Selling a junk Lexus RX300
Any RX300 sells for scrap or parts, running or not. Below: what owners report most often for each model year, the recalls on file, and which of those change the offer. Enter your ZIP for a buyer near you.
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What owners report about the Lexus RX300
NHTSA has 849 owner complaints on file for the Lexus RX300, model years 1998 to 2003, the 305th-most of the 423 models in our data. The most-reported components are transmission and drivetrain (441, 52%), engine and cooling (76, 9%), speed control (66, 8%). 89 complaints involved a crash, 16 a fire, and 4 say the vehicle had to be towed. The median mileage when the problem was reported is 105,000 miles. The 1999 model year has the most complaints (268). Data as of 2026-10-12.
When the top complaint is transmission and drivetrain, the question for a seller is whether a buyer will resell the car, pull the parts or scrap it. Read our guide to selling a car with a bad transmission: it explains which offers assume the part works and how to describe the car so the price holds at pickup.
Lexus RX300 by model year
| Year | Complaints | Most reported | Crash | Fire | Recalls | Median miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 6 | Visibility and wipers | 1 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1999 | 268 | Transmission and drivetrain | 21 | 13 | 7 | 105,000 |
| 2000 | 247 | Transmission and drivetrain | 23 | 0 | 5 | 107,527 |
| 2001 | 189 | Transmission and drivetrain | 17 | 2 | 5 | 105,897 |
| 2002 | 106 | Transmission and drivetrain | 22 | 1 | 5 | 98,000 |
| 2003 | 33 | Transmission and drivetrain | 5 | 0 | 3 | 92,463 |
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not confirmed defects. Median miles is the odometer reading owners gave when they reported a problem, shown only where 20 or more reports include it.
Lexus RX300 recalls
NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns across these model years, most often for lights (5), visibility and wipers (1), brakes (1). Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer. Before you sell, check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls; a buyer who plans to resell the car will.
- 1999 model year, lights (campaign 09E025000, May 2009): DOPE, INC. IS RECALLING 42,540 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMEN…
- 1999 model year, lights (campaign 09E012000, Apr 2009): SABERSPORT IS RECALLING 16,270 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMEN…
- 1999 model year, visibility and wipers (campaign 08E020000, Mar 2008): POLYMER PROCESS DEVELOPMENT IS RECALLING 931 UNITS OF BACK GLASS, P/NO. FB20415ZPY, SOLD AS REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT FOR USE ON 1999-2004 LEXUS RX300 VEHICLES. THE GLASS FAILS TO CONFORM TO THE AUTOMOTIVE GLAZING MATERIAL R…
- 1999 model year, lights (campaign 06E049000, May 2006): CERTAIN CK MOTORSPORTS COMBINATION HEADLIGHTS, CLEAR CORNER, BUMPER, AND SIDE MARKER LIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON THE PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBE…
- 1999 model year, lights (campaign 06E026000, Mar 2006): CERTAIN PRO-A MOTORS CORNER LAMPS, TURN SIGNALS, AND HEADLIGHTS SOLD AS REPLACEMENT LAMPS FOR USE ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. SOME COMBINATION LAMPS THAT ARE NOT EQUIPPED WITH AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS FAIL T…
What a Lexus RX300 is worth as a junk car
Buyers price a junk RX300 on four things: its weight at today's scrap steel price (the floor), the parts still on it that can be resold, whether it starts and drives, and how far they have to tow it. None of those come from a complaint database, so use this page to describe the car accurately and our junk car value guide to work out a ceiling for the metal. Then get more than one offer.
Guides for selling this car
How to sell a car with a bad transmission 
How much is my junk car worth? 
How junkyards price cars 
Catalytic converters and junk cars 
How to prepare your car for the junkyard 
Junk car scams and how to avoid them Other Lexus models
- Lexus ES350 1,629
- Lexus RX350 1,109
- Lexus RX 1,088
- Lexus IS 250 938
- Lexus ES 837
- Lexus IS 804
- Lexus ES300 713
- Lexus RX330 659
Questions people ask
- What is a junk Lexus RX300 worth?
- What a yard can recover: the car's weight at the current scrap steel price, plus parts it can resell (the catalytic converter, engine, transmission and wheels if they're good), minus towing and processing. The same RX300 gets different offers from different buyers, so compare at least two. Our value guide shows the public benchmark.
- Will a junkyard buy a Lexus RX300 that doesn't run?
- Yes. Junkyards and junk car buyers take cars that don't start, and most arrange the tow. Tell them honestly whether it starts, whether the engine and transmission are still in it, and whether the catalytic converter is on; those are what change the price.
- Should I fix an open recall before selling a Lexus RX300?
- Recall repairs are free at a franchised dealer for as long as the car exists. If the car is going for scrap, the repair won't change the scrap price. If a buyer might resell it or pull parts, a completed recall can help. Check your VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup first.
- Where do these Lexus RX300 numbers come from?
- From the complaint and recall data NHTSA publishes for every make and model, counted by model year on 2026-10-12. A complaint is an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and the count rises with how many of the model were sold.