IllustrationTHE RADIO/CD UNIT WHEN CHANGING STATIONS WILL TURN UNIT OFF AND EJECT A CD FROM THE UNIT. THIS OCCURS INTERMITTENTLY. IN ADDITION THE BACKLIGHT DISPLAY FLASHES ON AND OFF INTERMITTENTLY. DEALER STATES THAT NO PROBLEM HAS BEEN FOUND WHEN TROUBLESHOOTING. *TR
2009 Lexus RX350
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2009 Lexus RX350 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 29.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all RX350 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
160–25K
1525–50K
2150–75K
1175–100K
11100–150K
1150K+
75 reports with mileage · 22 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Steering. Review the 28 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Structure. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
7 crash reports1 fire reports2 injury reports
What owners actually said
97 reportsTL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 LEXUS RX350. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE AND THE AIR BAG IN THE REAR NEAR THE LIFT GATE DEPLOYED. THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DAMAGED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 31,000.
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 LEXUS RX350. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE AND THE AIR BAG IN THE REAR NEAR THE LIFT GATE DEPLOYED. THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DAMAGED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 31,000.
I WAS DRIVING MY 2009 LEXUS RX 350 AT ABOUT 25 MILES PER HOUR WHEN IT SUDDENLY RAPIDLY ACCELERATED. FORTUNATELY THERE WAS NOTHING/NO CAR IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT OF ME. I PRESSED DOWN ON THE BRAKES AND THE CAR RESPONDED BY SLOWING DOWN. I HAVE REPORTED THE INCIDENT TO LEXUS AND WILL HAVE THE DEALER INSPECT THE CAR AS SOON AS POSS…
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I WAS DRIVING MY 2009 LEXUS RX 350 AT ABOUT 25 MILES PER HOUR WHEN IT SUDDENLY RAPIDLY ACCELERATED. FORTUNATELY THERE WAS NOTHING/NO CAR IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT OF ME. I PRESSED DOWN ON THE BRAKES AND THE CAR RESPONDED BY SLOWING DOWN. I HAVE REPORTED THE INCIDENT TO LEXUS AND WILL HAVE THE DEALER INSPECT THE CAR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. (THEY GAVE ME AN APPOINTMENT IN 2 DAYS.) *TR
THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM MAP ICON DOES NOT MATCH ACTUAL LOCATION OF VEHICLLE AS THE MAP IS OF A DIFFERENT AREA AND OFTEN ICON IS NOT ON A ROAD.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 LEXUS RX350. WHILE PULLING INTO AN OFF-STREET PARKING SPACE AT SPEEDS OF LESS THAN 5 MPH, THE VEHICLES ENGINE BEGAN TO SURGE AND THE VEHICLE THEN ABNORMALLY ACCELERATED. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL, HOWEVER THE BRAKES WERE NON-RESPONSIVE. THE VEHICLE THEN CRASHED HEAD ON INTO A ST…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 LEXUS RX350. WHILE PULLING INTO AN OFF-STREET PARKING SPACE AT SPEEDS OF LESS THAN 5 MPH, THE VEHICLES ENGINE BEGAN TO SURGE AND THE VEHICLE THEN ABNORMALLY ACCELERATED. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL, HOWEVER THE BRAKES WERE NON-RESPONSIVE. THE VEHICLE THEN CRASHED HEAD ON INTO A STONE WALL. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO BE DRIVEN FROM THE CRASH SITE. SHE THEN DROVE TO HER LOCAL DEALER. THE DEALER DID A SHORT VISUAL INSPECTION AND STATED THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE AND THAT DRIVER ERROR WAS THE CAUSE OF THE CRASH. A DIAGNOSTIC WAS NOT PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE. REPAIRS TO THE VEHICLE WERE MADE. THERE WERE NO ADDITIONAL FAILURES FOLLOWING THE REPAIRS. SHE STATED THAT FOLLOWING THE REPAIRS, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL FELT HIGHER AND AS IF THERE WERE MODIFICATIONS DONE ON THE VEHICLE, HOWEVER SHE COULD NOT PROVE WHAT REPAIRS WERE DONE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 4,500 AND THE CURRENT WAS APPROXIMATELY 7,500. UPDATED 4/28/10 *CN UPDATED 07/01/10.*JB
LEXUS RX 350-2009. WHEN THERE IS SNOW ON THE REAR HATCH, IF YOU OPEN THE HATCH WITH THE KEY WHEN IT REACHES THE TOP IT COMES DOWN, HITTING ANYONE TRYING TO PUT SOMETHING IN THE HATCH OR TAKE SOMETHING OUT. THIS HAPPENED TO ME TONIGHT. THE SECOND DEFECT IS THAT WHEN THE DOOR HITS SOMETHING, LIKE MY HEAD, IT AUTOMATICALLY DOESN…
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LEXUS RX 350-2009. WHEN THERE IS SNOW ON THE REAR HATCH, IF YOU OPEN THE HATCH WITH THE KEY WHEN IT REACHES THE TOP IT COMES DOWN, HITTING ANYONE TRYING TO PUT SOMETHING IN THE HATCH OR TAKE SOMETHING OUT. THIS HAPPENED TO ME TONIGHT. THE SECOND DEFECT IS THAT WHEN THE DOOR HITS SOMETHING, LIKE MY HEAD, IT AUTOMATICALLY DOESN'T STOP AND GO UP, THEREBY REDUCING THE BLOW, IT KEEPS COMING DOWN. *TR
I OWN A 2009 LEXUS RX 350. WHEN I AM DRIVING ON A BUMPY ROAD AND APPLY THE BRAKES THE CAR WILL NOT STOP. THEY ACT LIKE YOU ARE GOING INTO A SKID. SHORTLY AFTER PURCHASING THE CAR I REPORTED THE PROBLEM TO LEXUS. THEY KEEP ASSURING ME THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. I HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO AVOID SEVERAL NEAR S…
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I OWN A 2009 LEXUS RX 350. WHEN I AM DRIVING ON A BUMPY ROAD AND APPLY THE BRAKES THE CAR WILL NOT STOP. THEY ACT LIKE YOU ARE GOING INTO A SKID. SHORTLY AFTER PURCHASING THE CAR I REPORTED THE PROBLEM TO LEXUS. THEY KEEP ASSURING ME THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. I HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO AVOID SEVERAL NEAR SERIOUS ACCIDENTS . I HAVE HAD TO JUMP CURBS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. I HAVE ROLLED INTO THE MIDDLE OF INTERSECTIONS WITH CARS COMING AT ME IN ALL DIRECTIONS*TR
SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK THE ENGINE IDLES FAST ON START UP AND LASTS FOR ABOUT FIVE MINUTES. IT DOES NOT SEEM TO BE RELATED TO THE WEATHER AND THERE SEEMS TO BE NO IDENTIFYING FACTOR WITH WHICH IT CAN BE ASSOCIATED. *TR
LEXUS RX 350 BACK DOOR DOES NOT REMAIN UP WHEN THERE IS SNOW ON THE ROOF OR SNOW ON THE DOOR. IT GOES UP AUTOMATICALLY VIA KEY OR DASHBOARD ENTRY OR USE OF REAR DOOR OPENER, BUT WHEN IT GETS UP AND YOU ARE UNPACKING FROM THE REAR CARGO AREA, IT COMES DOWN WITHOUT WARNING AND TWICE HIT MY WIFE IN THE HEAD. *TR
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.