2010 Lexus RX Recalls and Problems

NHTSA lists 1 safety recall and 192 owner complaints for the 2010 Lexus RX (including the hybrid).

Recalled components: speed control. Most-described problem: unintended acceleration or surging (30 complaints, 16%). Most-reported area: speed control (50 complaints, 26%; median mileage when it happened: 16,500).

One of the RX years to avoid

The 2010 drew 82 owner complaints in its first three years, against about 32 for a typical RX year: 2.6 times as many.

Years to avoid: 2010; best years: 2018, 2021, and 2022. Based on owner complaints, not adjusted for sales.

Every RX year ranked

1Safety recalls

192Owner complaints

36Complaints citing a crash

7Complaints citing a fire

Check your RX for open recalls

Opens NHTSA's lookup in a new tab; your VIN goes to NHTSA, not to us. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard, the door jamb and your registration. Safety recall repairs are free at Lexus dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

How to check a car for recalls, step by step

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Data: NHTSA recall, complaint and investigation filesUpdated Oct 2, 2026

Includes the RX hybrids.

1 safety recall for the 2010 Lexus RX

Newest first. Summaries are NHTSA's own wording. Open a recall for the fix and the full notice.

Speed control

Jun 29, 2012

accelerator pedal

NHTSA 12V-305
164,601 vehicles

In July 2012, Toyota filed a defect report to recall certain model year 2010 Lexus RX350 and RX450h vehicles. In November 2012, Toyota informed the agency that it was including an additional 10,565 vehicles including certain model year 2008 through 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 164,601. The accelerator pedal can get stuck in the wide open position due to its being trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat.

Risk: A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death.

The fix and full notice

Fix: Toyota and Lexus will notify owners of affected vehicles and dealers will modify or replace the accelerator pedal and replace any driver's floor mat not specified for the vehicle. Owners of the Lexus vehicles were notified during August 2012. Toyota has not yet provided a notification schedule for the additional Land Cruiser vehicles. Owners may contact Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus at 1-800-255-3987.

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2010 Lexus RX350 and RX450h vehicles, manufactured from November 28, 2008, through September 1, 2010, and model year 2008 through 2011 Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles manufactured from September 1, 2007, through September 5, 2011.

NHTSA listings: RX HYBRID, RX350. Lexus campaign 90L.

Questions about any of these recalls: call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 (TTY 888-275-9171) or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

NHTSA investigations

NHTSA's investigations file, dated Oct 2, 2026, lists no investigations for the 2010 Lexus RX.

What owners report

Owners have filed 192 complaints with NHTSA about the 2010 RX. Below, they are sorted by the problems owners describe and by the areas NHTSA files them under. NHTSA does not verify complaints.

Problems owners describe

Unintended acceleration or surging30 · 16%

Median 24,400 miles at failure, from 26 reports with mileage
Stalling or shutting off11 · 6%
Smoke or a burning smell10 · 5%
Check engine light7 · 4%
Oil leaks7 · 4%
Brake failure or a soft or hard pedal7 · 4%
Airbags did not deploy in a crash7 · 4%
Engine failure or replacement5 · 3%

Counted from the complaint text: a complaint counts once for each problem it describes (how we match them). Some complaints describe none of these. Compare other models in the problem owners report most for every model year.

Areas named in complaints

Speed control50 · 26%

Median 16,500 miles at failure, from 45 reports with mileage
Engine34 · 18%

Median 127,500 miles at failure, from 22 reports with mileage
Brakes29 · 15%

Median 25,000 miles at failure, from 21 reports with mileage
Electrical system23 · 12%

Median 34,800 miles at failure, from 16 reports with mileage
Steering15 · 8%
Air bags14 · 7%
Powertrain11 · 6%
Unknown or other13 · 7%

A complaint can name more than one area, so shares add up to more than 100%. Mileage is shown where at least 15 owners reported it.

Lexus RX recalls and complaints by model year

The highlighted bars are the 2010 model year. Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower. Counting complaints filed in each model year's first three years, the 2010 RX drew the most (82).

Owner complaints

2010: 192 complaints

Show as a table

Owner complaints by model year, Lexus RX
Model year	Complaints
2010	192
2011	72
2012	48
2013	90
2014	30
2015	67
2016	93
2017	103
2018	47
2019	68
2020	55
2021	71
2022	39
2023	67
2024	58
2025	22
2026	9

Safety recalls

2010: 1 recall

Show as a table

Safety recalls by model year, Lexus RX
Model year	Recalls
2010	1
2011	1
2012	1
2013	1
2014	0
2015	1
2016	3
2017	3
2018	2
2019	4
2020	2
2021	2
2022	0
2023	4
2024	4
2025	4
2026	3

Crash test ratings

NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings for each version it tested. Rollover risk is NHTSA's estimate of the chance of rolling over in a single-vehicle crash.

Tested version	Overall	Frontal	Side	Rollover
Lexus RX350 4-DR. w/SAB Rollover risk 16.4%	Not rated	Not rated	Not rated
Lexus RX450h w/SAB Rollover risk 16.4%	Not rated	Not rated	Not rated

2010 RX MPG

EPA rates the 2010 Lexus RX up to 21 mpg combined with a gas engine, and 30 mpg as a hybrid.Every version and fuel cost

Questions

What are the most common 2010 RX problems?

In the 192 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2010 Lexus RX, the problems described most are unintended acceleration or surging (30), stalling or shutting off (11), and smoke or a burning smell (10). NHTSA does not verify complaints, and one complaint can describe several problems.

Is NHTSA investigating the 2010 Lexus RX?

No. NHTSA's investigations file, dated Oct 2, 2026, lists no investigations for the 2010 Lexus RX.

How do I check if my RX has an open recall?

Enter the 17-character VIN from your dashboard, door jamb or registration at nhtsa.gov/recalls. The lookup lists unrepaired recalls for that exact vehicle. Safety recall repairs are free at Lexus dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

Sources and method

NHTSA recalls file (NHTSA datasets), dated Oct 2, 2026; every campaign checked against NHTSA's recalls API.
NHTSA owner complaints file, dated Oct 2, 2026. Counted by complaint number, so a complaint naming three components counts once in the total.
NHTSA investigations file, dated Oct 2, 2026. Defect petitions, which ask NHTSA to open an investigation, are listed apart and only while open. Audit queries, which check whether a company met its recall and reporting duties rather than whether a vehicle has a problem, are not listed.
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings (NCAP).
NHTSA model names covered: RX, RX HYBRID, RX350, RX450H.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports. They rise with sales volume and time on the road, so compare model years with care. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.