2023 Lexus RX engine problems

Filed Aug 19, 2026 · Engine · 10,637 miles · CO

The contact owns a 2023 Lexus RX 500h. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started shaking abnormally and stalled. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated during the failure. The failure was a recurring failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure, and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and an engineer was sent to inspect the vehicle; however, the contact was informed that the vehicle had passed the inspection; however, the failure persisted. The failure mileage was approximately 10,637.

Filed Jul 3, 2026 · Engine · MN

when driving on the highway and i let up the gas the engine surges. this is an ongoing issue. makes me apply the brakes or take action scary. it happens all the time. took it to lexus and they say this is normal. to me it is a safety driving issue. it surges for some time with no gas applied.

Filed May 29, 2026 · Engine, Transmission · NJ

My 2023 Lexus RX350 with 67,000 miles displayed a check engine light along with a Drive-Start Control Malfunction warning. The vehicle was brought to a Lexus dealership where it was diagnosed with fault code P25B372 — Turbocharger Wastegate A Actuator Stuck Open. The dealership confirmed the wastegate actuator has failed and requires replacement. The part is currently on backorder with over 800 units backordered nationally, indicating this is a systemic issue affecting multiple vehicles. Toyota has issued Technical Service Bulletin T-SB-0084-23 covering this exact fault code on the same 2.4L turbocharged engine used in the 2023 Lexus RX350. The bulletin states the repair is covered under the Federal Emission Warranty for 96 months or 80,000 miles. However, the Lexus dealership has declined warranty coverage citing the absence of a Lexus-specific bulletin, despite the identical engine and fault code. The failure puts safety at risk as the Drive-Start Control Malfunction warning indicates loss of traction and stability control systems. The problem has been confirmed by the Lexus dealership. Warning lamps appeared on the dashboard prior to the visit. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

Filed Apr 27, 2026 · Electrical, Engine · TX

Vehicle jerking back and forth aggressively while at a complete stop with foot firmly on brake pedal. Vehicle seems to want to lurch forward.

Filed Jun 23, 2025 · Engine · VA

When removing foot from gas pedal the rpm shoot up to almost 4k instead of switching to EV mode or dropping to 1k rpm’s. This has scared my wife causing her to slam on brakes as she thought throttle was stuck since the rpm’s shot up. This is dangerous. It doesn’t happen all the time and Lexus did duplicate it but said was normal.

Filed Oct 24, 2024 · Engine, Fuel system · CO

- Uknown: 2023 RX 500H Performance hesitates or stalls when gas is applied to accelerate. When vehicle final start moving after 2-4 seconds, engine revs really high. This is believed to be an issue in the power train and specifically Transaxle issues and ECU programming issues. More on this issue can be found on Lexus service bulletin Record ID #4807268. Yes, vehicle is available for inspection. - Yes, with the vehicle stalling out in cross traffic, it has almost caused me, my wife and child to get t-boned on multiple instances. Lexus corporate and the Lexus dealer had been made aware of this concern on multiple occasions. - No, Dealer has not been able to reproduce after multiple reviews. I do have video proof of the car doing this taken after final attempt for Lexus to review. This video has been sent to Lexus corporate and Lexus Dealer. - Vehicle has been inspected by Lexus dealership as a representative of Lexus corporate. My Dealer has looked at it multiple times and can never duplicate and will not help. I worked with Lexus directly and also were not able to help. Lexus corporate has now turned my case over to their Lemon Law department for review on 7/8/24 due to this issue and many more issues with car. I provided requested information to Lexus Corporate Lemon department on 8/12/24 and have not hear back as of 10/24/24. - Unknown: Issue occurs few time a week since purchased the car on 2/4/2023, but do not recall first experience. Issue occurs more after the car has been sitting for a while on a hot day or not drove in a few days, and will stall out mostly on a left hand turn. The issue feels like the battery is dead and the gas engine has to take over for it causing a lag. When the engine does finally take over it seems to rev really high too. After it does it once or in some cases twice at the beginning of the drive it is typically okay the rest of the drive.

Filed Oct 9, 2024 · Engine · TX

I pulled onto a 4 lane divided highway and the car immediately went into limp mode, meaning the car would not go more than 1 MPH even with the gas pedal to the floor. I could NOT accelerate thus my safety was in danger, and I was almost hit by a tractor trailer truck. I pulled over to the side of road as best I could, then shut the engine off and restarted the engine. This apparently re-set some sort of engine control and then the car accelerated normally. The dealer applied an ECU update #24LC03. When I researched this update, it was stated that this was not an actual recall, I wondered how that could that be since I was nearly involved in a fatal accident, and surely there are other similar Lexus owners at the same risk . that I was. The wording of the update described exactly what happened to me. In my opinion this information is too important to shoved under the rug and not made into an actual recall. A life could be saved. Thank you for looking into this.

Filed Sep 24, 2024 · Engine, Transmission · NJ

When driving, the car engine will randomly accelerate or race. The car does not physically go faster, but the engine revs at a high speed which is very scary. It will continue to accelerate while your foot is off the gas until you either press back down the gas pedal or come to a full stop. The car engine revs extremely loud making the driver feel like the car is going to keep going. I have had the car for 15 months and it continues to get WORSE. I have taken the car 3 times to the Lexus in Freehold NJ when I first bought it to fix this issue. They were able to replicate it in my car but said the tests came back normal and told me this was a "normal reaction" due to the car being a hybrid. The diagnosis was that it was the battery discharging. I wrote to Lexus and the regional service manager, but they have all dismissed me. I filed a complaint with Lexus, but they also dismissed it. I just went on the Lexus Forum site to find many people are now complaining about this issue. What is very interesting is that Lexus has now put out an "Unintended Acceleration (UA) form which asks questions about this issue. LEXUS KNOWS about this major issue but has yet to do anything about it. The other day I approached a few kids playing in the road and started to slow down only to have the car loudly accelerate/rev as I was approaching the children. Very unnerving...something definitely is wrong and needs to be addressed. I was hoping you could help since the manufacturer refused to.

Filed Sep 19, 2024 · Engine · FL

The vehicle hesitates off a full stop such as at a red light. The automatic start stop feature is turned off manually, but car hesitates off the stop creating an unsafe condition if making a left turn where there is no left traffic arrow turn signal and cars are coming in the opposite direction or when entering a moving lane. The hesitation is enough to prevent you from entering or crossing moving traffic unless you wait for all traffic to be gone. This only happens when it is hot outside. When it is cool and air temperature is lower this does not occur and the car operates as normal. Has happened since new and Dealer cannot look into it because there are no failure codes appearing on the car's system.

Filed Jul 5, 2024 · Engine · KS · crash

We have encountered 2 instances of Unintended Acceleration. Lexus has inspected the vehicle and states they could not find anything wrong. In both instances the car jumped forward without notice. No warnings were given. The first time it occurred there was over $8,500 worth of damage. No damage the second time which occurred on May 20, 2024.