10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
10,174 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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problem #7

Jul 012006

ES 330

  • 13,000 miles
2005 Lexus ES330 with sudden acceleration. Consumer stated on two incidents her vehicle rapidly accelerated. In one incident there was an accident. The consumer stated if felt as though the cruise control had activated and the vehicle suddenly lurched forward and took off from a parking lot, down a slope, into traffic and into an oncoming car. The dealership inspected the vehicle and the consumer was told nothing was wrong and that the floor mats had possibly been the cause of the acceleration.

- Canton, OH, USA

problem #6

Jun 012009

ES 330 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 45,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Lexus ES330. When he attempted to start the vehicle and press the accelerator pedal it became stuck and the rpms increased rapidly. He did not take the vehicle to the dealer; yet, he removed the floor mat. The failure mileage was 45,000 and the current mileage was 79,000. Updated 2/22/10

- Patterson Ville, NY, USA

problem #5

Jul 092006

ES 330 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 13,000 miles
On Sunday July 9, 2006 at approximately 3:30 P.M. I decided to stop at the grocery store. I pulled into the parking lot and was driving slowly with my foot on the brake to enter a parking space I turned left and eased slowly into the parking space with my foot on the brake bringing the car to a stop. The moment I stopped I reached over to put the car in park and all of a sudden the car surged enough to move the front wheels over the car stop in an instant with my foot still on the brake. I was shocked. Why was the car doing this" I still had my foot positioned on the brake and pushed down. The car continued to accelerate, and the back tires came over the car stop. At this point I removed the foot totally from the brake to see if the engine would slow down naturally without any action at all by me. The engine continued to surge totally on its own. I tried the brake again and the car still did not stop. At this point I realized that I was going to go into the road. I looked both ways and saw a silver Toyota with a lady driving it. A collision then happened and I jammed the brake on again and the car finally stopped. I was cited for failure to control. My brother worked at Lexus. He told me another lady had a similar accident while she was pulling into the garage and the engine surged and she ran into the garage door. I decided to look into it further on the internet when I got home. The information I found was unbelievable. Complaints were still being made on ongoing basis. I went to court for my ticket. I had to hire an attorney to defend myself. The charges against me were reduced to driving an unsafe vehicle, and I entered a no-contest plea. I have incurred psychological trauma and other physical injuries as a result of this accident. I would like to get out of my lease with Lexus, but Lexus won"T allow it. If Lexus acknowledges any problem with my ca, they will have to acknowledge all of the other problems reported by Lexus drivers.

- North Canton, OH, USA

problem #4

Jan 202006

ES 330 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 100 miles
: the contact stated while applying pressure to the accelerator pedal to back up, the vehicle hesitated and then lurched forward causing the vehicle to hit the garage door. The driver was wearing a seatbelt and received no injuries. The vehicle was taken to the dealership for inspection and the problem could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was notified.

- Reseda, CA, USA

problem #3

Apr 012005

ES 330 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 15 miles
2005 Lexus ES 330, sever hesitation in the tranmission when entering freeway. Fear of rear end collision or stall when trying to attain highway speed. Lag of 2-3 seconds after stepping on the gas.

- Leawood, KS, USA

problem #2

Dec 022004

ES 330 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
When slowing to a near stop (less than 10 mph) and then accelerating, the vehicle lags and then lurches to overcompensate. It does this virtually everytime, making it unsafe in heavy traffic.

- Cape Coral, FL, USA

problem #1

Sep 092004

ES 330

  • Automatic transmission
  • 100 miles
(1) car was nearly new, only 100 miles, no abnormal behavior up to that point. (2) while shifting into park as part of the process of parking, and with no pressure on accellerator, car suddenly lurched forward, striking concrete stancheon of parking lot light pole. This resulted in damage to the front bumper, frame, right quarter-panel, right headlight assembly, causing over $4,000 in repair costs. (3) above problems were repaired by a dealer-approved auto body shop.

- Dennis, MA, USA