This is the year three review of my 2020 RX350 purchased new on 4/30/2020. My one year and two year reviews can be found at these two links: 2020 RX350 – One year, 12.6K miles review - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion and 2020 RX350 Two year, 28.3K miles review - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion. Those might still be useful to someone considering purchase of a used 2020/21/22 RX350.

Executive Summary
Three years in and I am still very pleased with the RX350. The original plan to drive the vehicle for many years remains in place. I'm trying to take care of it as if I'll drive it forever, or one of my sons will get it if I do decide to replace it. I enjoy driving it every day and have no significant complaints with the vehicle. For reference, my 2020 has the Premium package, Navigation, BLIS with Panoramic Monitor, 20” wheels, Moonroof, heated wood/leather steering wheel, heated/ventilated front seats, cold weather package, and OEM all -weather floor/cargo mats. Post-purchase modifications include tinted front windows to 35% VLT, OEM illuminated door sills, OEM F Sport pedals, a Curt hitch for a bike rack and a dashcam.

RX Positives
This is a nice vehicle, and I still really enjoy owning and driving it. Highlights include:

• Seats - The NuLuxe seats are very comfortable on long drives. The Birch (very light gray) interior still looks new.
• Drivetrain - Zero issues with the drivetrain so far. Shifting remains smooth, other than very infrequent hard-ish downshifts.
• Safety systems - they work well and are generally unobtrusive. I use the speed adjusted cruise control all the time on the highway and it works fine. (I do NOT use it in traffic.) The BLIS works very well, once you understand that it doesn't fire if there is a significant speed differential between you and a vehicle you are passing. I appreciate the park-assist and the auto-braking in reverse. The only system I rarely use is the Lane Keep Assist.
• Infotainment - Since installing a Motorola wireless Android Auto dongle a few months ago, I use AA on every drive, usually with streamed music playing. I like the high screen for map visibility, although it is a little far away for convenient touch usage. I probably use the trackpad as much or more than the touchscreen. The noise cancellation on handsfree calls is the best of any vehicle I've had.
• Service cost - I do my own basic maintenance and have only spent $308 to service the vehicle so far, not including tires. I buy the Toyota filter elements from the Lexus dealer and use Pennzoil's top-of-the-line 6A Ultra Platinum oil, changing it every ~6K miles. I'm trying to follow @Quantum501's maintenance schedule, so need to incur some cost for differential and transfer case fluid changes soon. (Yeah, I know, I'm a little behind...)

RX Issues
No car is perfect. I had a few issues initially that I won't repeat here, but read my aforementioned One and Two year reviews, if interested.

• Pulsating whine noise - Fixed by replacing the OEM Bridgestone Ecopias with Michelin CrossClimate 2s. I thought the persistent whine the car would exhibit was a tire issue, and that proved to be correct.
• Rattles - I've had to isolate and fix a few rattles along the way.
• Heated wheel and seats - The heated steering wheel only heats the leather parts at the 9 and 3 positions. Heating the top third of the wheel would be welcomed. The heated seats are just fair - they never get truly hot. This one might not deserve to be on the Negatives list, as it doesn't matter that many days of the year in WV.
• Fuel mileage/range - My RX gets right at 23 MPG combined and its effective range is only ~300-340 miles before the low fuel indicator complains. If was still driving the miles I did when working, about 2.5x my current rate, the frequency of fuel stops would be annoying.
• Three year expiration of Lexus Enform Services - today is the last day for the included Enform Remote, Destination Assist, Safety Connect and Dynamic Navigation services that came with the vehicle. I don't use it often, but I think I'll renew the Enform Remote service, and also the Safety Connect service. I've never used Destination Assist and, since moving full time to Google Maps with AA, don't use Dynamic Navigation anymore.
• Things I would change, but are not a big deal
  • A digital speedometer (that does not include the Lexus 2mph error)
  • Cruise control on the steering wheel, not the stalk.
  • A MID that is useful. The dash information display is brain dead. Toyota/Lexus wastes a lot of black space and forces a scroll through the screens to see information that could easily be displayed on one screen. Our Honda Pilot has similarly sized MID that has a much better design.
  • Intuitive maintenance minder. Good idea, lousy execution on the RX.
  • Less aggressive auto high-beams.

RX Value
I was fortunate to buy my RX before the world went nuts, paying a lot less than MSRP. The RX had a sticker of $56,133 and I paid $48,502 net of rebate, discount and dealer fees. KBB says it still has a value of about $39.1K. Clearly some of the retained value is attributed to the overall car market. Nonetheless, the Lexus appears to be holding its value pretty well, as I hoped it would.

Final Thoughts
If I had to do it over again, I'd still buy the RX. I don't see anything else on the road that I'd rather own for a long time. If you read this far you must have some interest in the 4th gen RX, and I hope the review was useful to you.

 

Cruz control stalk!
I train myself to turn the steering wheel every time when I park in a way that I will not break it off with my knee when exiting the vehicle!!
I find your review being extremely useful. You’re absolutely echoing every single thing that I find positive and negative with the vehicle!

 

Have a 2017 RX450h 82,000 miles. Have not had one problem coming up on five year in June. Love the vehicle. Even after five years enjoy every trip in it. On the waiting list for a 2023 RX350h. I am going to have to truly say the 23 is worlds better to justify a purchase.

