10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
40,353 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.

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problem #10

Sep 092013

ES 350

  • 75,000 miles
The button on the deck lid to open had become very sticky as if melted also the steering wheel has the same problem. It is as if the coating on both has become like putty.

- Elon, NC, USA

problem #9

Sep 162014

ES 350

  • 149,500 miles
I had an accident that was very severe and airbags did not deploy. I filed a complaint with Lexus and did not get a satisfactory answer. I felt the impact through the steering wheel. All I want to know why airbags did not deploy. Please help me with that.

- Homestead, FL, USA

problem #8

Feb 012010

ES 350

  • 46,400 miles
Reference: My 2007 Lexus ES 350 on the recall for floor mats and pedal of the accelerator. Incident happened 2/1/10 12 pm est place: Ashland, oh 44805 bill harris GM dealership I pulled into the parking lot of the GM dealership and all of a sudden my Lexus ES350 (2007)accelerated so high that I thought it would go through the plate glass window of the dealership. I stood on the brakes and got the car into neutral. It rocked back and forth after I put it into neutral with people watching this happen. They thought that I was going through the plate glass window into the showroom. The witnesses at bill harris dealership, and other people saw me and the mess I was in with the Lexus. The car was towed to germain Lexus of easton in columbus, oh by Lexus, per supervisor of service specialists. She told me to rent a vehicle and pay for it myself up to $50 per day. It will be 2 weeks until I get my money back for the rental, if I furnished a proof of rental and send it to fax to her attention. I talked with customer service rep in service at the Lexus dealership in columbus. She told me to "get in line since there are a lot of people with the same problem with the mats." I did not have the mats in the car. My husband, an automotive engineer, took the mats out of the car when we got the letter from Lexus about the mats and the pedal on our Lexus in which they would send us another letter when the time came for the fix in April 2010!!!! how could it be the mats or the pedal since there were not any mats in the car. I did not have my foot on the pedal since I was coasting to the parking spot when the engine went "crazy".

- Ashland, OH, USA

problem #7

Nov 052009

ES 350

  • 18,872 miles
I turned right into the parking lot and proceeded approximately 120 feet and turned right into the first available parking spot. There are speed bumps in parking lot that do not allow any speed to be gained between driveway and parking spot. As soon as my car entered the parking spot, and with my foot still on the brake, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and surged forward jumping the parking curb and hitting the outside of the dental building. The vehicle lunged forward over the parking curb, through shrubbery, struck a parking sign and finally the building, a total distance of about 6 feet, before stopping. The situation happened only once and was enough for us to request Lexus to buy the vehicle back from us. Lexus looked at the floor mats and deemed they were securely in place not causing the accident. They checked the car mechanically and could find nothing wrong & no computer error codes recorded. They did absolutely nothing to the vehicle and returned it to us claiming no malfunction of the car. The front bumper and hood needed replacement and we had to place an insurance claim and pay our deductible to get the car repaired.

- El Cajon, CA, USA

problem #6

Jun 092009

ES 350

  • 28,000 miles
June 9, 2009 my 2007 ES 350 Lexus took off with me reaching a frightening speed of 95 miles an hr when I reached the mat under my right knee and yanked the carpet and at last freed the gas and brake pedal. I know the where both involved as I hit the brakes to no avail as the speed became frightening and keeping it on the road was a miracle. I think it is unacceptable that I did not receive any recall notice for almost 4 most after this incident.

- San Mateo, CA, USA

problem #5

May 222009

ES 350

  • 20,000 miles
While driving on I10 in ca, my mother accelerated to pass a truck and when she eased up on the accelerator nothing happened. In fact, she started to accelerate. She tried to brake and put the emergency brake on and she kept going in excess of 90 mph. She drove through a rest area but was unable to stop. Finally she hit the gas pedal again and that did it - she finally had control and slowed way down. She did so much damage to the engine while trying to get it to stop that cathedral city Lexus replaced the whole engine. She was told the problem was caused by her all weather floor mat. She was not aware of any recall on floor mats nor had tustin Lexus, who always services her car, ever said anything to her and the mats have been in the car since she purchased it.

