Owners have filed 26 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the wipers and visibility, fuel system, and engine. The 8 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.
2020Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.
0/8 checked
2020 Lexus NX: inspection sheet
Before you go, or before you touch the car0/2
Engine off, key in hand0/1
Ask the seller not to warm the car up first0/2
At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/3
These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.
These years share the 2020's design and most of its parts, so their problems are the ones to look for on this car too.
Worth adding to your 2020 checks
Worth adding to your 2020 checks
Worth adding to your 2020 checks
EPA figures for each version of the 2020 Lexus NX. Use them to confirm you are looking at the version that was advertised, and as a yardstick on the test drive.
| Version | Drive | EPA rating |
|---|---|---|
| 2.0L 4-cylGas | AWD, FWD | 24–25 mpg |
| 2.5L 4-cylHybrid | AWD | 31 mpg |
NHTSA complaints for the 2020 Lexus NX, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.
Glass shatters without warning, most often the sunroof. Reports describe a loud bang like a gunshot at highway speed with no debris or traffic nearby, then glass scattered across the cabin and into the back seat. One sunroof failed on a car with 3200 miles. A rear window also shattered while the car pulled into a garage. No injuries are reported, but the sudden noise and flying glass startle drivers at speed. A separate complaint describes the driver side mirror shaking above 60 mph.
Power drops suddenly. The car goes into limp mode, shakes, or loses power at freeway speed, which makes stopping safely difficult with fast traffic around it. Repairs point to the fuel system. A dealer confirmed a faulty fuel pump in one case, and fuel injectors failed in others, sometimes on different cylinders a few weeks apart. Injector failures appear as early as 33K miles and as late as 80k. At least one owner says Lexus would not take responsibility for the repair.
Fire is the most serious report here. A parked car that had not been driven for several days caught fire near the front of the hood overnight. Only the frame was left, and the insurer could not determine the cause. Stalling is the other pattern. The engine quits while driving, a "Reduced Speed" message appears, and the check engine light comes on. The car restarts, but the dealer called for a cylinder head replacement at about 72,283 miles.
Brake lights stay off when adaptive cruise control brings the car to a complete stop in traffic. Drivers behind get no warning, which raises the risk of a rear-end crash. Acceleration also fails. In one report the car would not speed up at 65 mph when the pedal was pressed, and it was towed to the dealer twice before the dealer blamed the ignition coils, at about 38,880 miles.
Engine power drops sharply while merging onto busy highways. The car slows even with the pedal pressed, and shops find misfire codes. Other symptoms include rough idle, vibration under acceleration, fluctuating RPM, stalling, a check engine light, and a message telling the driver to pull over for engine or transmission trouble. A dealer replaced a faulty cylinder head in one case, but the same symptoms came back within months. Losing power at highway speed brings a real collision risk.
Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.
The 2020 ranks sixth for owner complaints among 8 NX years, well under the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.
Redesigns and mid-cycle updates change what can go wrong.
The 2020 is the sixth model year of the NX's first generation (2015–2021).
It includes the 2018 update.
What changed for 2018
Cars shoppers compare with the Lexus NX, with their own 2020 checklists.
2020 owner complaints, side by side
