2018 Lexus NX: What to check before buying

Fuel pump failure cuts engine power and stalls the car, sometimes at highway speed. There is no warning beforehand. Then the check engine and traction control lights come on, the car drops into limp mode, it stops responding to the gas pedal, and it stalls. One report cites code P0087, fuel rail pressure too low. Owners describe the failure coming back after the pump was replaced. A stall in traffic or on a fast road carries real crash risk.

Two separate fuel problems appear here. In one, the car stalls at highway speed with a Check Oil message and a flashing master warning light, then keeps stalling and cannot go faster than 40 mph. A dealer traced it to the fuel pump on a very high-mileage car that already had a replacement pump. In the other, a torn fuel hose leaks heavily under a parked car with the engine running. The leak was serious enough that the fire department was called, and the dealer blamed rodents for chewing the hose.

The car accelerates suddenly at low speed and the brakes fail to stop it. Drivers describe the pedal going to the floor, the engine racing, and shifting into Park doing nothing to stop the car. Two of the four complaints involve crashes and one involves an injury. Most happened while pulling into a driveway, at a stop sign, or in stop-and-go traffic. At least one owner says the manufacturer's inspection found no sign of brake failure. A separate report describes a brake failure warning lighting up at startup at 17,000 miles.

The engine stalls without warning, including on the highway, and dealers often cannot reproduce or diagnose the cause. Complaints describe repeated stalls over several months, near-accidents, and cars left unrepaired while owners wait on the manufacturer. One case began within weeks of ownership. A separate complaint describes a passenger side mirror bursting out of its housing with wires hanging out at low speed. The dealer suggested earlier impact damage.

Turning the wheel becomes hard and keeps getting worse, with no warning lights or messages. The dealer could not confirm the problem. The other complaint filed here actually describes engine trouble. The RPM fluctuates at a stop, the fuel injectors and gaskets get replaced, and later the car shakes badly and briefly loses power while climbing a grade. Heavy steering and a sudden loss of power can both make the car harder to control.

A lower interior beam in the driver's door caves inward like a dent even though the car was never in an accident. Dealers cannot explain it, and the owner worries about how well the door would protect the driver in a side impact. A separate complaint describes the lower door panels collecting heavy dirt and snow, and dirt building up in the gap between the rear door and the wheel arch trim.