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Lexus NX vs Toyota RAV4

Which one, and which years, drew fewer problems per car sold

The short answer

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Lexus NX drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 53 per 100,000 against 110 for the Toyota RAV4, or 52% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2017 and 2018 for the NX and 2016 and 2022 for the RAV4.

2022 Lexus NX 350, front 3.7.22

Lexus NX

Complaints per 100k sold53
Recalls since 20123
Average crash rating5 of 5
'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Best2017, 2018
Avoidnone stand out
2020 Toyota Rav4 XLE, Front Left, 09-30-2020

Toyota RAV4

Complaints per 100k sold110
Recalls since 201234
Average crash rating4.8 of 5
'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Best2016, 2022
Avoid2019

By age group

Model yearsNXRAV4Fewer problems
Older (2012 to 2015)110107About even
Middle (2016 to 2018)4778NX
Newer (2019 to 2022)47133NX

Owner complaints per 100,000 cars sold, pooled across the years in each group. Lower is better. A model counts as ahead only when it is at least 10% lower.

Year by year

YearNXRAV4
2012n/a155
2013n/a120
2014n/a77
201511097
20164973
20175179
20184281
201975203
202052151
202129125
20223144
2023Too newToo new
2024Too newToo new

Complaints per 100,000 sold for each model year. Green is a good year for that model, amber average, red a year to watch out for.

Most reported problems

Questions

Is the NX or RAV4 more reliable?

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Lexus NX drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 53 per 100,000 against 110 for the Toyota RAV4, or 52% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2017 and 2018 for the NX and 2016 and 2022 for the RAV4.

Which NX and RAV4 years should I avoid?

For the NX: none stand out. For the RAV4: 2019.

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