Lexus RX XU30 (2003-2008)

514,000 kms still going strong – Owned since new, driven 514,000 kms and will keep driving this thing until it goes to Lexus heaven. The regular running costs are minimal: tyres (left front tyre wears out faster than the others), brakes, oil and filters. The only mechanical issue has been to replace the water pump at 300,000 kms. One of the headlights is a bit dim, but too… Read more

expensive to replace ($1,000 per assembly). The leather seats have worn to the foam, the dashboard is cracked, and the body has dings, but the engine and transmission refuse to stop!

I bought another of the same model with lower kms to use as my daily, and use the half a million beast as the work horse. Heck, even the Mark Levinson premium stereo still sounds great.

Way better buy than a Mercedes, BMW or Audi – Lexus know how to make reliable cars, and Lexus has terrific and helpful customer service. Don't bother with the big 3 German car makers, they are not reliable, even basic scheduled maintenance is double the cost, and customer service is generally poor; they don't want to know you after the 3 year warranty has expired. In their view, you are… Read more

responsible for all car manufacturing defects after this time, even on a 'basic' $60,000 vehicle.

Have owned a 2008 Lexus RX400h for 4 years now. Has a full service history and has only had 1 issue in 4 years. The issue was the dash started leaking an oily substance, leaving the dash a little sticky. Over time, this causes the dash to crack due to the oil it loses. It is a minor oversight by Lexus and Toyota that occurs in cars made before approximately 2010. Lexus Australia replaced the dash free of charge. Was replaced in 2020 on a car made in 2008. Lexus Perth have been helpful in resolving this issue. Keep it up the great work, and I will be a Lexus customer for life.

Amazing perfect car never one problem – I have been buying cars since 1960. This Lexus 350 purchased in 2007 is without doubt the best car I have ever owned and I have owned 2 new Mercedes, which I will not even comment on. The Volvo’s were good but the service, as was the Renault, poor. Lexus service is fantastic; not expensive, and very fair. They replaced, after 10 years, a cracked… Read more

dashboard free of charge and loaned me a car whilst replacing. Anyone who buys a car other than a Lexus, is in my opinion making the wrong decision. I look back on the British cars, including a 1993 Landrover Discovery, as a distant nightmare.

The car I always wanted – In 2008 I was fortunate enough to drive a brand new Lexus RX 350 to Sydney and back. All I remember was that it was the best car I had driven. 10 years later, I bought a one owner 2008 Lexus RX 350 with 200,000kms + It has full service history and all I can say it is a great car to drive. We have taken this car around Regional Victoria and beyond… Read more

and this car is a smooth driving car that is comfortable to drive.

Servicing is every 10000kms / 6 months and so far no issues. Slight rattle sometimes on start up (We have been told this is the VVT engine and just the oil lubricating. Some reviews have had this fixed under warranty) I have a 200,000+ km car and our mechanic doesn’t see any problem. The car is well serviced and looked after

The Good:

Amazing road manners

Leather heated front seats

Sunroof

Back seats that slide back/forward & recline a little.

Plenty of space

Silky smooth V6 engine and 5 speed auto

All the safety gear for a 10 year old car

Mark Levinson Sound System is amazing.

The other bits:

When I drive I get 12 litres / per 100kms (Lexus fuel consumption states 11.2 litres / per 100kms)

When my wife drives 14 litres / per 100kms - The car is a cruiser not a bruiser - but it moves when it has too!

Lexus paint is soft. Car washes (the machine ones) are not recommended

No USB port (bought a $10 USB radio transmitter from eBay)

It’s very difficult to replace the stereo as the whole unit is connected to the climate control and sat nav.

Sat Nav is a little dated (Bought a Garmin)

I would recommend this car for what it is and you get a lot of car for not a lot of money being 10 years old.

If fuel consumption is a concern then maybe a Hybrid might better suit.

Now I understand why Lexus buyers go on to buy another Lexus.

