Lexus ES300 owners have reported 18 unknown or other related problems since 1996. Table 1 shows the 1 most common unknown or other problems. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's unknown or other (18 problems). For details of each of the problem category, use the links in the table.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other problems |
We have experienced on several occassions that vehicle hesitates when trying to accelerate at stop sign or when initialy in start to drive at about 20-30 miles per hour at times for few seconds & at times it rattles 3-4 times. This car was purchased as certified pre-owned from Lexus dealer in excellent condition in 2006 that came with extended warranty upto 75000 miles but this problem started with slight & smooth jerk about 3 years back, took it to dealer after noticed for few times to diagnosis. At first instance they could not feel it since it was not consistent but when again complained for second time was told that it could be fuel injectors cloged followed by other list of potential service items we were talking about $1000+ expense which we denied it since we have always maintained our car good & always use 93 or 89 octaine gas with maintenance service as recommended. This one is my wife's vehicle & used to commute to work mostly on express way. We do have couple other issues with this car but not as important. Now, lately this hesitation frequency have increased & from what I hear is that we are not alone and this seems to be an ongoing issue with some other Es300 owners as well.
I was driving to work which is approximately 15 miles from my home. Upon entering the parking lot, I had to yeild to a school bus and stop. After the stop I proceeded to drive at approximately 5 mph to park the car. I turned four times to get to the parking space with foot on the break or just coasting. As I turned into the parking space with the brakes pressed. The car acceralated and went over the curb and proceeded on the grass. My foot was on the brake throughout this whole incident. I tried to stop the car by pushing the brakes down harder. Since the brakeks were not respond, I took my foot off the brake and stomped/pumped the brakes with no avail. The brakes were not responding. The car was on the grass and luckily since the steering wheel was in a left hand turn postion I avoided hitting students and a huge tree. Using the emergency brake finally stopped the car. 3. I called 180025lexus and had them pick the car up and take it to the dealership (sterling mc call Lexus) the servicer advisor (lopez) called saying they couldn't find anything wrong with the vechile and it was ready to be picked up. When the car was picked up my husband made a notation on the servie sheet saying he did not agree. He also went to talk to the sales manager (cook) to let him know what had happened and how unhappy we were. He also let him know that we had researched Lexus on the NHTSA site and found this is not an isolated incident and many orther reports have been filed concerning brakes not working and with high acceration. He said to report it to 180025lexus and he woudl get on to it once it was reported. I am afraid to drive this car because of the safety issue and since Lexus will not take responsibilty the car must be replaced.
Trac off and ck engine lights illuminate during driving. Vehicle will then operate in a rough manner and will not steadily idle, rpm's drastically drop and vehicle feels like it wants to stall out on the road during operation. On each of the following occasions the vehicle was serviced at Lexus of wilmington in the state of delaware for this same issue: 8/25/04 - code 440 po and reset lights (warranty) no repairs; 11/03/2005 - codes p0046, p0441 & p0440 claimed loose gas cap & didn't make any repairs; 11/16/05 - canister switching valve shorted out, replaced & cleared lights, charge 45. 00 for valve; 02/16/2006 now out of warranty; again the charcoal canister shorted out and was replaced $362. 52; 08/30/2006 bank 1 sensor 1 oxygen sensor shorted out, replaced sensor $280. 56; 10/29/09 diagnostics showed code p0420 catalyst system below threshold on bank 1, need to replace. . $124. 95 for diagnostics check; replace catalytic converter 1,831. 19; 05/13/10 catalytic converter malfunction $434. 25. Malfunction first occurred during the warranty period and dealer did not suggest replacement part during that time. Not until after warranty expired, did Lexus express concern for replace of parts. Now the issue has arose again and I don't fell I should have to pay the dealer for any additional issues arising from the same malfunction. I have all service reports from the dealer to document all of these occasions and my service history from date of purchase. All of these issues are related to the trac off & ck engine lights illuminating. I purchased this vehicle brand new from Lexus of wilmington and feel they should now take responsibility for the repairs that, most likely, should have commenced during the warranty period.
