2008 Lexus RX400H - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2008 Lexus RX400H receives top ratings of 5 stars for both the front crash driver side and front crash passenger side, as well as for the overall side crash driver side and side crash passenger side. The car comes equipped with standard electronic stability control, which enhances its safety features. However, it does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems. Despite its strong safety ratings, there have been 115 complaints filed and 1 recall issued for this model. It is essential for owners to address these recalls promptly to ensure the ongoing safety of the vehicle. Overall, the Lexus RX400H demonstrates good safety performance, especially in crash tests, but it is crucial to stay vigilant regarding any reported issues or recalls to maintain its safety standards.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

115

Recall Count

1

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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The advanced search lets you search by safety ratings and features. This will return a list of vehicles that match your search criteria.

Safety Features

2008 Lexus RX400h 4-DR w/SAB Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2008 Lexus RX400h 4-DR w/SAB

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2008 Lexus RX400h 4-DR w/SAB Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2008 Lexus RX400h 4-DR w/SAB Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated
Front Crash Driver Side Rating Not Rated 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating Not Rated 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2008 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated Not Rated
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated

Complaints for the 2008 Lexus RX400H

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"while driving in local conditions (traveling 20 mph) the brakes stopped working partially (about 90% of braking power was lost) and a message on the dash board show check vsc, after pulling aside it turning off the engine. i inspected the brakes in the engine and at the wheels for leaks. no leaks. upon restarting the car all was normal again."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2023-11-09
Complaint:
"vehicle brakes are inconsistent. the abs system also locks up periodically, and fail to engage at other times. extremely dangerous to drive. they are also very noisy. i contacted both the local lexus dealership and national number, but they refused to fix them under warranty. lexus did offer an extended warranty in 2016 or so, but since i was the second owner of the vehicle, i never received notification of the extended warranty that went through dec. 31 2017. in september, 2020, i could no longer deal with the brakes, so i bought a new abs actuator from the lexus dealership and installed it myself. it was straight forward and took less than an hour to install and bleed the brake lines per lexus instructions. less than 16 months later, the abs system is failing again. lexus told me that the part warranty is only one year, and refused to cover the expense to fix."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2022-01-06
Complaint:
"july 2021 at 69568 miles on 2008 lexus rx350 brake booster was changed by lexus of orange park, florida, for $1652.97. situation/discrepancy: after normal stop, brake light would illuminate and brakes would mysteriously release and vehicle would start rolling forward! after several brake pumping actions vehicle would stop. brake booster was leaking internally! corrective action: replace power brakes booster."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2021-02-07
Complaint:
"unknown suspect brake actuator failure. brake noise when stepping on pedal at a stop."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2023-05-02
Complaint:
"had filed a complaint over my lexus brakes but put in the incorrect vin. my complaint code is 11413142 and was accidently put under my toyota highlanders vin"
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2015-01-01
Complaint:
"i called the local dealer was told they can not help me. i call the lexus brand engagement center line and was called back with an explanation why my vehicle is not eligible. even though it ia exhibiting the malfunction. the deadline was december 31,2020. this last refusal to deal with a part that they are well aware is malfunctioning due to their failure to build a reliable product, as they have offered their own version of satisfaction for those lucky enough to have the failure occur timely. mine did not know if the timely requirements and opted to malfunction less than a year after the established deadline. however, the letter they sent went to the previous registered owner. as a registered owner in the state of florida, it is my opinion that lexis could have easily located me through the help of the state of florida registration office. which is what their site states is done. i purchased this car june 2020. lexus/toyota should have to fix because it is a known issue that they sent out customer support warranty extensions for previously. as of this week my vehicles braking ability has only 10% of what it had a month ago and is no longer safe to drive! i havent owned for a year as yet smh! it is now parked in my garage."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2022-10-03
Complaint:
"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."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2021-12-01
Complaint:
"i was driving my vehicle and pushed on brake pedal to stop at red light. what i noticed that brake, abs, traction, check engine and more warning lights came on in the dashboard and i almost rear ended car in front of me due to no brakes. pedal went to the floor, slowly i drove my car to bp workshop on liberty road randlestown md, 21133 first. later i drove to a&b autobody 901 dundalk ave baltimore md 21224. for the repair. after 2days, tech called and told me that my car needs brake actuator which is almost $2000.00 parts and labor. ridiculous. tech told me its common problem with these vehicles. i called lexus of towson and they told me that we would've got it done for free of charge if the vehicle was sold at our dealership. i guess dealers do recalls only on those cars that are sold thru them but i've bought it used. i don't have this much money to fix my [xxx] truck. please help me to get my car back on the road. thanks *tr parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)."
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2020-01-06
Complaint:
"the brake actuator has malfunctioned. lexus has verified this has happened to my vehicle this week. they have declined any assistance, including replacement of the part and labor, providing me the part to replace myself (at no cost for the part), and even refuse to sell me the part at their manufactured cost basis. this last refusal to deal with a part that they are well aware is malfunctioning due to their failure to build a reliable product, as they have offered their own version of satisfaction for those lucky enough to have the failure occur timely. mine did not know if the timely requirements and opted to malfunction less than a year after the established deadline. however, the letter they sent went to the previous registered owner and lexus explained to me that i should have contacted them when i purchased this vehicle. i do not agree. as a registered owner in the state if texas, it is my opinion that lexis could have easily located me through the help of the state if texas registration requirement. lexus should have to fix items they built with poor designs or workmanship! as if this week my vehicles braking ability has only 10% of what it had a month ago and is no longer safe to drive!"
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2022-03-04
Complaint:
"the brake pedal goes to the floor due to the abs actuator defects. i have video of the sound and behaviors when the problem occurs. i have not been able to drive the vehicle and the dealer will not fix the problem. the brakes didn't work, didn't stop the vehicle upon my last use of the car. the vehicle dashboard gives warning and error codes related to the brakes, emergency brake, abs, vsc, etc. i have written lexus for any assistance. i purchased the vehicle in maryland from a used car dealer who cleared the codes before obtaining the safety inspection. however if this car were started or if the brake pedal was tested, the vehicle would have failed. as was the case when i obtained my own safety inspection on the vehicle which it now failed"
Components Involved: SERVICE BRAKES
Date of incident: 2019-06-11

Recalls for the 2008 Lexus RX400H

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2010 highlander hybrid vehicles manufactured february 16, 2005, through july 29, 2010; and model year 2006-2008 lexus rx400h vehicles manufactured february 23, 2005, through december 2, 2008. the intelligent power module (ipm) inside the inverter module may contain transistors that have higher operating temperatures than the solder can support and the transistors may be heat damaged by the solder. if this occurs, various warning lamps, including the malfunction indicator lamp, slip indicator light, brake system warning light, and master warning light, will be illuminated on the instrument panel."
Consequence:
The vehicle may enter a fail-safe/limp-home mode that limits the drivability of the vehicle. It is possible that the hybrid system will shut down while the vehicle is being driven, causing the vehicle to stall unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy:

Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the IPM free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331. Vehicles that had their IPM replaced under recall 11V-342 are not affected by this campaign.

Component(s) Involved: HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM > INVERTER
Date of incident: 2013-09-04

LEXUS Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

LEXUS ranks 23 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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