There are 3 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2024 Lexus GXin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Rough idle
NEW 2024 GX550, less than 2 months and 3,000 miles of ownership- accelerating to 40 mph and vehicle completely shut off, jolting me forward. All lights on dash lit up, "power steering failure, engine failure, not safe to drive." It was all I could do to get it off to the shoulder of the road. Extremely dangerous. Had vehicle towed to local Lexus dealer. After 2 weeks master tech determined timing chain snapped causing catastrophic engine failure. Now we wait for Lexus corporate to advise them on how to fix. Both dealer and corporate blaming each other for the lack of communication. Vehicle has been sitting in dealer parking lot for 3 weeks with no timeline and no communication. I was told by head service tech this is #5 in the country for this year, make, and model of timing chain snap resulting in engine failure. Neither parties are doing anything to make it right. This is an $85,000 vehicle.
Driving to work, the engine became completely disabled which required emergency maneuvering to leave the roadway which had heavy traffic. Received dashboard messages stating the engine malfunctioned and needed to be taken to the dealer immediately. This was a very dangerous situation as the vehicle immediately lost all motive power when the engine stopped working. Dealer diagnosed the issue as related to the timing belt guide, where a part broke causing the engine timing to get out of sync. This ultimately damaged the valves and head in the engine which required replacement. There were no prior signs that an issue was about to happen, it was very much a surprise. The vehicle repair took almost a full month to complete.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026