58 of the 862 complaints filed about the Lexus ES are about the electrical system — 7% of everything owners reported. The worst model year for it is 2013.
58
Complaints
7%
Share of all complaints
10
Crashes
9
Fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER
The contact purchased a 2014 Lexus ES 350. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. The contact stated that the mileage on the title was 130,739. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 138,000. However, the Carfax report indicated that the mileage was 241,759.
NHTSA complaint #11753601 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I AM GETTING A PARASITIC ELECTRICAL DRAW OF 12% OVERNIGHT. ON A NEW INTERSTATE BATTERY. I HAVE CHECKED LIGHTING AND ALLSTATE MILEWISE MONITOR AND NEITHER APPEAR TO BE THE SOURCE. IS THERE A COMMON ISSUE ON A 2011 ES350?
NHTSA complaint #11752883 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2013 Lexus ES350. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale on Facebook Marketplace. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 127,000; however, a Carfax vehicle history reported the mileage at 199,000.
NHTSA complaint #11749260 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2007 Lexus ES 350. The contact discovered a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 120,000. It was later discovered upon checking the Carfax report that the mileage was 200,000.
NHTSA complaint #11746266 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2007 Lexus ES350. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. The contact stated that the mileage on the title was 0 at the time of the purchase; however, the mileage was 114,536. The Carfax report indicated that the mileage was 172,523.
NHTSA complaint #11730265 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2003 Lexus ES 300. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 136,406. At the time of registration, it was discovered that the mileage was 235,000.
NHTSA complaint #11727521 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I was driving with traffic in a 35 mph zone on a moderately busy street. I got the alert to brake and did so immediately. I collided with the Jeep in front of me. The airbags did not deploy. The front hood of the car tented and a fire immediately broke out under the hood. When a policeman arrived he attempted unsuccessfully to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher. The fire was eventually extinguished when the fire department arrived. The car was towed away. The insurance adjuster said the car was totaled.
NHTSA complaint #11721821 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR
The contact owns a 2023 Lexus ES 250. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle abruptly stalled. During the failure, the vehicle lost power brakes and power steering functionality, with the messages "High Power Consumption Temporarily Limited", "Braking Temporarily Disabled", and "Power Steering Temporarily Disabled" displayed. The contact was able to safely park the vehicle. The vehicle was later jump-started, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was jump-started a second time and driven to the local dealer, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the alternator had failed due to several electrical charging ports being used at the same time. The contact was informed that the alternator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 67,995.
NHTSA complaint #11718537 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2023 Lexus ES 300. The contact stated that upon coasting into a parking space, the contact tapped the brake pedal; however, the vehicle independently accelerated. In an effort to avoid hitting the building, the contact steered the vehicle to the left, away from the building; as a result, the contact drove into some hedges. The contact's foot was on the brake pedal throughout the failure, and the vehicle eventually came to a stop. The contact stated that a "Parking Support Brake Malfunction, Visit your Dealer" warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The air bags did not deploy, and no injuries were reported. The police were not called to the scene, and a police report was not filed. The building's hedges were destroyed, and paint marks were left on the side of the building as a result of the vehicle scraping the building. Despite the failure, the contact managed to regain control of the vehicle and drove home. The next day, the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it remained in their possession; the vehicle had yet to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA complaint #11697669 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2008 Lexus ES 350. The contact discovered a mileage discrepancy after the purchase. The vehicle was a private sale. At the time of purchase, the vehicle mileage was 153,000. However, a subsequent Carfax report revealed that the actual mileage was 245,000.
NHTSA complaint #11697165 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Experienced unintended acceleration when pulling into a parking space. My vehicle went over the curb and into a ditch. The bushes and embankment of the ditch stopped the vehicle. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of a problem.
NHTSA complaint #11696331 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 at approximately 11:50 am, my vehicle experienced unintended acceleration. I was pulling into a parking spot and suddenly accelerated and jump the barrier into a ditch. Luckly there were bushes to stop me. I was standing on the brake. There were no prior indications there was an issue.
NHTSA complaint #11695936 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:INSTRUMENT PANEL:SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2007 Lexus ES350. The contact discovered a mileage discrepancy after purchasing the vehicle. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase, the mileage was 113,000. It was later discovered that the mileage on the Title was approximately 160,000. The contact stated that the dealer informed him that the prior owner had manipulated the odometer.
