Vehicle make

Lexus

14,850 NHTSA complaints and 106 safety recalls across 80 models, every figure pulled straight from federal records.

Complaints
14,850
Recalls
106
Models
80

The verdict

Lexus pairs above-average complaint volume with an above-average recall count.

39th pctile
complaint volume, US makes
46th pctile
recall volume, US makes

How does Lexus compare?

Lexus Plymouth All makes

Average NHTSA crash rating (higher is safer) Beats Plymouth
Lexus 4.64 ★
Plymouth 0 ★
All makes 4.67 ★
Complaints per model (lower is better) Beats Plymouth
Lexus 186
Plymouth 565
All makes 507
Recalls per model (lower is better) Behind Plymouth
Lexus 1.3
Plymouth 0.9
All makes 3.6

Lab-measured rollover risk vs. real-world deaths

Lexus's average NHTSA rollover_risk score (0.137) against its total recorded deaths (5) across all model-years, plotted against 28 other makes. A low lab risk score does not guarantee a low real-world death total, the two metrics diverge across several makes in this dataset.

NHTSA rollover_risk score vs. recorded deaths, Lexus vs. 28 other makes. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 29 entities by Avg. lab rollover risk score (X) and Total recorded deaths (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. High risk, high deathsLow risk, high deathsHigh risk, low deathsLow risk, low deaths 0.10.10.10.20.3 020406080100 Avg. lab rollover risk score Total recorded deaths
NHTSA rollover_risk score vs. recorded deaths, Lexus vs. 28 other makes.

Rollover risk vs deaths table: FORD, 0.154 avg risk, 77 deaths. CHEVROLET, 0.157 avg risk, 60 deaths. HONDA, 0.131 avg risk, 33 deaths. JEEP, 0.209 avg risk, 22 deaths. HYUNDAI, 0.126 avg risk, 27 deaths. KIA, 0.13 avg risk, 79 deaths. TOYOTA, 0.149 avg risk, 45 deaths. NISSAN, 0.157 avg risk, 33 deaths. DODGE, 0.15 avg risk, 6 deaths. SUBARU, 0.135 avg risk, 5 deaths. GMC, 0.196 avg risk, 9 deaths. RAM, 0.217 avg risk, 17 deaths. VOLKSWAGEN, 0.136 avg risk, 10 deaths. CHRYSLER, 0.123 avg risk, 5 deaths. TESLA, 0.071 avg risk, 79 deaths. MAZDA, 0.136 avg risk, 4 deaths. ACURA, 0.122 avg risk, 4 deaths. BMW, 0.129 avg risk, 2 deaths. CADILLAC, 0.164 avg risk, 4 deaths. BUICK, 0.146 avg risk, 4 deaths. AUDI, 0.127 avg risk, 0 deaths. LINCOLN, 0.151 avg risk, 65 deaths. INFINITI, 0.137 avg risk, 6 deaths. MITSUBISHI, 0.162 avg risk, 1 deaths. FIAT, 0.147 avg risk, 0 deaths. LEXUS, 0.137 avg risk, 5 deaths. VOLVO, 0.144 avg risk, 0 deaths. GENESIS, 0.121 avg risk, 0 deaths. POLESTAR, 0.083 avg risk, 0 deaths.

Lexus models by complaint volume

Top nameplates, all model-years combined

complaints

What this shows Within Lexus's lineup, the Es350 carries the most NHTSA complaints. High-volume nameplates accumulate more filings simply because more of them are on the road, drill into a model for its per-year and per-component breakdown.

Source NHTSA consumer complaint database As of 2026

Lexus is registered with NHTSA as a vehicle manufacturer and carries 14,850 consumer safety complaints across 80 nameplates in the Office of Defects Investigation public database. The brand has been the subject of 106 safety recalls and is currently tied to 3 active or historical federal investigations. Every one of those figures is pulled directly from NHTSA's published datasets, not from owner forums, manufacturer marketing, or third-party reliability surveys, so the numbers you see reflect the same data federal regulators use when they decide whether to escalate a preliminary evaluation into an engineering analysis or a formal defect order.