 

Thanks for posting. My wife concurs with her 2020 RX350L with the luxury package. 37,000 miles. We don't love the Mark Levinson audio unless the volume is pegged. We have Blizzaks for the winter and there isn't a more poised capable vehicle in the snow.

 

Great summary.....almost identical to my experience as well.

 

Mine has been great too, 2018 RX350 18,000 miles, looks better than I bought it new!

 

My 2016 is right around 154k miles, bought new in September 2016. Best car I have ever owned!

 

I've had pretty much the same experience with my 2020 RX with 20k miles. My wife leased hers and to my surprise the residual is $25k and KBB claiming a $41-$43 trade-in value.
Her Lease expires February 2024 and I'm trying to convince her to buy it or sell it.

By the way Thanks for the review bamalam.

 

My 2018 F-Sport is 5 years old this month, with 51+K miles. The sunroof blew out the second winter I had the car, and was replaced under warranty. The throttle body failed about 3 months ago and had to be replaced -- Lexus refused to cover it under the drivetrain warranty, which annoyed me. Other than those items, the car has been trouble-free. I change the oil myself every 5K miles, and do the cabin air filter and windshield wipers when needed. I've had the dealer do the 10K mile services while it is under warranty, and Muffler Bros. will rotate the tires at 5K for $20. I changed the differential fluid just before the 50K miles service, but my 24mm. socket is too long for the transfer case fill plug, so rather than grind it down I paid Muffler Bros. $49 to change it with fluid I provided. The differential fluid did not look very used when I drained it. I had the dealer drain and replace the coolant at the 50K miles service, and also the brake fluid. I'm going to see if Muffler Bros. are confident they can change the ATF correctly -- I want to do that just before 60K miles.

I agree with about 95% of the "likeability" comments. Having driven Toyota products before, the cruise control stalk is familiar and I'm a small-framed guy so it is not obtrusive for me. I turned off LKA the day I brought the car home -- my driving is mostly suburban and city, so LKA is just an annoyance in that environment. I don't use Nav but I love the map on the big display, and I've about forgotten how to back up without a cool camera and parking guide. I installed brighter/whiter LED's in the trunk and a Thinkware dual dashcam. The OEM Ecopias crapped out at 28K miles and were replaced with Goodyear Assurance Maxlifes, which are holding up great. Brakes are original. I use 89 octane gas and the car runs very smooth and is pretty peppy for a heavy SUV. I agree the MID is strangely non-obvious to navigate. In recent times I've mostly just left it set on the tire pressure screen. I spent $60K for a fully loaded F-Sport with everything but a HUD, and as of today I still drive a really nice car, so no regrets.

 

Hard to believe Lexus doesn't consider the throttle body to be part of the drivetrain. Did they provide an excuse? Then again, they seem so simple to me I don't understand why one would ever fail.

Do you have a link or purchase info for the LEDs you used in the trunk? The stock lights certainly aren't very bright.

BTW, your comments about your Thinkware dashcam some time ago were helpful in my dashcam selection, and I ended up with the same one you bought. It's been flawless since I installed it.

 

Yeah, I was pretty bent -- I made my case to corporate with photos and diagrams to prove the throttle body is part of the engine. It was a complete waste of my time. "Lubricated components" are the ones that are covered, per the phone call they made the service manager give me. He said they've been seeing a few of these cases and it is caused by bad gasoline. I only use Shell or Costco fuel -- I was underwhelmed by that explanation. And that limp mode that the car goes into is a serious PITA -- if my part of the country wasn't as flat as it is, I would have never been able to drive it to the dealer, as it will only go 10 mph. (1000 rpm) and not up a hill. There's an electronic module on the throttle body and I have not clue #1 how bad gasoline breaks that or fouls it in a way that can't be cleaned. That and the $800 repair bill are all I know about it.

Any record of my purchase of the white LEDs for the cargo area are long gone, but I used the following post on this forum as my guidance to order them:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...ml#post9283732

"T10" is the key.

I really like them. And the Thinkware dashcam is occasionally the source of a fun video to show my wife what happened on my way home from the gym at 6:30 a.m.

 

"seeing a few of these cases and it is caused by bad gasoline" really?? As John McEnroe would say "you can't be serious"

 

Worked google a bit and was interested to see this online service offering:

https://www.yourmechanic.com/estimat...dy-replacement

Apparently I'm not the only one.

 

I have replaced throttle bodies on other cars. Not a major operation. Buy the parts you need and watch some you tubes. You can save yourself hundreds of dollars and avoid getting ripped off by the dealership. If a nutcase like me can do it, you can do it also.

 

Sorry, to hear you went through that unfortunate ordeal.

Gasoline has nothing to do with the Electronic Throttle Body. When the throttle body fails, it is either the Potentiometer (variable resistor) is bad or the stepper motor has failed.

The stepper motor in the throttle body can be very sensitive. Sometimes cleaning the throttle body by spraying directly to the throttle body can cause malfunction to the stepper motor and cause limp mode. I don't think that was the case in yours. Yours just died because the electronic motor has failed.

If I were you, I would ask how does bad gasoline would cause the throttle body motor to fail as it does not pass through the throttle body. If anything, it would be crankcase vapors from the PCV system.