2009 Lexus RX350 problems
Owners have filed 114 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Lexus RX350. Steering is the most reported problem area, at 25% of complaints. Next are body & structure (15%) and engine (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 114 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 25% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 9 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 56,000 miles 90 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 | 17 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 12 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 21 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 15 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 9 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 9 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 90 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 56,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 55,000 miles (24 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 9 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 2 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2009 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Lexus RX350 with enough data (70 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.
2009 lexus rx 350. Attorney representing consumer writes in regards to air bag malfunction. *smd the consumer was sitting at a red light when another vehicle was pushed into the side of her vehicle. According to a letter from toyota, the impact was directed at the left front door, which was a more yielding portion of the vehicle. The b-pillar was not impacted and deployment was not warranted.
Lexus rx 350 back door does not remain up when there is snow on the roof or snow on the door. It goes up automatically via key or dashboard entry or use of rear door opener, but when it gets up and you are unpacking from the rear cargo area, it comes down without warning and twice hit my wife in the head.
Tl* the contact owned a 2009 lexus rx350. The contact was alerted by a neighbor that the rear passengar side tailgate glass was broken. The contact opened the door and the vehicle was wet inside, including contents inside the vehicle. A police report was attached to the door of the vehicle, indicating there was a fire that was put out by the fire department. There were no occupants at the time of the failure.
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 lexus rx 350. The contact was driving at a low speed while driving into a parking space, when the vehicle suddenly accelerated and drove over the curb. She attempted to use the brakes which did not work at first to stop the vehicle. She then depressed the brake pedal with extreme force and shifted into park which stopped the vehicle before it could collide with a plate glass window.
I was driving on the highway, going 65 MPH and straight, and someone flagged me down to let me know that my car was smoking. None of my safety lights had appeared on my dash. I pulled over and saw that the back of my car was completely covered in oil and I had a fast oil leak underneath my car toward the front passenger side. I certainly sprayed oil on the cars behind me on the highway, potentially causing visibility issues for other drivers.