An Absolutely Fabulous Vehicle – Have owned this since new from 2003. It is an absolutely fantastic car/SUV. Nothing has gone wrong in 12 years. However, after all these years of faultless motoring it is time to move on - and I would loooove to buy another. And I would, would,would if the 2016 model was a consideration, but it ain't. UGLY, Ugly, ugly!! What a shame - What… Read more

inspired Lexus to move from sophistication to Bling on steroids!!! I would be too embarrassed to be seen driving in the 2016 monstrosity. What a shame - so now driving the 2016Volvo XC90. So far, so good.

Toyota feeling with ordinary driving dynamic – Well, it's been awarded as best 4WD - luxury class for few time... Still believe it will last long time without much trouble compared to rival europeans. Quite pleasant cruising on highway on low idle.... can be thirsty on fuel in urban driving. purchased new in 2007 and owned since but don't wanna buy another Lexus 4WD because it's obviously… Read more

Toyota with Lexus badge and paying quite a extra for it. Have been serived at Lexus dealer for first 7 years (warranty expired after 5 years?) due to high servicing cost, started taking it to local mechanics. so far, no trouble with running gears but recently, annoying noise is audiable its like rattling of screws when doors are closing. Not a bad look, electric rear hatch with remote access, low noise cabin, build quality, reasonable performance-RX350, great rear seat space Toyota shared part, pricey, vibration noise when sunroof is partially opened, easily scratchable plastic, poor radio reception, bit thirsty engine, no 3rd seat option

Smooth, lasting and reliable – A Lexus RX like all Lexus models is a keeper. When you're ready to update, pass it on to a family member rather than accepting a fraction of its real value on the open market. My 2004 RX330 has 128,000 Kms on the clock and it drives and looks as well as when brand new and seems ready to handle another 200,000 kms easily. Best build quality in the… Read more

world. Safe. Extremely comfortable with lots of clever and luxurious appointments. Trend setting external aesthetics which still impress even today. Robust,ultra-reliable powertrain combination. Lexus service while expensive is world class in quality. Quite useless for any rigouous off-road activity. As the mileage increases some minor annoying noises come and go. 330 is slightly lacking in power compared to the 350. Brake disc rotors need to be replaced more often than with other models. Dealer servicing costs are exorbitant.

Similar problem – We have a 2007 RX 350 and had a similar problem with the 3 lights coming on. Dealer said it needed a new brake actuator at a cost of $7k. I did my own research and it appeared to relate to a brake light switch as brakes still worked fine. Purchased the switch at Repco for $42 and had my local mechanic install, it was such an easy job he did not… Read more

charge me.

No more warning lights and brakes of course still work perfectly. Extremely disappointed with Lexus dealer as I feel that they would have known the real cause as it is a relatively common issue.!

Brilliant car – I purchased a 2007 rx350 second hand with 60,000km on the clock and it has been almost perfect. Very reliable with ample amount of power and good handling for an suv style vehicle. It is a super luxurious vehicle with all the bells and whistles - the powered tailgate is great and there is a heap of room in the back for throwing a couple of bikes… Read more ·  1

in. My partner had ruled out a couple of other 4wds while we were shopping around because they felt too big and were 'like driving a truck' (she is 5"1') but she loved driving the Lexus and I agree that is really quick to adapt to and doesn't feel cumbersome to drive. The quality of the interior is generally on a par with the euro brands although there are some cheaper looking materials on the dash that give away its Toyota roots. The leather seats are a highlight though - good quality and comfortable.

After 6 months of ownership there are only 2 negatives:

- Driving range - highway driving might give 10l/100km but standard city/suburb driving will return around 13-14l/100lm (needs 95 ron fuel minimum). This means we are only getting around 500km per tank ( at over $80 a fill) which is not brilliant but the tradeoff for having permanent 4wd I suppose - the later models are front wheel drive with on-demand 4wd to save fuel.

