1.4

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
121,500 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 1996 Lexus ES 300:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #2

Jul 142005

ES 300

  • Automatic transmission
  • 145,000 miles
1996 Lexus ES300; sludge build-up; excessive oil consumption; white smoke on start-up; dealer says the engine needs to be rebuilt at a cost of about $7000. This is the same problem that Toyota/Lexus has acknowledged for 1997 to 2001 models with the V-6 engine. Why won't they honor the repair to the engine for a 1996 model?

- Bensalem, PA, USA

Add Complaint
problem #1

Jul 222003

ES 300 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 98,000 miles
Engine check light intermittently on, blue exhaust in engine smoke, abnormal oil consumption, gelled oil or sludge present inside valve cover below oil filler cap. Called Lexus America, brought car into dealer, they tell me I must pay $2,071.06 for repairs and pretend not to know of this common 3.0L V-6 engine problem that is extensively documented on the internet and that Lexus has already started reimbursing car owners starting with 1997 models.

- Huntington Beach, CA, USA

Add Complaint