My 2011 Lexus RX350 was running fine as I ran errands for groceries and other items around town one day. Then, out of the blue, I realized that after returning home and parking in my garage, there was a trail of oil in my driveway, leading to my vehicle. I looked under the engine area and noticed a pool of oil. I had a certified mobile mechanic come to my home and provide a diagnosis. This diagnosis was that a hole had formed in the rubber Engine Oil Cooler Line, and drained nearly all the oil in my engine. He mentioned that one more mile and I could have had total engine failure. He proceeded to replace it with a new Genuine Lexus, all metal Oil Cooler Line. I contacted Lexus about this incident, but they provided no compensation for this occurrence, even though there was a short 4-year technical service bulletin they issued barely a year after production, that called out this was indeed a flaw in their design. After doing some research, I see this is a VERY common issue, with many in the past most recent years having this very issue. Yet, Lexus has not recalled this, nor reimbursed those that have suffered from this manufacture defect. I am really hoping that something can be done by NHTSA and/or Lexus to resolve this issue that I am certain is still plaguing thousands of Lexus owners on the road, and putting our and those around us' safety at risk. Surely, a part that obviously and very consistently degrades over the course of 5+ years so often, needs to be addressed and recalled for the sake of safety and integrity.

- Olathe, KS, USA

On Saturday July 15, 2023, at between about 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. CDST the vehicle was parked overnight in a garage, spontaneously caught fire and burned and was a total loss. There was a smell I would associate with an electrical fire. People reported hearing a car alarm and a "popping sound" before the fire. The fire department extinguished the fire and had the car towed out of the garage of a condominium association. Fire damage to property (except the subject car) was minimal but there was extensive smoke. In my opinion based on this incident, electric/hybrid cars should not be parked indoors.

- Des Plaines, IL, USA

Oil poured out under vehicle under right side passenger side from oil cooler line overnight in my garage. Lexus stated that I was lucky that this did not occur while driving as oil would have blown completely out due to the pressurized line and damaged the engine. There was no warning lights on. I backed the car out of the garage leaving a stream of oil and discovered the problem. I had the vehicle towed to the dealership as I never saw anything like this. According to Lexus service representative this is a known defect and has been upgraded by Lexus to a solid metal line at failure only but only for a specific amount of time. (Evidently the vehicle was manufactured with a part metal and part rubber coolant line that split on the rubber portion of the line.) Seems to me that this should have been a recall to prevent major damage to the vehicle and during driving hazard to consumer as the vehicle would stopped completely as oil would be blown out completely. My cost was estimated and paid for at $695. I think this should have been a recall.

- Toledo, OH, USA

Oil cooler line ruptured while driving. Lexus issued an extended warranty to 12/31/2016 on the Oil Cooler Line. Lexus sent an advisory letter to owners of record several months prior to our purchase. Our dealer: Rohrich Lexus, did not inform us of the problem when purchased 09/2014. Nor did they address the problem when they serviced the vehicle in 08/16, an oil change. Now we have $500 plus in repair costs for the Oil Cooler Line replacement which could have been avoided if Rohrich Service Department had advised us of the Extended Warranty that covered our vehicle. THE OIL COOLER LINE WAS RUBBER AND THE FIX WAS A METAL LINE.

- Wheeling, WV, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Lexus RX350. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, an abnormal clicking sound was coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the AWD and oil pressure warning lights were illuminated. The contact pulled over and discovered oil leaking from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the oil cooler line was leaking. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred her to an authorized Lexus dealer for assistance. The contact expressed concerns that the failure could have resulted in loss of vehicle control due to traction, as well as a potential for the vehicle to catch on fire due to the oil leak. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.

- Vergas, MN, USA

I have never had any issues with the oil and this car has had all of its oil changes on time and regular. Last evening I was driving home and the low oil pressure light came on. Within moments I started hearing a knocking Noise. I parked the car cause I was at home at that time and I checked the next morning and there is no oil in the car now. There's oil all underneath the undercarriage. I looked online and found a story of another guy this happened to and it ended up being an oil cooler pipe. I guess these are rubber and there's a recall warranty notice on these. My car has not been driven since I parked it. Please advise. Car is included in this warranty recall.

- Columbus, OH, USA

Something had broken causing oil draining out of the car while driving on the highway. The car lost power and I pulled over immediately and shut off the engine. I opened the hood and saw nothing wrong, however when I checked the oil, there was no oil. I then proceeded to look under the car and there was oil all over the under carriage. I then did a walk around and found oil all over the back side. Me and my family were stranded while we waited for a tow truck. We had the tow truck take the RX350 to the local Lexus (Kuni in Denver) dealership where this car has been serviced all its life. When I received the initial call from the service department, He had said he is 99% sure this is the oil cooler pipe. He then said this is a known defect in the design of this part. When I googled "RX350 oil cooler pipe" numerous complaints came back. The initial design is rubber and now they installed one that is metal. This could have been fatal if we had traffic near us. Also this could have major damage to the engine. This should have been recalled however Lexus decided not to and just call it a warranty notice. Even with all the information out there about this highly defective part, the dealership would not cover the cost and told us to directly deal with Lexus. If anyone is reading this, and you have not change out this part, I would get this done! It is not an if this will happen, it is when it will happen. The design of this pipe is elementary and will fail. I thought Lexus being a luxury manufacturer would take more care with their customers! But as you can see, they are not.

