2001 Lexus Rx300 Recalls

No recalls on record Updated July 2026

No NHTSA recalls on record for the 2001 Lexus Rx300. That means NHTSA has no open safety campaign for this vehicle — it does not guarantee the absence of problems. Owners have filed 189 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the power train. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Complaints by component

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
87
POWER TRAIN
35
1crashes
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
16
6crashes7injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
7
AIR BAGS
6
5crashes6injuries
ENGINE
4
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
4
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
4
1crashes1injuries
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
2
2crashes
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
2
Total complaints189

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“The vehicle was started and in park in a flat lot. When I shifted to reverse, it did not engage/roll back. As I applied pressure to the accelerator nothing happened until a it suddenly clunked and lurched back. I put it back in park and then it repeated the same synptom. The transmission has now…”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2019-03-10

“My transmission is not shifting smoothly between gears. This happened about 7 years ago and I had to have the transmission replaced. Now it is happening again.”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2018-09-16

“Vehicle has 133,890 miles on it, vehicle has been serviced every 5000 miles, according to the vehicle history and owners manual. We had transmission failure 100 miles from home. Pulled over to the side of the I-90 , had to wait 2 hours for a flatbed on the side of the highway. Mass state police…”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2016-07-04

“While driving the car on city streets I attempted a u turn with the vehicle as I was completing the u turn the transmission made a weird noise and then there was nothing. No forward or reverse and when I put the vehicle in park it acted like it was in neutral. I had to put the emergency brake on…”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2016-05-24

“Tl* the contact owned a 2001 lexus rx300. While driving 35 mph, the vehicle accelerated when the brake pedal was depressed. The vehicle crashed into a tree and the air bags failed to deploy. The driver sustained a broken breast bone (sternum) and head injuries that required medical attention. The…”

AIR BAGS · reported 2015-12-31

“Tl* the contact owns a 2001 lexus rx300. The contact stated that the reverse gear was no longer operable in the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was…”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2015-10-05

“The transmission has been damage no power , no gears are engage total failure, the vehicle has in motion at highway speed.”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2015-10-01

“Transmission failure: started to make noise couple of days ago and finally failed while on the road. Engine is running good, but no gear engagement. All drive train position seems like the car is in natural. Excessive transmission failures was reported by other rx300 owners. Cost to service…”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2015-09-02
Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2001 Lexus Rx300 as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.