- The inbuilt GPS system is very average even with the latest version of the mapping software. The menu and inputting of information is not intuitive to use at all and very frustrating - my partner always got annoyed waiting for me to input the destination and had her phone ready to go in a fraction of the time. Additionally, while testing it out driving in areas I know very well it returned some just plain incorrect routes - in once case adding in an unnecessary toll road loop that added over 20 minutes to the trip and brought us to the same point I could have arrived at by simply exiting the freeway earlier, So despite persisting with it initially because it was there - we now just use our phones which are much more accurate and easier to use. Quality, power, all the included features fuel economy, GPS system poor

Think about the repairing cost – I own the rx350 since 2008, so far so good for the warranty 3 yrs, however, problem came after 3 yrs, the vsc light, slip light & engine light come on, even the dealer had turn off for me, time after time, light come back on again & again. After the yearly service, my dealer listed that there were major oil leak under the engine. I had a Toyota… Read more

for 11 yrs, had no problem at all with the engine, now suppose lexus would perform better, b/c it cost more & developed by toyota, but it doesn't seem it is the case . So disappointed, for fixing the lights problem, I approximately hv to pay around $3k, major oil leak cost around $ 6k. Hard to let go but I am thinking of buying another cheaper SUV as more engineer can fix instead of this has to be fixed by the dealer b/c of the computerized programming in the car . Nice sport SUV, good after sale service. Engine oil leak after 3 yrs warranty, huge repair bill

Luxury SUV - Ideal family urban vehicle – My wife upgraded her IS250 to the RX 350. Boy that was the best "investment". After a few months using the IS250 for family duties (young baby, baby seat/capsules, extra gear, shopping, etc) we finally came to a realisation that we needed something with more space, something more practical. We looked at a number of other SUVs (X1, X3, X5, Tiguan,… Read more ·  3

Outback), but finally settled on the Lexus after being impressed with the IS250.

The RX350 just fitted what we were looking for. Space, luxury features, refinement, looks. Handy features include - electric and memory seats, Sat Nav with reverse parking sensors, 18" alloys, refined 3.5 litre engined, sunfoof, heated seats, electric windoes/mirrors, loads of air bags, automatic climate control. Then engine is powerful and refined.

Very few negatives for me. These include:

- Lack of push button start (my wife's 2005 IS250 had it!)

- All four doors must be unlock before the boot door can be opened

- 3.5 Litre engine is not very efficient and required 95 RON fuel.

- Rear and front parking sensors should be standard.

Despite the minor negatives, I'm really impressed with this SUV. It's an ideal family vehicle for the city and country driving (without going off road). Very smooth drive drain. Very quiet. Luxury motoring. Most of the luxury features. Very practical. Good looks (it's not too boxy!). Excellent Service by Lexus dealership. Fuel consumption is on the high side. Lack of push button start,

Excellent – My family love the look of the interior as well as the exterior. I was sold once given the opportunity to take a test drive over the weekend. Fast, comfortable, roomy, great ride and handling, nice gadgets and safety first with ABS, TCS, & curtain airbags amongst others. Driving one makes an event out of every trip. Wife's friends and their kids… Read more

insist on being transported. Lexus service is exemplary with kind and courteous service. We will be keeping this one to hand down to son aged 4. Everything...really! The manual shift is too slow for enthusiastic driving, better to leave it in drive.

Good – This is now the second RX I have owned (330 now 350) and am highly impressed. We use the car regularly for trips to the snowies and have never had a hiccup. It is extremely comfortable over long distances and handles the steep mountain roads with ease. Although not designed for serious off road use this car is more than capable on graded roads… Read more

and moderately trick tracks but forget it is you need to get over large rocks due to the low ground clearance. The best part is taking it to the farm and getting it covered in everything from dirt to cow... then leaving it parked dirty in Mosman just to let people know that some of these cars do actually make it out of the burbs. Comfort, styling, exceptional service, easiest car to own that I have ever had. The 350 has a much better engine than the 330. Price, 330 a bit sluggish in the gearbox department although much better on the 350.

Excellent – This car is just awesome. I have a RX330 which we bought 2nd hand and I've had it for 2 months now. I am so happy with it. It is a pleasure to drive. I haven't noticed the fuel economy to be anymore then the commodore that I used to drive although I'm sure it probably is. I'm just so happy with the car. Lexus have truly thought of everything. We… Read more

live near a school and I find the reverse camera very reassuring. Can highly recommend this car. Value for money luxury car So far I haven't found anything