Model-level volume varies widely inside any automaker's portfolio: best-sellers accumulate complaints simply because more vehicles are on the road, while limited-run trims and discontinued nameplates often carry disproportionately high complaint rates per unit sold. Inside Lexus's lineup, the single highest complaint count sits with the Es350 (1,631 filings, model years 2007–2023), followed by RX and Rx350. Use the table below to compare nameplate-by-nameplate counts, then drill into a specific model to see which components dominate and which model years concentrate the crash, fire, and fatality reports.

No open NHTSA investigations are currently tracked against Lexus in this dataset, meaning the Office of Defects Investigation is not, at this moment, reviewing a specific defect allegation for the brand. Recall status, by contrast, is backward-looking: it tells you what the manufacturer has already been compelled to remedy, not what they are being asked to remedy next. Together, complaints, investigations, and recalls form the three-layer early-warning system federal safety regulators have relied on since the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966.

Which Lexus models get the most complaints?

Model Complaints
Es350 1,631
RX 1,151
Rx350 1,113
IS 250 938
Es300 862
Rx300 849
ES 817
IS 765
Rx330 659
RX Hybrid 473
Es330 470
Gs300 446
Ls400 424
LS 284
NX 284
Gx470 282
IS 350 279
Ls460 272
GS 350 208
GX! 206
GS 202
Ls430 189
CT 189
IS 300 156
Gx460 129
Sc430 127
Lx470 114
HS 250 Hybrid 106
Gs400 80
Sc400 79
HS 78
LX 69
ES Hybrid 66
Ls460l 62
TX 56
Lexus 52
Nx200t 43
Es250 39
CT Hybrid 39
Sc300 37
Gs430 35
Nx300 30
IS 350c 29
IS F 26
Lx570 26
RZ 26
Gs450h 25
GS Hybrid 25
IS 250c 25
Lx450 23
Is200t 22
RC 350 21
SC 20
Nx200 20
Rx450h 19
UX Hybrid 18
RC F 14
NX Hybrid 13
RC 11
RC 200t 10
UX 10
Lc500 9
Ux200 9
ES 300h 8
Ls500 8
Gs460 7
Ls600hl 7
LC 6
LS Hybrid 5
NX450H+ 3
Le300 2
GS 200t 2
RC 300 2
TX Hybrid 2
Ls600h 1
RX 351 1
Nx350h 1
Nx350 1
Nx250 1
RX Plug-IN Hybrid 1

NHTSA Investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints has Lexus received?▼
Lexus has received 14,850 NHTSA complaints across 80 models and 106 safety recalls.
Is Lexus reliable?▼
Lexus has 14,850 total NHTSA complaints across all models. Compare complaint counts per model and model year to identify which Lexus vehicles have the fewest reported issues.
How do I check for Lexus recalls?▼
Browse Lexus models on PlainCars to see recall history by model and year, or visit NHTSA.gov and enter your VIN for official recall status. All recall data on PlainCars comes directly from NHTSA.
Where does Lexus complaint data come from?▼
All complaint and recall data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation. Complaints are filed by vehicle owners and NHTSA publishes them publicly.
What do Lexus complaints cover?▼
NHTSA complaints include consumer-reported issues with brakes, engines, airbags, steering, electrical systems, and other safety-related components. Each complaint may note crashes, fires, injuries, or deaths associated with the defect.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Top Lexus Models

Nationwide makes with similar ODI profiles

Two cross-make peer sets for Lexus. Same-make model lists stay above; these neighborhoods are nearest other makes by published NHTSA totals (complaint floor ≥100, recall floor ≥10).

Similar complaint volume

Nearest makes by total ODI complaints (14,850 here).

Similar recall volume

Nearest makes by recall campaigns (106 here), excluding the complaint-volume set.

Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.

Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. Lexus counts on this page are computed from the NHTSA rows shown in the linked model records; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.