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 62 for the Lexus RX, or 15% 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 2014 and 2018 for the RX.
By age group
| Model years | NX | RX | Fewer problems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Older (2012 to 2015) | 110 | 58 | RX |
| Middle (2016 to 2018) | 47 | 74 | NX |
| Newer (2019 to 2022) | 47 | 55 | NX |
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
| Year | NX | RX |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | n/a | 50 |
| 2013 | n/a | 87 |
| 2014 | n/a | 28 |
| 2015 | 110 | 67 |
| 2016 | 49 | 85 |
| 2017 | 51 | 96 |
| 2018 | 42 | 42 |
| 2019 | 75 | 61 |
| 2020 | 52 | 56 |
| 2021 | 29 | 62 |
| 2022 | 31 | 41 |
| 2023 | Too new | Too new |
| 2024 | Too new | Too 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.
Questions
Is the NX or RX more reliable?
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Lexus NX drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 53 per 100,000 against 62 for the Lexus RX, or 15% 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 2014 and 2018 for the RX.
Which NX and RX years should I avoid?
For the NX: none stand out. For the RX: none stand out.