Lexus Problems

If there are any common problems and complaints about reliability or faults in Lexus vehicles, they'll likely show up on our Lexus problems page. You can also calculate a car's projected resale value via our price and specs page.

Toyota Motor Corporation make Lexus vehicles out of Aichi and Kyushu Japan with SUV production coming out of Ontario in the USA. 

That’s a difficult call to make. The car has done quite a few kilometres and is in the twilight of its life. If it’s been properly serviced all its life to date and you continue to service it well you should be able to keep on top of any issues that crop up. But at the same you should anticipate that problems might occur more often now, and that will involve more expense. Looking forward you need to decide if you want to gamble on it giving little or no trouble, or get out of it. If you are not sure about it get out of it now.

The cheapest new Lexus is a CT200h listed at $40,900. For more info on the latest model, check out our pricing and specs page, and you'll find all Lexus reviews and news here.

The most expensive new Lexus is a LS500h Sports Luxury listed at $195,500. For more info on the latest model, check out our pricing and specs page, and you'll find all Lexus reviews and news here.

Lexus vehicles are mostly produced in Japan, where the brand started out in the early '80s.

The world of hybrids is moving very fast, Hannah, and the rule of thumb is that newer is better purely because the technology is improving all the time. You’re obviously concerned with running costs and your carbon-footprint, so the latest hybrid technology with a full factory warranty would seem to be an obvious way to go.

That puts the new Corolla Hybrid firmly in the frame as both a car with the latest planet-saving and life-saving tech as well as Toyota’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty as well as a ten-year warranty on the hybrid’s batteries. For some reason, Lexus hasn’t budged on its four-year warranty, meaning that a 2017 CT200h might only have a few months of factory cover to run if your bought it now. You’ll also potentially pay more for the second-hand Lexus than you will for the brand-new Corolla.

The only real drawback with the Corolla Hybrid is that its luggage space – because of the battery-packs – is quite shallow. But beyond that it’s a great car with the hybrid driveline thrown in for just a couple of grand extra. That’s a bargain and it’s one of the reasons the new Corolla will be a lot of Australian families’ first hybrid.

According to the advertising agency that works for Lexus, the name never had any particular meaning. However it's still speculated the name is an amalgamation of the words "luxury" and "elegance", or that it stands for "Luxury Exports to the US".

Although both these cars are similar in many ways, there’s one area where they take difference philosophies. And that’s in the way their hybrid systems are configured and prioritised.

While the Lexus is more of a conventional hybrid with the electric motor doing a lot of the heavy lifting, the Volvo is what’s called a mild hybrid., As the name suggests, that means the electric power is limited to a 10kW boost when taking off or when the driver requires maximum acceleration.

A mild hybrid layout does still operate the stop-start function and can harvest energy when slowing down, so it’s still a worthwhile slice of tech, but it won’t affect fuel consumption as much as the Lexus’ full hybrid system.

Reliability is a bit of an unknown with any new car, but it’s fair to say that the Lexus’ reputation will count for something come trade-in time. Not to mention that, as the more hybrid-focussed of the pair, the Lexus might also be a little more future-proof.