- Denver, CO, USA

My 2011 Lexus Rx 350 has a front timing cover leak. To fix the front timing cover leak, the dealership has an estimated price of $4,000. In order to replace a gasket on the timing cover, many accessories and parts needs to be removed. I think it is a safety issue if the engine is losing oil and it stops running. I also believe that it is a poor engineering design, or a manufacturer error. In order to replace a simple gasket, it requires monumental effort and expense. There are many other gaskets in the car engine that are easily accessible and lasts much longer.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

Our 2011 Lexus Rx 350 oil cooler line failed causing engine damage. A family member was driving and the loss of motor oil could have locked the engine and caused an accident. Lexus is willing to pay for the part, but not repair the damage caused by the failed oil cooler line.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Lexus RX350. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, noticed smoke emerging from the engine compartment. No warning indicators illuminated. The fire department extinguished the fire. The police was also present. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnostic. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a third party company evaluated it, they diagnostic was unknown cause for the fire. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 129,000.

- Loretto, MN, USA

My 2011 Lexus RX350 has rubber oil cooler hose and Lexus usa will not replace the pressurized rubber hose despite known incidents of catastrophic failure of the part. On some RX350 models, Lexus has an extended warranty and replacement in case the part is leaking oil, but I was told by Lexus that my particular VIN is not eligible for the extended warranty. But even if I had the warranty, Lexus will not preemptively replace the part, despite 1) safety concern of failure on highway at high speeds and fire hazard risk, 2) potential catastrophic engine failure as the line would rupture and all oil would be lost within seconds and engine would seize and 3) potential environmental damage of loss 6.4 quarts of oil over roadways. Please consider advising Lexus to do a safety recall on all rubber oil cooler hose parts. Thank you.

- Prosper, TX, USA

Some how the oil was leaking, I don T know why?lucky me I was at home doing the yard work when I saw this massive oil leaking on my drive way

- San Antonio, TX, USA

Parked in driveway in back of house, beside deck after short trip to store. Smelled a melting smell outside. Maybe five minutes later the smell started coming inside the house. We looked outside and saw smoke and thought the house was on fire. We went outside and there was smoke and flames coming from under the hood. Sprayed car with fire extinguisher, which did nothing, then used water hose to spray front of car to keep from the house catching on fire. Car was making popping noises, large amounts of smoke and strong smell. All neighbors came over it was strong. Fire department spent over an hour putting out fire and used their whole tank of water. Front end melted, tires popped, dashboard and windshield destroyed. Cause is unknown

- Nashville, TN, USA

12/7/2017 I pulled into my driveway to park at 1 pm. I slowed down I had my foot on the brake, I was putting it into the park position when the car lunged forward and and put a hole in the garage door and knocked it off track.I was stunned & surprised.my husband and I could not duplicate this action. On 12/14/17 I pulled into the parking lot at foy park in burbank ca. I slowly pulled into a parking space, my foot was on the brake as I put the car into the park position the engine revved and the car took off over a cement parking block and over the curb, went through a chain link fence and landed in the brush with 3 wheels off the ground and the engine was still racing with my foot on the brake. On 12/15/17 the day after I drove into my driveway about 2 pm. My foot was on the brake I put it into park and it did the same [xxx] thing and 5 feet my friend [xxx] witnessed it. That was it for me I had it towed to keyes Lexus Toyota and never drove it again. Keyes said they could find nothing wrong with it and I know from checking on line with my friend [xxx] that other people have had the same problem in the U.S. I am deeply worried that this car will be sold again and someone will be injured or killed. There are 64437 miles on the odometer when traded in.please help !! I was the only person injured, suffering back and neck injures and I am still being treated I'm a little afraid of driving any car at this point but I will work through it.. 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).

- North Hollywood, CA, USA

Please see the attached better business bureau complaint. We are making this complaint in order to do our part of alerting you that there could be a potential hazard with the make and model of this car. We do not want what happened to us to happen to anyone else. The car was on a highway in motion when this happened. Thank you.

- Forest Hills, NY, USA

1) engine oil leak at 15,000 miles only on May 8, 2013 (after merely "2 years old") 2) another 3 leaks in year 2015 alone a) engine oil leak again on March 27, 2015 ( 33,802 miles only ) B) less than 2 months, engine oil leak again on May 7, 2015 ( 35,284 miles only ) C) repeat the 4th time engine oil leak again on Dec. 26,2015 (44,013 miles only ) *** per all 4 repair service invoices/records provided by longo Lexus dealership, California, this is major engine oil leaks problem!!!!

- Rowland Heights, CA, USA