2016 Lexus Rx350 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Service Brakes (6) · Visibility/Wiper (5) · Vehicle Speed Control (5)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Lexus Rx350 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
46 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Air Bags:side/Window 2018-01-31 · campaign 18V085000 · 48,672 vehicles
Defect: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2016 Toyota Prius and Lexus RX 350, RX 350 F Sport, RX 450h F Sport and RX 450h vehicles and 2015-2016 Lexus NX 200T, NX Turbo and NX 300h vehicles. The air bag pressure sensors and/or the acceleration sensors may fail causing the side/curtain shield air bags and/or the front air bags to not deploy in the event of a crash.
Risk: If the air bags fail to deploy in a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the sensors as necessary based on their serial numbers, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin March 12, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are JLA, J0F.
Electronic Stability Control (Esc) 2016-04-07 · campaign 16V198000 · 16,656 vehicles
Defect: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Toyota RAV4 vehicles manufactured October 30, 2015, to February 3, 2016, 2016 Lexus RX350 vehicles manufactured October 26, 2015, to February 8, 2016, and 2016 Lexus ES350 vehicles manufactured September 1, 2015, to February 29, 2016. These vehicles are equipped with an ABS actuator that may have a damaged O-ring which could result in improper brake fluid pressure control during ABS, Traction Control, or Stab
Risk: Insufficient brake fluid pressure may cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake actuator, replacing it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on May 4, 2016, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is G0I, GLC.
Air Bags:knee Bolster 2016-02-01 · campaign 16V053000 · 5,072 vehicles
Defect: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2016 Lexus RX350 and RX450h vehicles manufactured November 16, 2015, to December 23, 2015. Due to an improper weld, the gas needed to inflate the driver's knee air bag may escape from the inflator.
Risk: A defective inflator may increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the knee air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began March 7, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is GLA.
Service bulletins (190)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Equipment:other:owners/Service/Other Manual 2023-05-15 · Bulletin · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
spoc: effective immediately, lexus is issuing a stop sale on part numbers 85212-yzz2l-lx & 85212-yzz2m-lx, which may have a quality concern relating to a missing kit component (mispack). lexus is requesting the return of all dealer inventory of these parts to your facing pdc for credit and inspectio
Back Over Prevention 2023-02-02 · LSB000323 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
tsb: some 2016 ? 2022 model year rx 350 vehicles may exhibit a droning noise from the exhaust system at takeoff or under light acceleration. countermeasure parts are available to reduce the droning noise. follow the repair procedure in this bulletin to address this condition.
Engine And Engine Cooling 2023-02-02 · LSB000318 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
obsolete notice february 02, 2023: this bulletin is now obsolete. please see l-sb-0003-23.
Equipment:other:owners/Service/Other Manual 2022-12-01 · KLG Technical In · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
ti: 19le05 expired december 1, 2022
Equipment:other:owners/Service/Other Manual 2022-12-01 · KLG Dealer Packa · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dp: limited service campaign klg expired december 01, 2022
Equipment:other:owners/Service/Other Manual 2022-12-01 · 19LE05 Technical · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
ti: 19le05 expired december 1, 2022
Showing the 6 most recent of 190 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2021-04-06 · Unknown Or Other · 57,294 mi“knocking sound coming from the engine at ~50k miles. took it to a lexus service center and was informed that the sound was from a failing brake vacuum pump. if not addressed, the failing pump could make braking the vehicle extremely difficult and potentially cause an accident. the 2017 rx350s have a recall for this exact issue but nothing for the 2…”
2021-03-20 · Unknown Or Other · 68,000 mi“i was driving down highway and heard a loud explosion. i was very shaken up. it was a scary experience. i was traveling 220 cross lake bridge and at time could not pull over. i kept hearing crunching noise above me. i opened sunroof inside cover and that's when i noticed the sunroof was shattered and it was what had exploded.…”
2021-02-22 · Wheels · 62,600 mi“kelly edge a/s tires went bald after 6100 miles of light city driving.…”
2021-01-21 · Electrical System · 65,000 mi“rodent damage to the electrical wiring harness of my 2016 lexus rx 350 caused by lexus using a soy base covering on the wires that attract rodents. lexus takes no responsibility for the repair that cost thousands of dollars. not to mention a safety issue. this is a common problem base on all the class action law suits and should led to a recall…”
2020-11-29 · Visibility/Wiper · 23,000 mi“sunroof spontaneously shattered…”
2020-11-09 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 51,701 mi“the vehicle was stalling and sputtering after driving less than 0.1 mile on a city street. after contacting the lexus dealership regarding the issue, we had the vehicle towed into the lexus dealership. after running a diagnostic check, they determined the fuel pump needed to be replaced. the vehicle has 51,701 miles on it. the towing charge was $10…”
2020-09-23 · Vehicle Speed Control“i reported the speedometer issue to lexus chantilly, va when i drove on highway from va to in, the lexus speedometer shows 83, and my waze shows 75. its 8 mph difference. i also have noticed of the mph difference between 6 to 8 mph. lexus said, i required to pay for the repair, when this speedometer is defected by lexus design. it has do nothi…”
2020-07-28 · Air Bags · 55,000 mi · 💥 crash“a broadside collision causing damage to front left of the car, injury to the driver with force of the collision, air bag didn't deploy. …”
2020-07-19 · Unknown Or Other · 23,685 mi“sunroof spontaneously exploded. i was driving about 45mph on my way to work during a rainstorm around 6:30am on april 23 2020, when i suddenly heard a very loud bang. i looked up to see that my sunroof had burst and there were glass fragments raining on my head. i closed the visor to prevent more glass and precipitation from falling into the veh…”
2020-05-22 · Power Train · 50,000 mi“auto bright head light system deactivates/reactivates indiscriminately, most frequently a few minutes after departing in the morning (still dark). lack of proper bright light control while driving at night greatly reduces visibility making this a safety issue. i have provided video evidence to lexus dealer demonstrating the problem who consulted wi…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.