NHTSA has received 71 owner complaints about the 2021 Lexus RX, or 12.3 per year on the road — far fewer complaints than typical (complaint index 0.30, where 1.00 is the average of all tracked vehicles). Among the 85 model-year 2021 vehicles we track, it ranks #26 of 85 by complaints per year (#1 = fewest). Against other Lexus models its rate is 65% higher; against other Luxury SUVs it is 13% lower.
Counts are normalized by time on the road, not by sales volume: a popular model generates more reports than a rare one, and complaints are not verified individually. How we count
Complaints filed between 2020-12-13 and 2026-09-27. Median delay from incident to filing: 3 days.
71Complaints
12.3Complaints per year on the road
0.3Complaint index vs. all tracked vehicles
1Recalls
12.7%Share involving a crash or fire
7Last 12 months
Analysis
The previous model year (2020) drew 8.1 complaints per year, fewer than this one. The following model year (2022) drew 8.1 per year, fewer than this one. In its first two years on the road the 2021 model collected 8 complaints, 87% lower than the average vehicle of the same model year.
The most common problem area is Airbags & seat belts (69.0% of complaints), followed by Body & structure (7.0%) and Electrical (5.6%). Airbags & seat belts complaints are 18.2 times as common here as across all tracked vehicles. 9 reports (12.7%) describe a crash or fire; owners mention 9 injuries and 0 deaths.
Half of the reported incidents happened within 44 months of the model year's start; the busiest period was years three to five (62% of incidents). In the last 12 months 7 new complaints were filed, versus 41 in the 12 months before — down 83%.
NHTSA lists 1 safety recall for this model year. 1 NHTSA investigation covers this model year; the most recent is “Pedestrian alert sounds” (defect petition, opened 2023-01-27, closed 2023-08-07).
Complaint index
vs. all tracked vehicles0.3
vs. other Lexus models1.65
vs. other 2021 models0.32
vs. other Luxury SUVs0.87
Complaints in first 2 years on the road · vs. same-year average (8)0.13
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.
Brakes · 2025-09-03 · ODI 11684842 · Crash
Hit a deer that impacted the passenger side of the vehicle. Passenger seat was occupied, and door had to be pried open by tow truck driver to get passenger out. Entire right side, from the "L" logo to the front fender was destroyed.
Electronic Parking Brake (EPB), 12V Battery/Electrical System. My vehicle's 12V battery failed, with the dealership measuring voltage below 10V during the event.
Electrical · 2026-09-27 · ODI 11767292
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.
Airbags & seat belts · 2025-12-19 · ODI 11706097
The tire (Bridgestone Ecopia 422 Plus 235/55R 20 102V M+S) failed within seconds while driving on the highway at 70 MPH.
Wheels, tires & suspension · 2025-12-08 · ODI 11703747
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION Campaign 23V865000 · 2023-12-20
Summary: 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.
Risk: An air bag that does not deploy during a crash increases the risk of injury.
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.
DP22005 · defect petition · ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM · Opened 2023-01-27 · Closed 2023-08-07 · Campaign 22V063000 · Model years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and ele…
