2003 Lexus RX300 problems
NHTSA has received 33 complaints about the 2003 Lexus RX300, and 15% of them involve cruise control. Next are transmission (15%) and engine (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 33 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Cruise control 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 92,000 miles 26 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 | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 2 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 0 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 6 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Of the 26 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 92,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 4 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 84% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 5 model years of the Lexus RX300 with enough data (10 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.
My wife drove the vehicle to work. She parked, turned the engine off, and removed the key while the shifter was in the neutral position. Thinking that it was in "park", she exited the vehicle and began to walk away. The vehicle rolled backward and pinned her right let in between its rear bumper and the bumper of another vehicle.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 lexus rx300. While driving 10 MPH out of the parking lot the vehicle accelerated and he lost control. As he swerved the vehicle he hit three small trees, a wooden fence, and a brick wall before the vehicle stopped. The ambulance and police department came because he was trapped in the vehicle. He was taken to the hospital for injures to his lower back. The vehicle was destroyed. There is a police report if needed. The insurance company was notified.
The car was hit on the rear passanger side; the whole rear axle came off due to such accident and the air bags did not deploy. This is a big safety issue due to the fact that I have a 5 year old son. Dt
During normal driving, with no signs of failure, the vehicle suddenly would lose power when pressed on gas, it acted as if it were in neutral---engine revs up, but car does not move. Then when switched to second gear or l, transmission still would not engage. Had it towed to a local transmission shop, it turned out to be the planetary gear broke. Searched online lexus forum, found out very many people reported the same failure in transmission.
I called my local lexus three times prior to june, 2012 regarding lights suddenly illuminating on the dashboard. I had a recurring issue where the check engine and vsc warning lights would illuminate. Each time the customer service agent told me that the lights would go off when I refueled. Three times the lights did go off (after several days), but once I had to have the dealer reset them.