What are the common problems with the 2002 Lexus RX?
Owners of the 2002 Lexus RX have filed 12 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the powertrain (5) and the airbags (2). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 8 of its 12 complaints list a mileage (40,000 to 190,000 miles), too few to say when problems were reported; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 12 owner complaints on the 2002 Lexus RX. Owners named the powertrain most often: 5 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 12 complaints, 3 report a crash, none reports a fire and 2 report an injury (2 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2002 RX
NHTSA's file holds 12 owner complaints on the 2002 Lexus RX. Owners named the powertrain most often: 5 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Train | 5 | 4 | Under 5 mileages |
| Air Bags | 2 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
| Engine | 1 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 1 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
| Tires | 1 | 0 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 12 complaints, 3 report a crash, none reports a fire and 2 report an injury (2 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2002 RX
Too few complaints on the 2002 RX list a mileage to say when owners reported problems: 8 of its 12 complaints list a mileage (40,000 to 190,000 miles), and a median is given here only with 10 or more.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2002 RX wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Every model year together: Half of the 644 NHTSA owner complaints on the Lexus RX that list mileage came after 72,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Lexus RX last? →
Is the 2002 RX a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2002 is a good or a bad RX: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2002 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 12 complaints, the 2002 drew the fewest of the 27 Lexus RX model years from 1999 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints. The most: the 2006 (186).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 RX | 35 | 30 | 104,000 |
| 2000 RX | 29 | 25 | 90,000 |
| 2001 RX | 19 | 16 | 89,000 |
| 2002 (this page) | 12 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2004 RX | 40 | 26 | 64,000 |
| 2005 RX | 29 | 20 | 73,000 |
| 2006 RX | 186 | 150 | 75,000 |
| 2007 RX | 117 | 86 | 75,000 |
| 2008 RX | 127 | 87 | 78,068 |
| 2009 RX | 34 | 22 | 67,000 |
| 2010 RX | 85 | 52 | 45,000 |
| 2011 RX | 41 | 23 | 92,000 |
| 2012 RX | 15 | 5 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2013 RX | 31 | 13 | 65,000 |
| 2014 RX | 14 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2015 RX | 25 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2016 RX | 35 | 9 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2017 RX | 58 | 15 | 27,000 |
| 2018 RX | 29 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2019 RX | 37 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2020 RX | 50 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2021 RX | 71 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2022 RX | 29 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2023 RX | 62 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2024 RX | 63 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2025 RX | 25 | 4 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2026 RX | 14 | 1 | Under 10 mileages |
2002 Lexus RX recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2002 model year under the names RX, RX HYBRID and RX PLUG-IN HYBRID. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2002 Lexus RX: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2002 RX lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2002 RX.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 4 of the 12 complaints on the 2002 Lexus RX give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: RX, RX HYBRID and RX PLUG-IN HYBRID. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file names matched: RX, RX HYBRID and RX PLUG-IN HYBRID.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2002 Lexus RX questions
What are the most common 2002 Lexus RX problems?
NHTSA's file holds 12 owner complaints on the 2002 Lexus RX. Owners named the powertrain most often: 5 complaints. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 12 complaints, 3 report a crash, none reports a fire and 2 report an injury (2 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2002 Lexus RX?
NHTSA's file gives no mileage figure for the 2002 Lexus RX: 8 of its 12 complaints list a mileage (40,000 to 190,000 miles), and this page gives a median only with 10 or more. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2002 RX can cover.
Is the 2002 Lexus RX a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2002 is a good or a bad RX: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2002 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 12 complaints, the 2002 drew the fewest of the 27 Lexus RX model years from 1999 to 2026 with 10 or more complaints. The most: the 2006 (186).
How many recalls does the 2002 Lexus RX have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2002 model year under the names RX, RX HYBRID and RX PLUG-IN HYBRID. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2002 Lexus RX: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2002 Lexus RX before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2002 Lexus RX.