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Lexus · NHTSA safety record

2021 Lexus RX

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 70 safety complaints about the 2021 Lexus RX with the US government. Of those, 9 describe a crash, 9 people were injured and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the air bags.

The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 47 complaints, 67% of the total.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers August 2021 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

70 complaints on file

70

Complaints

9

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

9

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

Complaints halved year on year: 12 in the twelve months to 2026-Q2, against 39 in the twelve before.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
AIR BAGS 47 · 67%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 7 · 10%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 4 · 6%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 4 · 6%
SEAT BELTS 4 · 6%
SERVICE BRAKES 4 · 6%
STRUCTURE 4 · 6%
ENGINE 2 · 3%
TIRES 2 · 3%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 1 · 1%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 1%
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 · 1%
0 19 38

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 70.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2024 at 30.

32 24 16 8
21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2021 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2021 Lexus RX. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION

23V865000 · December 20, 2023

The defect
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Corolla, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus ES350, Lexus RX350, Lexus RX450H, 2021 Sienna Hybrid, Lexus ES250, 2020-2022 Camry, Camry Hybrid, and ES300H vehicles. A short circuit may develop in the Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensor, preventing the front passenger air bag from deploying.
The risk
An air bag that does not deploy during a crash increases the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect and replace the sensor as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed in February 2024. Some final remedy owner letters were mailed October 31, 2024. Letters will continue to be mailed in phases through January 2026. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TB15/23TA15 Lexus 23LB03/23LA03.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing · up to 999,901 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

SEAT BELTS

2 injured · crash · towed

I was involved in a single car accident in which the vehicle went off of the road hit an embankment and the vehicle bounced. The front drivers side hip and shoulder seat belt did not engage, and sustained a compression fracture to the vertebrae. The passenger front seat belt at the hip did engage with the sudden stop but the shoulder harness did not engage. The back seat passenger seat belt did fully engage and resulted in seat belt markings to the right shoulder and clavicle area of the passenger requiring evaluation at the Emergency Department. The rear seat passenger did have the Live 360 app and the mobile app did respond to the sudden stop and alerted the passenger if 911 was needed.

NHTSA complaint 11478762. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEAT BELTS

2 injured · crash · towed

Motor Vehicle accident with damage to vehicle front end and drivers side quarter panel. Vehicle was not drivable and required towing service at the scene. Front seat belts of the vehicle failed to engage resulting in the driver being bounced up in the seat and then down resulting in a serious compression fracture of the vertebrae of the spine. An inspection was completed of the vehicle by a third party and reported to the Toyota Claims department on August 19, 2022. Toyota did respond with notification related to the results of the inspections to include: "The seatbelts were found to be operational. The front drivers' and passengers' seatbelt ELR (Emergency Locking Retractor) were tested

NHTSA complaint 11487212, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed

I was driving on the freeway in Stockton California and I entered into a connecting on-ramp curve going about 30mph and a lady hit me from behind on the passenger side going 65mph as she was trying to change lanes to get behind me and my car instantly speeded up spinning out of control Into a gully filled with stored freeway construction materials such as poles . The car kept spinning out of control because the ground was mud-slush from the rains. I kept construction poles came into my windshield, I kept spinning and sliding as I slammed into 2 trees and as the car sustained severe damage all over the vehicle and I kept slidding landing over in a second gully on the opposite side of the

NHTSA complaint 11596466, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEATS

1 injured · crash · towed · 24,000 miles

The contact owned a 2021 Lexus RX350. The contact stated that while his wife was stopped at a red light, the vehicle was rear-ended by another vehicle traveling around 65 MPH. During the collision, the driver's side seat reclining mechanism failed to hold the seat in an upright position, allowing the seat to fall backward, resulting in the driver sustaining injuries that the contact attributed to the failure. The air bags did deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by the contact's insurance provider. A police report was filed and injuries were reported. The contact's wife was transported to an area hospital by EMT and treated

NHTSA complaint 11622772, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
Electronic Parking Brake (EPB), 12V Battery/Electrical System. My vehicle's 12V battery failed, with the dealership measuring voltage below 10V during the event. This caused multiple simultaneous module malfunctions (confirmed by the dealer as caused by the battery failure), including a complete inability to move the vehicle after jump-starting on three separate attempts — the engine ran, but the vehicle would not drive despite a functioning alternator. The vehicle's steering wheel also locked, preventing the car from being pushed to a safe location. Approximately 3 months after this event, a routine service visit revealed the rear brake pads had worn from 8mm (measured at time of purchase)

NHTSA complaint 11767292, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2021 Lexus RX 350. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA complaint 11706097. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

76,000 miles

The contact owns a 2021 Lexus RX 350. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the air bag malfunction warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the SRS alert message was displayed. The passenger’s side seat belt warning light was illuminated for two minutes. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags). The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the repair was not available until January 2026 for the West Coast. The dealer informed the contact about a possible diagnostic test. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer declined to accept a Trade-In due to the recall. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed

NHTSA complaint 11704288, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
The contact owns a 2021 Lexus RX-450H. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (AIR BAGS); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that whenever a handbag was placed on the front passenger’s seat, the air bag warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA complaint 11703968. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES:TREAD/BELT
The tire (Bridgestone Ecopia 422 Plus 235/55R 20 102V M+S) failed within seconds while driving on the highway at 70 MPH. Luckily I did not lose control and was able to steer the car from the middle lane to the birm thanks to the semi driver on my right who allowed us to get off the road quickly. There was almost no rubber remaining on the rim and the tire pressure sensor was gone. The tow truck driver and NTB tire technician said the tire appeared to have failed due to delamination of the steel belt. Subsequent searches on the internet seem to support belt failure as the cause of the rapid loss of the tire. Walmart has refunded the cost of the failed tire. Bridestone is being less than

NHTSA complaint 11703747, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
When can I expect to get my recalled Lexus fixed,? All i can find is that they have no remedy, so the dealer cant replace the faulty occupant air bag sensor, NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID: 23V865000 Report Date: DEC 19, 2023 Vehicles Affected: 999901

NHTSA complaint 11702885. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Lexus RX

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 9 3 —
2025 20 4 —
2024 57 4 —
2023 62 3 —
2020 46 1 —
2019 34 1 —
2017 47 0 —
2010 77 0 —

Other 2021 Lexus models

ES 28

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Lexus on this site — 91 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst