There are 12 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2011 Lexus RXin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I made a 6-mile trip from my garage and back (12 miles total). The next day, my neighbor asked me to come outside to inspect my driveway where I found a trailing stream of oil. The oil leak was substantial enough to visibly observe an unbroken ribbon of oil spanning the entire length of the asphalt street leading to my driveway and a large pool of oil where I waited momentarily for the garage door to open. Needless to say, I then discovered a large pool of oil under the front of the engine on the passenger side. It was the lower oil cooling line. No warning signal appeared reflecting the leak or low oil pressure. I remembered receiving a letter from LEXUS Corporate stating that this was a known defective part and could be repaired at the dealer at no cost to me. However, the caveat was that the age of the car could not exceed 10 years and the mileage 150,000. My mileage was only 106,400, but the car age exceeded the 10 year limit. Did LEXUS think that the defective part would magically heal itself after 10 years? Why put a limit? LEXUS would NOT assist me in any way, so I had the repair completed at an independent shop. I only repaired one side and now fear the other side will go out and the leak will not be discovered in time before blowing up the engine. I'm white-knuckle driving in a car I used to love. I'm extremely disappointed in the lack of "good-will" provided by LEXUS for a known defective part (a rubber hose, replaced with a metal one) because they would not stand behind their product. Loyalty is a delicate trait, and they have lost mine.
My 2011 Lexus RX350 was running fine as I ran errands for groceries and other items around town one day. Then, out of the blue, I realized that after returning home and parking in my garage, there was a trail of oil in my driveway, leading to my vehicle. I looked under the engine area and noticed a pool of oil. I had a certified mobile mechanic come to my home and provide a diagnosis. This diagnosis was that a hole had formed in the rubber Engine Oil Cooler Line, and drained nearly all the oil in my engine. He mentioned that one more mile and I could have had total engine failure. He proceeded to replace it with a new Genuine Lexus, all metal Oil Cooler Line. I contacted Lexus about this incident, but they provided no compensation for this occurrence, even though there was a short 4-year technical service bulletin they issued barely a year after production, that called out this was indeed a flaw in their design. After doing some research, I see this is a VERY common issue, with many in the past most recent years having this very issue. Yet, Lexus has not recalled this, nor reimbursed those that have suffered from this manufacture defect. I am really hoping that something can be done by NHTSA and/or Lexus to resolve this issue that I am certain is still plaguing thousands of Lexus owners on the road, and putting our and those around us' safety at risk. Surely, a part that obviously and very consistently degrades over the course of 5+ years so often, needs to be addressed and recalled for the sake of safety and integrity.
Oil cooler line ruptured while driving. Lexus issued an extended warranty to 12/31/2016 on the Oil Cooler Line. Lexus sent an advisory letter to owners of record several months prior to our purchase. Our dealer: Rohrich Lexus, did not inform us of the problem when purchased 09/2014. Nor did they address the problem when they serviced the vehicle in 08/16, an oil change. Now we have $500 plus in repair costs for the Oil Cooler Line replacement which could have been avoided if Rohrich Service Department had advised us of the Extended Warranty that covered our vehicle. THE OIL COOLER LINE WAS RUBBER AND THE FIX WAS A METAL LINE.
I have never had any issues with the oil and this car has had all of its oil changes on time and regular. Last evening I was driving home and the low oil pressure light came on. Within moments I started hearing a knocking Noise. I parked the car cause I was at home at that time and I checked the next morning and there is no oil in the car now. There's oil all underneath the undercarriage. I looked online and found a story of another guy this happened to and it ended up being an oil cooler pipe. I guess these are rubber and there's a recall warranty notice on these. My car has not been driven since I parked it. Please advise. Car is included in this warranty recall.
Something had broken causing oil draining out of the car while driving on the highway. The car lost power and I pulled over immediately and shut off the engine. I opened the hood and saw nothing wrong, however when I checked the oil, there was no oil. I then proceeded to look under the car and there was oil all over the under carriage. I then did a walk around and found oil all over the back side. Me and my family were stranded while we waited for a tow truck. We had the tow truck take the RX350 to the local Lexus (Kuni in Denver) dealership where this car has been serviced all its life. When I received the initial call from the service department, He had said he is 99% sure this is the oil cooler pipe. He then said this is a known defect in the design of this part. When I googled "RX350 oil cooler pipe" numerous complaints came back. The initial design is rubber and now they installed one that is metal. This could have been fatal if we had traffic near us. Also this could have major damage to the engine. This should have been recalled however Lexus decided not to and just call it a warranty notice. Even with all the information out there about this highly defective part, the dealership would not cover the cost and told us to directly deal with Lexus. If anyone is reading this, and you have not change out this part, I would get this done! It is not an if this will happen, it is when it will happen. The design of this pipe is elementary and will fail. I thought Lexus being a luxury manufacturer would take more care with their customers! But as you can see, they are not.
MY 2011 LEXUS RX 350 HAS A FRONT TIMING COVER LEAK. TO FIX THE FRONT TIMING COVER LEAK, THE DEALERSHIP HAS AN ESTIMATED PRICE OF $4,000.00. IN ORDER TO REPLACE A GASKET ON THE TIMING COVER, MANY ACCESSORIES AND PARTS NEEDS TO BE REMOVED. I THINK IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE IF THE ENGINE IS LOSING OIL AND IT STOPS RUNNING. I ALSO BELIEVE THAT IT IS A POOR ENGINEERING DESIGN, OR A MANUFACTURER ERROR. IN ORDER TO REPLACE A SIMPLE GASKET, IT REQUIRES MONUMENTAL EFFORT AND EXPENSE. THERE ARE MANY OTHER GASKETS IN THE CAR ENGINE THAT ARE EASILY ACCESSIBLE AND LASTS MUCH LONGER.
OUR 2011 LEXUS RX 350 OIL COOLER LINE FAILED CAUSING ENGINE DAMAGE. A FAMILY MEMBER WAS DRIVING AND THE LOSS OF MOTOR OIL COULD HAVE LOCKED THE ENGINE AND CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. LEXUS IS WILLING TO PAY FOR THE PART, BUT NOT REPAIR THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE FAILED OIL COOLER LINE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 LEXUS RX350. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, NOTICED SMOKE EMERGING FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. THE POLICE WAS ALSO PRESENT. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN IMPOUND LOT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND A THIRD PARTY COMPANY EVALUATED IT, THEY DIAGNOSTIC WAS UNKNOWN CAUSE FOR THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 129,000.
MY 2011 LEXUS RX350 HAS RUBBER OIL COOLER HOSE AND LEXUS USA WILL NOT REPLACE THE PRESSURIZED RUBBER HOSE DESPITE KNOWN INCIDENTS OF CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF THE PART. ON SOME RX350 MODELS, LEXUS HAS AN EXTENDED WARRANTY AND REPLACEMENT IN CASE THE PART IS LEAKING OIL, BUT I WAS TOLD BY LEXUS THAT MY PARTICULAR VIN IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. BUT EVEN IF I HAD THE WARRANTY, LEXUS WILL NOT PREEMPTIVELY REPLACE THE PART, DESPITE 1) SAFETY CONCERN OF FAILURE ON HIGHWAY AT HIGH SPEEDS AND FIRE HAZARD RISK, 2) POTENTIAL CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE AS THE LINE WOULD RUPTURE AND ALL OIL WOULD BE LOST WITHIN SECONDS AND ENGINE WOULD SEIZE AND 3) POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE OF LOSS 6.4 QUARTS OF OIL OVER ROADWAYS. PLEASE CONSIDER ADVISING LEXUS TO DO A SAFETY RECALL ON ALL RUBBER OIL COOLER HOSE PARTS. THANK YOU.
SOME HOW THE OIL WAS LEAKING ,I DON T KNOW WHY?LUCKY ME I WAS AT HOME DOING THE YARD WORK WHEN I SAW THIS MASSIVE OIL LEAKING ON MY DRIVE WAY
I EXPERIENCED A SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION (SUA) IN THE PARKING LOT OF MY APARTMENT ON MARCH 3RD, 2012. IT WAS A SUNNY DAY, AND THE ROAD CONDITION WAS GOOD. MY WIFE WAS DRIVING LEXUS RX 350 2011 MODEL (MILEAGE: 2124MILES). MY DAUGHTER AND I WERE SITTING ON THE BACK SEATS. SHE WAS SLOWING DOWN THE VEHICLE FOR PARKING AND ABOUT TO FINALIZE THE PARKING BY GOING FORWARD BY ABOUT 3 FEET. AT THAT TIME, THE VEHICLE ABRUPTLY ACCELERATED WITH THE SOUND OF REVVING UP THE ENGINE. THE CAR RAN OVER A PARKING BLOCK AND WENT ON CURB STONES. BY HELP OF THE BRAKE OVERRIDE SYSTEM EQUIPPED AFTER THE RECENT TOYOTA'S RECALLS, SHE COULD STOP THE VEHICLE QUICKLY BECAUSE HER FOOT WAS ALREADY ON THE BRAKE PEDAL. WE ALL WERE SURPRISED AT THIS RARE SITUATION, BUT FORTUNATELY THERE WERE NO ACCIDENTS OR INJURIES. WE REPORTED THIS EXPERIENCE TO A CLOSE LEXUS DEALERSHIP. TWO LEXUS ENGINEERS INSPECTED THE VEHICLE, INCLUDING 10-MILE TEST DRIVING. HOWEVER, THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY MECHANICAL PROBLEMS. THEY COULD NOT RE-ENACT THE SAME SITUATION, NEITHER. AT THIS INSPECTION, THEY DID NOT CHECK OUT THE EVENT DATA RECORDER, AS WELL AS ANY ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS LIKE ETCS. ACCORDING TO THE INSPECTION RESULT, LEXUS DIRECTED ME TO KEEP DRIVING THIS VEHICLE WITH MY OWN RISK. THIS IS NOT RELATED TO THE FLOOR MAT INTERFERENCE PROBLEM THAT LED TO THE MASSIVE RECALL IN 2009. SO, I THINK THE CURRENT LEXUS USERS, AS WELL AS POTENTIAL CONSUMERS, SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY THAT THEY CAN EXPERIENCE THE SIMILAR UNINTENDED ACCELERATION WHILE DRIVING OR PARKING. *KB
I HAVE A 2011 LEXUS GX 460. IT LACKS POWER WHEN IT IS COLD AND THERE IS EXHAUST FUMES THAT ARE COMING INTO THE VEHICLE AFTER I MERGE ON T THE HIGHWAY IT IS ALMOST A INSTANT HEADACHE THE SMELL IS SO STRONG ITS SMELLS LIKE SULFUR THERE IS NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND GAS MILEAGE NOT NORMAL . I HAVE USED HIGH OCTANE FUEL AND EVEN INSTALLED BG44K FUEL CONDITIONER .THIS IS A PROBLEM .THANKS FOR LISTEN TO ME . *TR
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