There are 9 owner-reported body & structure complaints for the 2013 Lexus RXin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2013 Lexus RX350. The contact stated that after closing the liftgate door and reversing out of the car port, the liftgate door erroneously opened and struck the car port causing damage to the liftgate. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The contact stated that recently the liftgate lowered independently. The failure occurred several times while placing items into the back of the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 40,000.
I STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN IN A VERY QUIET RESIDENTIAL AREA SHORTLY AFTER LUNCH TIME. MY CAR HAD BEEN IN MY GARAGE AND THE STOP SIGN WAS A BLOCK AND A HALF FROM MY HOUSE. I TURNED LEFT ONTO A STREET WITH NO TRAFFIC AND I DID NOT SEE ANYONE OUTSIDE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. JUST A FEW SECONDS AFTER I TURNED I WAS DRIVING ABOUT 15 MILES AN HOUR WHEN I HEARD A VERY LOUD NOISE THAT SOUNDED LIKE A GUNSHOT. MY RIGHT SIDE VIEW MIRROR HAD EXPLODED! THE MIRROR ITSELF HAD BEEN BLOWN OUT OF THE MIRROR CASING AND IT WAS DANGLING BY A WIRE. THE HARD CLEAR PLASTIC COVERING OVER THE LIGHTS ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE MIRROR CASING WAS CRACKED IN SEVERAL PLACES. THERE WAS NO OTHER VISIBLE DAMAGE ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE MIRROR CASING. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT CAUSED THE EXPLOSION. I TAPED THE MIRROR BACK INSIDE THE MIRROR CASING AND TOOK MY CAR TO THE REPAIR SHOP. THEY HAVE ORDERED A NEW MIRROR FOR ME BUT IT HASN'T BEEN RECEIVED YET. I CHECKED AND THERE HAVE BEEN NO RECALLS FOR THIS PROBLEM YET. IT COULD HAVE BEEN VERY DANGEROUS IF SOMEONE HAD BEEN STANDING BESIDE MY CAR WHEN THIS HAPPENED. ALSO, IF I HAD BEEN DRIVING FASTER I MIGHT HAVE LOST CONTROL OF MY CAR WHEN I WAS STARTLED BY THE VERY LOUD EXPLOSION THAT SOUNDED LIKE A GUNSHOT.
MY LEXUS VEHICLE HAS BEEN HAVING ISSUES WITH ITS LOCKS AND TRUNK. SOMETIMES THE TRUNK CANNOT BE OPENED AT ALL EVEN IF I ATTEMPT TO OPEN IT MANUALLY. ALSO, MY DOORS HAVE TO BE MANUALLY LOCKED MOST OF THE TIME. SOMETIMES THE VEHICLE WILL LOCK/UNLOCK USING THE REMOTE. HOWEVER, MOST OF THE TIME I HAVE TO MANUALLY LOCK AND UNLOCK ALL OF THE DOORS. THERE ARE TONS OF VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE ABOUT THIS ISSUE WHICH HAS TO DO WITH THE LOCK ACTUATORS. THERE ARE ALSO A PLETHORA OF FORUMS ON THIS ISSUE AS WELL. MANY INDIVIDUALS HAVE CHOSEN TO NOT REPLACE THE LOCK ACTUATORS THAT EACH INDIVIDUAL DOOR HAS BECAUSE IT IS VERY COSTLY. I HAVE ALSO READ THAT SOMETIMES THE LOCK ACTUATORS WILL HAVE TO BE REPLACED MORE THAN ONCE, THIS IS A COMMON DESIGN FLAW FOR MY CAR AS WELL AS OTHER LEXUS VEHICLES. EVEN NEWER MODEL LEXUS VEHICLES ARE HAVING THIS ISSUE. OBVIOUSLY THIS ISSUE IS A DESIGN FLAW AND DEFECT AND SHOULD BE CLASSIFIED AS A RECALL THAT LEXUS SHOULD BE MANDATED TO FIX. I ALWAYS HAVE TO CHECK WITH MY SON TO ENSURE THAT HE HAS MANUALLY LOCKED HIS DOOR. WE LIVE IN HOUSTON AND IMAGINE HOW NERVOUS I GET WHEN I APPROACH A RED LIGHT WHERE HOMELESS PEOPLE ARE OFTEN BEGGING FOR MONEY. I HAVE TO MAKE SURE MY DOORS ARE LOCKED BECAUSE SOME INDIVIDUALS ARE BOLD ENOUGH TO PULL ON YOUR DOOR HANDLE AND ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN. THIS HOLD TRUE FOR WHEN I AM EXITING THE VEHICLE. I HAVE TO MANUALLY LOCK ALL THE DOORS BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE KNOWN FOR PULLING ON YOUR HANDLES AT NIGHT TO SEE IF THEY CAN GET LUCKY. THE RELIABILITY OF THE LEXUS LOCK ACTUATORS IS A TRUE DESIGN FLAW THAT IS LONG OVERDUE FOR LEXUS TO FIX, I AM ASKING THAT YOU HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR MAKING THIS DESIGN FLAW RIGHT WITH ALL LEXUS CAR OWNERS. *TR
