There are 4 owner-reported body & structure complaints for the 2021 Lexus RXin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I was at the gas station, in line waiting for one of the three gas pumps to be available. I put my car in reverse to back up and pull around another car in order to go to the open pump in front. When my car was in reverse motion, I stepped on the brake pedal, but the car did not stop. I stepped on the brake pedal numerous times, but the brake did not function. My car backed into the front of the car in line behind me damaging both vehicles. The automatic emergency braking system did not activate, and there was no rear collision warning sound or message. I switched my car from Reverse into Park to stop its movement, but it was too late to avoid the collision. I had a passenger in my car who corroborates this description. Fortunately there were no pedestrians behind my car, so the only damage was to the vehicles. My vehicle has not been inspected by anyone since the accident, but will be soon. I have owned this car since April 2021 and previously had a few similar situations when moving in the forward direction. Previously, the brake problem occurred while moving forward at very low speed pulling into parking places. The brake failed to activate, and I had to throw the car into Park to stop it, but this was the first time I had experienced this problem traveling in reverse. When this situation occurs, I am pressing on the brake pedal, but the car is not stopping and the brake pedal seems to go to the floor. On March 5, 2025 I took the car to a Lexus dealer and reported the brake failure problems. They inspected, road tested, and checked for codes, but could not identify the problem. I believe that the collision back up system should have prevented this accident, but it did not function. I suspect that there may be some kind of computer issue that prevents the brake from actuating. The car will be going in for repair soon, and I have requested that a complete diagnostic review be performed of this brake problem.
On the Saturday (12/21) before Christmas, my hatch door wouldn’t open with the key fob, push button in the vehicle or push button on the door. And the foot under the bumper opener has never worked for me. Anyways, because I couldn’t get my door to open, I ended up loading my groceries in the back seat. When I got home, it still wouldn’t work with the key fob or other buttons. One family member who tried to help me, pushed the door button and it suddenly opened after all the many attempts before. But then it wouldn’t close back. Just like at the store, it made that beeping sound but that it makes when it’s closing or opening, but it wasn’t closing. The next day on Sunday (12/22) I wouldn’t use it because I was afraid if it opened, it wouldn’t close back. The way we were able to get the door to close, was at least I thought it helped, I kept pushing the key fob and the door would allow my family member to manually push the door down a little at a time until it closed. When the door closed completely, we could hear it automatically lock like always. I had a few more Christmas shopping errands and had to leave home again. I got in the car in my driveway and I shut the door and put the car in reverse and suddenly a loud pop and my entire back window shattered completely over into a trillion little pieces. I couldn’t believe it. I’m taking it into the Park Place Lexus dealership in the morning (12/27th) to see if the malfunctioning door is what caused my window to break. I can’t afford to keep replacing the back window over and over if the door is the issue. We taped the back window over so it wouldn’t rain into my vehicle. When we tried to open the door again, it wouldn’t work. So, I had to crawl through broken glass to cover my back window. Terrible experience. I’ve attached photos. On the left and right side of the windows, notice there are two strange holes there. The large hole is I assume where it popped at. My car is under warranty. I hope the dealership covers it
The drain system failed to properly route water out of the car after heavy rain and an automatic car wash in two separate incidents. The water would leak through the sunroof along the edges and leak down into the passenger side compartment and land on the floor mats.
I WAS DRIVING HOME ON US HIGHWAY 82 AND MY DRIVER SIDE DOOR OPENED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. I KNOW THE DOOR WAS COMPLETELY CLOSED BEFORE I BEGAN DRIVING. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS OR AUDIBLE ALARMS UNTIL THE DOOR AUTOMATICALLY OPENED WHILE I WAS DRIVING.
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