Other engine problem on the 2007 Lexus Rx350
When other engine problem gets reported
Owners of the 2007 Lexus Rx350 report other engine problem at a median of 100,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 77,500 miles and a quarter after 122,500 miles, from 26 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 1st most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 60,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 135,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 75,785 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
4% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59,000 miles | 76,250 miles | 99,925 miles | 123,500 miles | 134,785 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
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 9 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2017, at a median of 5,000 miles, and latest on the 2010 at 130,000 miles.
By volume the 2007 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
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.
I was driving down the street and my car started making a ticking noise. It got louder and would barely accelerate. It smelled like it was burning and it was smoking. Once I got it to the mechanic, he said my oil line burst and I all the oil gushed out. He said he has seen this problem many times before. Lexus said they have not heard of this issue, even though when my mechanic called they had over 200 of these parts in stock! *tr
I have 2007 lexus rx 350, while I was driving the car on september 5, 2010, my A/C light started blinking and then gave me "check air condition" sign. Start to smell gas/oil smell and also saw some smoke from the engine. I pulled over and saw oil leaking by the front passenger tire side. Opened my hook and check for oil level and I was almost out of oil. I figured my oil might be leaking for a while and when I got back home I realized there was some oil in my driveway as well. So I think this problem started a day ago. I added 3 quarts and drove the car back home (about 4 miles). Since I had added additional oil, it had more oil to leak out. Which made my driveway covered with more oil. I have not had any kind of accident on this car and have done my oil change very regularly while I was browsing this issue online, I realized there are number of people who have report same problem for same model of lexus on different forms and blogs. It is my request for you to look into this and see if this is manufactures issues. This situation is very hazardous and unsafe for the vehicle to drive. I would appreciate your help on this. *tr
The oil cooler hose burst without warning, spewing oil all over the road and in our driveway and garage. In addition to a safety hazard, this is an environmental problem. The car is a 2007 lexus rx350. The hose was replaced by the dealer under a "campaign," but no prior notice of the problem was issued. *tr
Also reported on the 2007 Lexus Rx350
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other speed control problem
Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure
Other body or interior problem
Misfire or rough idle
Oil leak
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 28 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 2007 Lexus Rx350?
Across 26 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 100,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 77,500 miles and a quarter after 122,500 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 2007 Lexus Rx350?
28 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.7 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