2008 Lexus RX

Typical pattern

4.5% of complaints about the 2008 Lexus RX came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2008 vehicle — around the middle of the 262 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 12.8 yr in service. The most-reported system is engine (15 complaints), typically at 12.2 yr or about 114,366 miles.

Complaints: 89
Median age at failure: 12.8 yr
Median mileage: 114,000 n=46
Crash / fire / tow: 14.6% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Engine 193,400 mi 11.9 yr in service crash / fire / tow

OIL COOLER LINE MALFUNCTIONED. MAJOR OIL LEAK, TOWED VEHICLE TO MECHANIC. HOPEFULLY NO ENGINE DAMAGE. THIS WAS REPLACED BY LEXUS DEALER IN 09, THEY USED A RUBBER HOSE ASSEMBLY INSTEAD OF THE NEW METAL PIPE REDESIGN.

Engine 134,852 mi 11.8 yr in service

OIL LEAK WHILE DRIVING - ENGINE OIL COOLING PIPE TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN #L-SB-0154-11 TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN# ZLC TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN # POL14-02

Engine 15 mi 12.1 yr in service

VVT-I RUBBER OIL LINE RUPTURED LEAKING ALL 6 QUARTS OF OIL OUT OF ENGINE, CAUSING CATASTROPHIC ENGINE DAMAGE WHILE DRIVING IN 2008 LEXUS RX350 TOYOTA SHOULD HAVE NEVER PUT A RUBBER HOSE ON AN OIL LINE WITH 80PSI AND THEY SHOULD HAVE ISSUED A RECALL. THE LEXUS DEALER HAS NEVER ADVISED ME OF POTENTIAL PROBLEM. THEY SHOULD HAVE TO REPAIR MY ENGINE. FURIOUS AT TOYOTA FOR CUTTING COSTS!

Service brakes 198,000 mi 13.3 yr in service

WHEN DRIVING I WOULD HAVE ALL THE LIGHTS ON MY DASH COME ON WITH A DINGING SOUND AND WHEN I GO TO PRESS ON MY BRAKES VEHICLE WILL NOT STOP UNLESS I PRESS DOWN HARD ON THE BRAKE THIS IS REALLY DANGEROUS WILL CAUSE A DEADLY CRASH AND TO REPLACE THIS WILL COST 3000 DOLLARS THAT I DO NOT HAVE I REALL BELIEVE RX 400H HAVE A DEFEAT WITH THERE BRAKING SYSTEM.

Other RX model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2008 Lexus RX

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other RX model years

How to read this