSA complaint #11714105, 2026

Exterior Lighting 1

Fuel/Propulsion System 1

“Was pulling into parking spot when car went haywire and started accelerating on its own. It would not stop until it has hit 5 cars and crashed into a cement wall. The brakes did NOT stop the acceleration. This occurred at the exact same time there was an incoming call which was not answered. The airbags did NOT deploy. The car appears to be totaled and has been towed to a State Farm affiliated auto yard. There were no indicator lights that something was wrong BUT the Lexus app showed 5 warnings that came in to my text messages same day. These 5 alerts are indicative of exactly what occurre…”
NHTSA complaint #11686483, 2025