2000 Lexus RX300 problems
NHTSA has received 247 complaints about the 2000 Lexus RX300, and 45% of them involve transmission. Next are drivetrain & axles (11%) and engine (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 247 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Transmission 45% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 23 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 17 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 106,000 miles 177 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 5 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 28 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 31 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 41 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 37 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 11 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 7 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 5 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Of the 177 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 106,000 miles. For transmission specifically, the median reported mileage is about 104,000 miles (105 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 23 complaints mention a crash; 17 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2000 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 5 model years of the Lexus RX300 with enough data (61 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Consumer lost consciousness briefly which resulted in accident. As a result the driver hit a road sigh which caused the windshield to break. The top of the drivers head hit the moon roof and shattered the glass. As a result thousands of glass shards became embedded into the consumer's scalp. The consumer believes this was not safety glass. The driver also sustain eye injury when shards of glass resulted in a hemorrhage and scarred eyeball. Opthamologist recommended plastic surgery.
Vehicle experienced sudden acceleration in reverse and hit a pole, gear shift was stuck in reverse and could not shift into drive, the engine torqued up and accelerated forward, causing vehicle to crash into a brick wall, consumer sustained whiplash due to the accident. *slc
Throughout the life of seatbelt on the drivers side, it has loosened 4 to 5 inches during normal driving conditions and sometimes while braking. Consumer had a rear end collision, and seatbelt didn't hold. Same seatbelt has been replaced twice prior to accident. Consumer sustained neck and chest injuries from hitting steering wheel. The antenna makes noise when going down, the center high mount brake light bulb was replaced.
Premature failure of transmission on lexus rx 300. Dealers refusal to step up to pay for an originally defective product, and request to pay $4500 for a remanufactured transmission. Lexus' refusal to address multiple complaints of a widespread issue on an obviously defective product. Lexus denial of a clearly manufacturing problem.
I purchased my vehicle (2000 lexus rx 300) in 2004 with less than 35,000 and every year since 2007 I have had issues with lighting. I have had the park light, brake light, center stop lamp; center brake light socket and bulbs all replaced. The unfortunate issue is that the lights have to be replaced every year sometimes twice a year because they continue to malfunction. I always take my vehicle to the lexus of orlando dealership for testing, service and repair but they obviously never completely fix this issue.