- San Ramon, CA, USA

problem #4

Aug 182009

ES 350

  • 25,000 miles
The floor mats on my Lexus 350 caused the accelerator to stick in a depressed position resulting in a high rate of speed. Fortunately for me I was able to figure it out. For a moment I had the impression that I did not have breaks. This must get fixed or there will be deaths. The reason for this is due to a number of factors. 1) the floor mat was not fastened to the car using the clips. I had just washed the car and I was unable to fasten the floor mats into the clips. The design of the clips is poor. 2) the floor mat slid forward. 3) when the floormat slid forward it caused a situation that when the accelerator is depressed the accelerator gets caught under the leading edge of the floor mat. You cannot lift the accelerator up because the floor mat is preventing it from coming up. 3) the floor mat has to be pulled away from the accelerator in order that the accelerator is released. 4) the design of the accelerator pedal is to close to the top of the floor mat. The accelerator pedal must be replaced with a pedal that is further away from the floor mats. The can be accomplished by making the pedal smaller. My wife is currently driving this car in tx. I am in mn. I've told her to be careful to make sure the floor mats are properly fastened. I am 50 years old and driven numerous cars. This Lexus is the best car I have ever drive but this design flaw will kill people if it's not fixed. Feel free to call me at: Thank you,

- Vadnais Heights, MN, USA

problem #3

Jun 282008

ES 350

  • 16,857 miles
I was getting on hwy 101 ramp on a Saturday morning around 10:45 am where traffic was moderate, suddenly felt the car began accelerating by itself so I eased up on the accelerator. Car continued to accelerate uncontrollably on its own. I then stepped hard on the brake but the car didn't slow down. Saw the cruise control light was on by itself, turned it off but the car was still accelerating. Meanwhile, the vehicle accelerated to 105 mph.miraculously managed to move over to the shoulder without hitting any cars but the vehicle was still moving at 100+ mph. Finally my husband had to force the gear box to park and I applied the emergency parking brake before the vehicle finally started to slow down and eventually stopped near exit #389. It was a 3.5 miles journey at over 100 mph with many close calls of serious accidents.vehicle was towed to Lexus dealership. Dealer later informed us that the sudden acceleration was caused by the all weather floor mat and their explanation on why the brake did not work was when the gas throttle was open, the horsepower of the car was so great that the brake wasn't able to stop it. We were not convinced and demand to have Lexus corporation send a master technician or have an independent and qualified technician for a full and complete diagnosis. Request was refused by the dealership service department manager. Based on their computer diagnosis, there was no error code came up and therefore we have to trust them that the program has been resolved by the replacement of the floor mat our research found this problem has happened in a lot of different models of vehicles of Toyota and Lexus. Suspicion is that there is some other bigger safety issues behind and Toyota is using the floor mat issue as an excuse to cover up more serious safety problem.

- Los Altos, CA, USA

problem #2

May 032008

ES 350 6-cyl

  • 16,000 miles
While driving my 2007 Lexus 350 ES on Saturday, May 3, I experienced unintended acceleration. My vehicle unexpectedly accelerated and I was unable to successfully brake or shut off the car with the push button ignition. While struggling to gain control of the vehicle (and avoid hitting other vehicles), I was finally able to stop the car using the emergency brake, putting the car in park and holding the push button ignition for several seconds. A great deal of smoke resulted... I immediately contacted woodfield Lexus, my local Lexus dealer. I was told to bring the car to the dealer asap for review. I did so, and my vehicle is currently with the dealer to perform necessary testing. When I arrived at the dealer, the service manager noticed that my floormats were secured, but upside down -- the result of a recent oil change (2 days prior) -- where the woodfield Lexus service technician turned my floormats over -- then forgot to properly secure them in the correct position. I notified woodfield Lexus of another acceleration issue in 2007, however I was told that the "jumping" acceleration is a know glitch with my make/model/year. My vehicle is unsafe to drive.

- Carpentersville, IL, USA

problem #1

Mar 102008

ES 350 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 7,900 miles
While coming out of a parking lot, accelerator petal got stuck, car accelerated from 0-70 in seconds and could not slow the vehicle down, Lexus recently serviced car for mat recall and did not install clips on all weather floor mat, my insurance is investigating both accelerator throttle and also the reason wy mat did not have clips installed after Lexus stated they corrected the mat recall, I am also hiring a independent auto forensic specialist, I could of killed myself and others too, T his so called mysterious acceleration must be corrected.

- Bayside, NY, USA