10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
72,928 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 #14

Oct 102021

ES 350

  • miles
This is a second report of unexpected, unanticipated extremly high acceleration while braking. I reported this experience in November 2019, NHTSA Complaint Number 11279155. At that time, the car was moving and I was braking on an uphill curve. On October 10, 2021, at approx 12:30 p.m. The unexpected, unanticipated extremely high acceleration occurred as I was starting my car in a Pittsburgh area restaurant parking lot. The car requires that my foot be on the brake while starting. The car was in Park when I depressed the start button. Immediately the car started with extremely high revolutions to the point the loud engine noise frightened several individuals standing 15-20 feet on an adjacent sidewalk. The tachometer was in or close to the redzone. I immediately shut the engine down. At no time did I have my foot on the accelerator and neither the floor mat nor any other item was touching the accelerator.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #13

Mar 062020

ES 350

  • 180,000 miles
The transmission won't shift passed 3rd gear. I tried driving one day and that's what it begin doing. The oil was at the correct levels and it still behaved that way. It has been doing this ever since.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #12

Jan 012018

ES 350

  • 220,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Lexus ES350. While driving 70 mph, the vehicle jerked and decelerated. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where failure codes were found for the transmission computerized system and transmission drive train. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was 220,000.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #11

Jul 042016

ES 350

  • 133,400 miles
The transmission slips between gears. When you are driving the car will not accelerate or decelerate for about 20 seconds. It's extremely dangerous because you lose your ability to avoid dangerous situation. Toyota is aware of the problem, but refuses to issue a recall.

- New Haven, CT, USA

problem #10

Jan 072016

ES 350

  • 125,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Lexus ES350. After the vehicle was placed into the park position, it independently reversed without warning. The contact was struck by the front driver side door, which caused the vehicle to stop. The contact sustained a fractured right foot that required medical attention. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but the cause of the failure was undetermined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000.

- Groveland, FL, USA

problem #9

Nov 232014

ES 350 6-cyl

  • 69,900 miles
This vehicle has a problem with random hard down shifting when it is almost stopped. The hard down shift will happen and then vehicle will lunge forward. I did slight run into the back of another vehicle when this happened in a parking lot. This could be potentially very dangerous if the lunge would hit a pedestrian or cause the vehicle to enter heavy traffic. I have reported this many times to the Lexus dealership, who is unable to duplicate the problem because of the random nature.

- Cheyenne, WY, USA

problem #8

Jan 062011

ES 350

  • 27,500 miles
I purchased the car with a certified pre-owned warranty as I did with two other Lexus that I have owned. Shortly afterward I noticed that when I slowed down to stop at the top a steep hill the car would suddenly lurch forward and I had to apply the brake to stop the car. I went to the dealer and took a ride with the service manager with a laptop attached to the car. I duplicated the problem. The dealer said the problem was that the transmission has a problem shifting from 4th to first gear.the dealer applied some computer updates. Afterward, the problem lurching was still the same. I took the car back to Lexus and duplicated the problem with them again. They did another update but the problem was still the same. The dealer brought in a tech rep from Lexus. They decided that the problem was not significant enough for them to replace the transmission or the computer that controls the transmission. I still have the same irritating problem. Although the car is still under the certification warranty, it will run out soon.

- Puyallup, WA, USA

problem #7

Oct 092011

ES 350

  • 74,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Lexus ES350. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 mph the vehicle suddenly accelerated on its own. After trying to decelerate for a few minutes the vehicle finally slowed down. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who advised her that the she needed a transmission. The transmission was repaired. The failure and current mileage was approximately 74,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Acworth, GA, USA

problem #6

Nov 242010

ES 350

  • 58,197 miles
My 2007 Lexus hyper accelerated. I had the re-call work done on this. It was as if the car had a mind of it's own it was damaged and I was hurt.

- Red Oak, TX, USA

problem #5

Mar 042010

ES 350

  • miles
I had two recalls done on my auto on March 4, 2010. These recalls dealt with the acceleration pedal and an oil line. Since the recall of the acceleration pedal was done my car on occasion has stalled when the pedal is depressed. It will hesitate while I depress the pedal up to an inch or so. Finally it will start to creep and then finally start moving. This has happened twice when I was entering an interstate highway and again as I pulled away from the curb of my house. Additionally, the transmission shifting is very erratic at times. Once again all of this started after I had the recall done. Before this my auto ran perfectly with no issues other than an occasional hard down shift when coming to a stop. I have been to the Lexus dealership in frederick, co twice. They are unable to address these problems in a satisfactory manner. The acceleration delay is a safety issue and needs to be addressed by Toyota.

- Cheyenne, WY, USA

problem #4

Feb 102010

ES 350

  • 75,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Lexus ES350. The contact was driving approximately 15 mph when the vehicle stability control (vsc) warning light indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The dealer was notified and advised the contact that there were no failures. The identical failure occurred twice. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing and the technician was unable to detect an error code related to the failure; although, the transmission needed to be replaced. After the transmission was replaced the vehicle stability control (vsc) warning indicator continued to illuminate. The contact notified the manufacturer who stated that no investigation would be performed since the dealer reported that there were no failures. The failure mileage was 75,000. The current mileage was 89,000.

- Chula Vista, CA, USA

problem #3

Dec 242009

ES 350

  • 55,000 miles
Out of nowhere the ES 350 Lexus accelerated in reverse. I had to practically stand on the brakes both feet with all my effort to stop the car while the engine continued to accelerate. It would not go into neutral or drive or park or turn off despite holding the ignition key. The whole incident lasted about a minute or so and suddenly, like a switch was hit, the engine stopped racing and the car became idol and no damage was done to me or the car or the house.

- Winfield, IL, USA

problem #2

May 132008

ES 350 6-cyl

  • 3,000 miles
ES 350 2007 Lexus, passing vehicle doing approx. 40 mph in 55 mph zone, accelerator stuck, gas pedal was going to floor on its own, looked at speedometer was at 85 and climbing. Applied brakes as hard as could, pulled over to side of road, put in park and turned car off. Continued on after getting myself settled down. Car is now in shop and they are talking floor mats, did not have the all weather floor mats in, checked gas pedal and saw no compromise from floor mat in car that would cause this to happen. The car has less than 3000 miles. Thankfully there were no injuries, it was 6 am and traffic was minimal.

- Canandaigua, NY, USA

problem #1

Feb 272008

(reported on)

ES 350

  • miles
2007 Lexus ES350 making loud noise when going from park to drive. Consumer states that it makes a loud clunking noise when shifting from park to drive. Dealer stated that this problem was a characteristic of the ES350.

- Lancaster, PA, USA