I realize that my problem, with a bad radio is not a mechanical one. However, I am sending this for your information, and to indicate that Lexus does not live up to its ads as pursuing perfection I have spoken to a number of people at Lexus, in my dealership and at the main office over a period of 10 months. I have even written to the vice president of Lexus. He did not reply to my first letter so I sent him a second letter, certified. Return receipt. I received a response to that second letter from someone at customer relations. In addition to that call, I have received a call from a service manager at the dealership where I purchased my car, and from another person. The final decision seems to be that, although they know that this is a problem with the radio in the ES 300, and that they realize that it is due to a faulty antenna in the rear window, but there is nothing that they can do about it. I told that person that is not acceptable to me and am waiting for a response which I assume will be negaztive.
The Lexus specialist at the repair shop informed me that he has seen similar problems with other ES 300 models as well as the rl models at about the same mileage. The ones with the Toyota camry engines haven\\\\\\'t had any problems. There is a TSB on the NHTSA website and I have also filed a complaint there.
I have had my 1998 Es300 in with tom wood Lexus of indianapolis well over a dozen times since December of 2002 for the same problems. The abs/trac off and low oil level warning lights went off randomly. After replacing the abs pump ($1,400 for the part alone), the problem persisted. After an unacceptable amount of false diagnostics, wasted service trips (at least a week long each time) and useless but costly repairs, my car is still in the shop. They suspected that a sludge engine is the cause of my problems. But it turned out that I did not have the sludge problem. The Lexus dealer ended up finding an electrical problem with the oil sensor system. This was after they replaced the abs/traction control actuator pump and the abs ecu. It took them 6 months to find and fix all of my problems. It was a very expensive 6 months and took up almost all of my vacation time from work for the year to make wasted trips to the dealer. Most of the loaner cars they gave me were smoky junkers that I was forced to drive weeks at a time. I hope this provides insight for future customers. The carfax report I ran came up clean when I bought this car in November of 2002. I have had it for about a month after it was finally "repaired" and it is working well.
The consumer states that he cannot view the instrument panel during the daytime. The mfr advised the consumer that the panel is designed that way. The consumer states that the white numbers on the instruments were okay, but it is extremely difficult to see the red needle during the day light (unless your in the shade/or in the evening). The consumer states that he is unable to tell the speed of travel, whether the engine is overheating, and/or the amount of fuel left. Also the multi-information displays and the odometer readings are barely visible during the daylight hours. The consumer states that he receives a standard answer that the instrument panel is working as designed.
In day light hours when sun is out consumer can't see dials on speedometer, unable to tell how fast vehicle was going. Consumer felt this was very unsafe. Consumer also can not see the fuel gauge, engine speed and engine temperature.
Indicator needle on instrument panel are not visible during day light hours. Dealer contacted. Dealer informed consumer that nothing could be done.
Consumer is unable to see digital dash indicator lights in bright sunlight.
The dashboard cracked. Yh.
1999 Lexus Es300. Consumer requests information on Toyota defective products the consumer stated his mother was involved in a near fatal accident and suffered injuries as a result of the accident.
No summary.
The vehicle intermittently experienced a hesitation when accelerating, the dealership was unable to duplicate the problem.
I cannot read the red dial on the speedometer. During daylight hours, it fades away even though the panel lights are turned all the way up. I keep up with the traffic, not knowing how fast (or slow) I am going. This only happens during daylight hours, not nighttime. I spoke to Lexus customer service (ms. Yvonne childs, 800 255 3987) and to ray catena Lexus about this problem. Nobody called me back. This is a dangerous situation and I would like it to be corrected. Ts.
When driving during daylight hours we cannot see the red dial on the speedometer even though the instrument panel light control is turned fully up. We never know how fast we are going. We just try to keep up with the traffic. We spoke to yvonne childs at Lexus customer service (800 255 3987) who would look into it, but never got back to us. I spoke to another service person, and he said he has heard of this problem. This is definitely a major safety factor that must be addressed and corrected.
When driving during daylight hours we cannot see the red dial on the speedometer even though the instrument panel light control is turned fully up. We never know how fast we are going. We just try to keep up with the traffic. We spoke to yvonne childs at Lexus customer service (800 255 3987) who would look into it, but never got back to us. I spoke to another service person, and he said he has heard of this problem. This is definitely a major safety factor that must be addressed and corrected. Nlm.
Consumer is complaining of the invisibility of the red gauge indicator needles. The color of the needles against a black background makes them impossible to read.