There are 1 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2000 Lexus RXin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
AFTER $3000+ IN REPAIRS FOR THE MAIN SEALS LEAKING, THE REAR SEALS LEAKING, TIMING BELT REPLACEMENT, AND ALL OTHER BELTS REPLACED, MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARED, AND I BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALERSHIP. THEY LATER INFORMED ME THAT MY ENGINE IS BEING REPLACED. THEY MADE NO MENTION OF THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, DUE TO ENGINE SLUDGE BUILD-UP, THAT PROMPTED THE REPLACEMENT, BUT I SOON RECEIVED A LETTER REGARDING IT, AND ALL THE LEXUS AND TOYOTA MODELS AFFECTED. I COMPLAINED ABOUT THE $3000 CHARGE, BUT GOT NO SATISFACTION FROM THE DEALERSHIP, BUT ONLY THE EXPLANATION, "WE HAD NO WAY OF KNOWING THAT THE ENGINE WAS GOING TO DEVELOP 'SLUDGE'." NOW, WITH LESS THAN 1000 MILES ON THE NEW ENGINE MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON AGAIN, THE CAR IS MAKING AWFUL NOISES UNDER THE DASH LIKE A SPEAKER IS BLOWN, AND THE TRANSMISSION SEEMS TO NOT EVER GET INTO FIRST GEAR. I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP IN AUSTIN, TX., AND THEY INFORM ME THAT I NEED A $5000 TRANSMISSION AND FUSE BOX. A FUSE BOX. EXCELLENT. I AM HOPING FOR A RECALL OR ANOTHER CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AFTER RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM ON-LINE, AND SEEING THE MULTITUDES OF PEOPLE COMPLAINING OF RX300 TRANSMISSIONS FAILING AT RELATIVELY LOW MILEAGE. *JB
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 25, 2026