Other engine problem on the 2002 Lexus Rx300
1 crash 1 of the 9 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other engine problem gets reported
Owners of the 2002 Lexus Rx300 report other engine problem at a median of 75,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 60,000 miles and a quarter after 115,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 4th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 45,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 135,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 89,700 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
0% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45,000 miles | 60,750 miles | 76,700 miles | 112,500 miles | 134,700 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 1 a crash is mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $300–$4,000 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 5 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2003, at a median of 55,000 miles, and latest on the 2001 at 100,000 miles.
By volume the 2000 carries the most reports, with 18; the 2002 has 9. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 lexus rx300. The contact was driving 70 MPH when the vehicle accelerated. The contact depressed the brake pedal to the floor and the vehicle stopped. After the dealer inspected the vehicle they informed the contact that it the fuel sensor caused the failure. The dealer repaired the fuel sensor. The engine oil was always low and the contact had to add oil to the vehicle every week. The engine also exhibited a large amount of dark smoke. The check engine light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer and they stated that they would not repair it. The dealer stated that they would repair the vehicle if he paid $2,000 in advance. The manufacturer was contacted and they stated that his vehicle was not a part of any recalls and there was nothing they could they do unless the contact paid the repair cost. They also stated if the vehicle remained at the dealership, he would be billed for a storage fee. The engine was damaged and the vehicle was at the dealership when the complaint was filed. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 48,000. The current mileage was 105,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 lexus rx300. The contact stated that the engine failed without warning. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer yet the dealer was unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure. The contact stated that the engine was replaced with a used engine with greater mileage than the original failed engine. The contact stated that the replacement engine also experienced a failure with an unknown electronic component. The manufacturer did not offer any assistance. The failure mileage the was 70,000. Updated 12/23/10*lj the consumer stated the engine oil depleted at an excessive rate, despite regular oil changes. Updated 01/03/11
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 lexus rx300. The contact stated that the check engine light illuminated and the vehicle suddenly stalled. Before the vehicle stalled, it was shaking. The contact also noticed black smoke coming from the tailpipe when the vehicle was on. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the motor needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000 and the current mileages were approximately 40,000.
Also reported on the 2002 Lexus Rx300
Complete transmission failure
Other powertrain problem
Other speed control problem
Airbag failed to deploy in a crash
Parking brake failure
Seat belt or retractor failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 9 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does other engine problem happen on the 2002 Lexus Rx300?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 75,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 60,000 miles and a quarter after 115,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other engine problem on the 2002 Lexus Rx300?
9 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 48 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed