IsItAGoodCar
Reliability Guide

Common Problems with the
2016 Lexus RC

We've identified 2 known issues that can affect the 2016 Lexus RC. None are considered critical, but they're worth knowing about before you buy.

2
Known Issues
0
Serious
1
Moderate
1
Minor

All Known Issues

Rear Brake Disc Corrosion and Caliper Slider Seizure

ModerateBrakes

Because the RC 300h uses regenerative electric braking to harvest kinetic energy during deceleration, the mechanical rear friction brakes are lightly stressed during normal UK road use. In damp, salt-treated winter conditions, the rear ventilated discs fail to reach self-cleaning temperatures. Corrosion develops across the friction face, forming raised rust ridges, while road grit causes the sliding caliper guide pins to seize. This leads to brake binding, premature pad taper, and frequent UK MOT test failure.

Est. Repair Cost: £250–£550
Warning Signs:

Deep rust rings, flaking scale, or pitting clearly visible across the rear disc faces, High-pitched brake squeal or grinding noise during low-speed braking, One rear alloy wheel noticeably hotter than the other after motorway journeys due to caliper binding, MOT test failure or advisory recorded for brake disc pitted or significantly weakened

What to Inspect:
  • Visually inspect the outer and inner contact faces of both rear brake discs through the wheel spokes
  • Check for excessive heat, brake dust accumulation, or a burning smell from the rear wheels after a test drive
  • Roll the car on a gentle incline in neutral to ensure the brakes release freely without drag
Verified by IsItAGoodCar Research TeamUpdated

Remote Touch Interface (RTI) Controller Lag and Infotainment Freezing

MinorInterior & Trim

Pre-facelift RC models (2014–2018) use a center-console-mounted haptic touchpad interface to navigate the multimedia display. The touch sensor controller frequently experiences erratic cursor drift, delayed response, and haptic feedback motor failure. Concurrently, the navigation head unit hardware struggles with memory management when processing newer Bluetooth smartphone connections, resulting in random system reboots, frozen navigation screens, and unresponsiveness until the car is power-cycled.

Est. Repair Cost: £200–£750
Warning Signs:

Cursor on the central display jumps uncontrollably or refuses to highlight selected icons, Touchpad haptic click vibration feels weak, inconsistent, or stops working entirely, Infotainment screen freezes on the Lexus logo or reboots spontaneously while driving, Bluetooth audio connection drops out repeatedly or fails to sync phonebook contacts

What to Inspect:
  • Spend several minutes navigating all infotainment menus using the touchpad to verify cursor accuracy
  • Pair a modern smartphone via Bluetooth and stream music to confirm the head unit remains stable
  • Ask whether the multimedia firmware has been updated to the latest dealer calibration version
Verified by IsItAGoodCar Research TeamUpdated

Buying Tips for 2016 Lexus RC

  • Test the Remote Touch touchpad controller on 2014–2018 models thoroughly; ensure the cursor tracks smoothly and does not jump erratically across menu icons.
  • Inspect the rear brake discs for deep corrosion grooves and pitting; hybrid regeneration leaves the mechanical rear calipers underworked in wet UK road conditions.
  • On RC F V8 models, inspect the valley between cylinder banks under the intake manifold for signs of pink coolant seepage from the heat exchanger plate.
  • Check all four diamond-cut alloy wheels for white spiderweb corrosion underneath the lacquer, a common UK warranty replacement item on F Sport models.
  • Confirm whether the car benefits from the 10-year/100,000-mile Lexus Relax warranty by checking that annual servicing was carried out within the franchised dealer network.
Check a 2016 Lexus RC by Registration