NHTSA complaint #11690276 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The contact owns a 2015 Lexus ES 350. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the contact noticed that the infotainment system was displaying a blank screen, and the contact heard an abnormal sound. No warning light was illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
NHTSA complaint #11683878 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
The contact owns a 2011 Lexus ES 350. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed fluid leaking from the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 137,912.
NHTSA complaint #11681439 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
WHEN IM DRIVING THE CAR SHUTS OFF.or your driving car loses power and then dose a hard jerk and then starts driving again.
NHTSA complaint #11680282 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
• Frequent Battery Replacements: My vehicle is now on its third battery within a five-year lifespan. The previous owner replaced the battery two years ago when the vehicle was only two years old, and I recently had to replace it again. • Unacceptable Battery Lifespan: No vehicle should require a new battery every two years under normal conditions. This strongly suggests an underlying defect in the battery, charging system, or electrical components. • Lack of Manufacturer Remedy: Despite dozens, if not hundreds, of complaints from other 2020 Lexus ES 350 owners online describing the exact same issue, Lexus has not issued a recall or service bulletin to investigate or resolve the problem. • Misleading Battery Warranty: Lexus advertises its 84-month battery warranty, but this is misleading. In reality, it only provides a full replacement for the first 24 months, while the remaining coverage period is prorated, meaning owners are still required to pay a portion of the cost after just two years. This is deceptive marketing that fails to reflect the true coverage provided. • Potential Safety Hazard: Frequent battery failures could leave drivers stranded unexpectedly, which poses a serious safety risk in various situations (e.g., extreme weather, remote locations, or high-traffic areas). • Lexus’ Partial Acknowledgment of the Issue: This battery issue appears to be somewhat acknowledged by Lexus because they replaced the original battery with a much larger Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) version than what comes standard in the ES 350. The factory-installed battery is rated at 640 CCA, but the replacement Lexus provides is 770 CCA. After researching, I found that this larger battery is typically used in the Lexus LS model, which is a much larger, more powerful vehicle requiring a bigger battery. Despite this upgrade, the replacement battery still fails within two years, indicating that there is an underlying issue causing premature battery failure beyond just battery capacity.
NHTSA complaint #11644276 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The DCM malfunctioning, its the SOS button in the car that call Lexus personnel in case of emergency. Its stuck in a loop and keeps calling the call center every 3 minutes or so. I've had to tell them it's not me and they report the malfunction and it call the next representative and same thing. It called the call center 15 times as I was driving (extremally distracting and almost ran a red) before getting to the dealership. I've seen the same complaint on a Lexus forum to a person in Florida.
NHTSA complaint #11561627 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I was driving down the highway coming up on a traffic jam put on the brakes and several warning. Lights came on the dash and my power brakes failed. I was barely able to stop the car without hitting someone. From that point forward the brakes did not work properly, the regenerative braking system did not function. also, the cruise control stopped functioning. I took the car to the Lexus dealer, they tested the car and stated it need a new brake booster brake assembly and that there was a safety warranty issue that was extended out 10 years and up to 150,000 miles and although my car only had 79,000 miles on it was three months past the warranty date and the refused. They reset the car brakes apparently and I was able to drive the car for several days while I spoke with Lexus, and then the car brakes failed again.
NHTSA complaint #11555537 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On my 2013 Lexus ES 350, three out of the four doors do not function properly and will not lock or lock with the key fob. my driver’s side front door, my driver’s side rear door, and my passenger’s side front door does not work. The doors also will not lock or unlock with the interior lock/unlock button. When the all the doors are locked, I must go to the passenger’s rear door to unlock the driver’s side front door with my cane. The manual door lock from the key fob does not work and will break if I continue turning it. The door locks will not automatically lock when the car goes in motion. These are safety issues trying to get a child or pet out of the car in case of an emergency such as a fire, an accident, or robbery. The power locks are extremely helpful for me. I am a combat disabled veteran who runs the risk of reinjuring myself using the only door that works attempting to open the door with my cane. I have had some of these power locks replaced before. Lexus says this is a mechanical issue associated with the actuators rather than a safety issue. I really believe this is a serious safety and security issue rather than a mechanical issue.
NHTSA complaint #11514204 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.