Two problems related to engine have been reported for the 1998 Lexus ES300. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I have a 1998 Lexus Es300. In November 2003, my car was serviced under Lexus' spa program due to engine oil gelling/sludge. Now, 3 years later, the engine seized. This is a direct and consequential result of driving the car for 76k miles with a gelling issue. The damage had been done and this was a latent defect. We took the car to the Lexus dealer and had it serviced three weeks ago, spent $700 on it, drove it off the lot and 20 minutes later the engine seized. They now want $5k to put a used engine in it with 130k miles on it. Lexus corporation was useless and they basically said no matter if the seize was caused by the gelling or not, because the car had so many miles on it they were not willing to "assist". Beware of Lexus of seattle - they are crooks!.
The consumer was told that the engine may experience engine problems. The consumer would like to participate in the national call back.