I PURCHASED THIS CAR NEW AND ABOUT 3 YEARS AGO THE AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCKS ON THIS VEHICLE STARTED TO FAIL - FIRST IT STARTED WITH FRONT PASSENGER DOOR AND NOW IN ADDITION TO FRONT PASSENGER DOOR, THE DRIVER DOOR AND THE REAR RIGHT DOOR AUTOMATIC LOCKS TO NOT ENGAGE WHEN I TRY TO LOCK/UNLOCK. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT I NEED TO REPLACE THESE AT A COST OF ~$1,000 FOR EACH DOOR AND THINK THIS IS UNFAIR SINCE THERE ARE NUMEROUS REPORTS OF AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCKS ON THIS MODEL FAILING ONLINE AND IT IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH THE DOOR ACTUATOR FAILING (BUT NOT RECALLED) (SEE LEXUS OWNER SITE AND YOUTUBE - SEARCH "2013 LEXUS RX350 DOOR LOCKS NOT WORKING" ON GOOGLE FOR DETAILS). I AM CURRENTLY MANUALLY LOCKING/UNLOCKING THESE DOORS AND FEEL UNSAFE AND FEEL MY PERSONAL PROPERTY INSIDE THE CAR IS EXPOSED TO THEFT SINCE SOMETIMES I FORGET TO LOCK THESE 3 DOORS MANUALLY WHEN DRIVING ALONE IN VEHICLE. NOTE THE ABOVE OCCURS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY, IN MOTION, ON A CITY STREET/HIGHWAY, AND TURNING.
CPSC:2013 LEXUS RX 350 VACUUMING THE REAR CARGO AREA WHEN THE REAR DOOR AUTOMATICALLY BEGAN TO CLOSE AND IT STARTED TO TRAP ME BETWEEN THE DOOR AND THE FLOOR OF THE CARGO AREA. AFTER PUSHING UP ON THE DOOR WITH ALL MY STRENGTH I WAS ABLE TO SQUEEZE OUT. *BF UPDATED 05/09/2017*JS
ON 3-2-2017, I WAS DRIVING 60-65 MPH IN MY 2013 LEXUS RX ON I-10 GOING WEST IN THE LEFT LANE TOWARD DOWNTOWN HOUSTON. SUDDENLY, I HEARD WHAT WAS A LOUD BANG ON MY ROOF - AND THEN SEVERAL SMALLER BANGS. ALMOST LIKE GUNSHOTS. I NEARLY WRECKED MY CAR BECAUSE IT STARTLED ME SO BADLY. WHAT APPEARED TO BE GLASS WAS FLYING OFF MY ROOF (THIS SOUNDED LIKE SPARKLERS). I COULD SEE IT THROUGH MY REAR VIEW MIRROR. SINCE I COULD NOT GET SAFELY OFF OF I-10, AS THE TRAFFIC WAS HEAVY AND WE WERE ALL GOING THE SPEED LIMIT OR OVER, I DROVE INTO DOWNTOWN HOUSTON, PARKED IN THE PARKING GARAGE AND THEN STEPPED UP ONTO THE CHASSIS TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ROOF. MY ENTIRE SUNROOF WAS SHATTERING AND BOWING. IT WAS CLEAR TO ME THAT IT HAD EXPLODED FOR NO REASON. NOTHING HIT MY ROOF. I NEVER LEAVE MY CAR SITTING IN THE SUN AND IT HAD NOT GIVEN ME ANY PREVIOUS INDICATION OF PROBLEMS.
ON THE GARAGE DRIVEWAY, SUDDENLY MY CAR ACCELERATED IN THE REVERSE GEAR AND COULD NOT BE STOPPED EVEN AFTER PRESSING THE BRAKE. THE CAR COMPLETELY WENT OUT OF CONTROL IN THE REVERSE AND CRASHED INTO MY BACKYARD FENCE, PLOWED THROUGH IT AND FINALLY CAME TO A STOP AFTER HITTING MY RAISED PATIO!
I purchased a 2013 Lexus RX 350 pearl white in color. After about 2 years I noticed spots mainly on the roof and now it is everywhere. The curious thing about the spots are that they are under the clear coat. We had the vehicle checked by a paint professional and we confirmed that it was factory paint. I like to report this issue .
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 LEXUS RX350. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE REAR HATCHBACK DOOR STARTED TO CLOSE AUTOMATICALLY WHILE SHE WAS IN THE REAR AREA, STRIKING THE CONTACT WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT IT TOOK EXTREME FORCE TO MAKE THE DOOR REVERSE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PERFORMING TO STANDARDS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 5,521. *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