2013 Lexus ES

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Average

Quick Summary

The 2013 Lexus ES has 48 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 0.6x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is brakes problems (21% of all complaints), specifically: i was parking my car on a commercial complex. i am pressing on the brake as the car slows down. when i further pressed on the brake, the car instead of taking a complete stop, accelerated. it hit the building in front of me. when trying to back up, it accelerated again in reverse. i pressed the.

4 crash reports 4 injuries

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

0.6x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

BRAKES

10 complaints

21%

• I WAS PARKING MY CAR ON A COMMERCIAL COMPLEX. I AM PRESSING ON THE BRAKE AS THE CAR SLOWS DOWN. WHEN I FURTHER PRESSED ON THE BRAKE, THE CAR INSTEAD OF TAKING A COMPLETE STOP, ACCELERATED. IT HIT THE BUILDING IN FRONT OF ME. WHEN TRYING TO BACK UP, IT ACCELERATED AGAIN IN REVERSE. I PRESSED THE
• MY 2013 LEXUS ES 300H HAS GOT A WEAK BRAKES, SOMETIMES WOULD MAKE SQUEAKING NOISE WHEN YOU HOLD THEM AND FEW TIMES WOULDN'T BRAKE WHEN BRAKING ON A BIT ROUGH ROAD. I WAS AFRAID FOR MY SAFETY AND WENT TO LEXUS DEALER TO PERFORM DIAGNOSTIC. THEY SAID THAT MY CAR NEEDS A BRAKE ACTUATOR TO BE REPLACED W
• THE PCS (PRE COLLISION SYSTEM) WARNING ICON FLASHED IN THE DISPLAY INDICATING THAT THE PCS WAS TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN ON A HIGHWAY. PULLED OVER TO LOOK IN THE OWNERS MANUAL ONLY TO FIND THAT THE MANUAL TOLD ME TO STOP. WE PROCEEDED TO RETURN HOME WITHOUT EXPERIENCING A

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 1 crashes

“I WAS PARKING MY CAR ON A COMMERCIAL COMPLEX. I AM PRESSING ON THE BRAKE AS THE CAR SLOWS DOWN. WHEN I FURTHER PRESSED ON THE BRAKE, THE CAR INSTEAD OF TAKING A COMPLETE STOP, ACCELERATED. IT HIT THE BUILDING IN FRONT OF ME. WHEN TRYING TO BACK UP, IT ACCELERATED AGAIN IN REVERSE. I PRESSED THE”

— NHTSA complaint filing

ELECTRICAL

7 complaints

15%

• THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN TWO YEARS THE BATTERY HAS DIED ON THIS CAR. THE FIRST TIME WAS AUGUST 2014, JUST ONE MONTH PAST THE CAR ONE YEAR MARK. THE SECOND, THAT IS WHY I AM WRITING THIS COMPLAINT, IS ALMOST ONE YEAR TO THE DAY OF THE LAST BATTERY FAILURE. WHILE THE FIRST MAY BE WRITTEN OFF AS A
• I AM NOT SURE IT IT IS ENGINE OR FUEL BUT MY PROBLEM IS AS FOLLOWS: WHILE DRIVING AND WITH NO WARNING MY 2013 LEXUS ES 350 HESITATES TO THE POINT OF ALMOST STOPPING IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING ON LOCAL AND HIGHWAY ROADS. IT SEEMS TO BE GETTING WORSE AND I HAVE TAKEN MY CAR TO THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD T
• CPO 2013 ES350 BOUGHT JANUARY 2, 2016 AT LEXUS DEALERSHIP, WHICH HAS BEEN KEPT IN AN IN-DOOR GARAGE, AND IS LIGHTLY DRIVEN. MID-APRIL 2017 BATTERY WAS DEAD, JUMP STARTED BUT THEN BATTERY DIED THE NEXT DAY. I BROUGHT VEHICLE TO ANOTHER LEXUS DEALERSHIP ON MAY 20, 2017. THEY CLAIMED BATTERY NOT WAR

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN TWO YEARS THE BATTERY HAS DIED ON THIS CAR. THE FIRST TIME WAS AUGUST 2014, JUST ONE MONTH PAST THE CAR ONE YEAR MARK. THE SECOND, THAT IS WHY I AM WRITING THIS COMPLAINT, IS ALMOST ONE YEAR TO THE DAY OF THE LAST BATTERY FAILURE. WHILE THE FIRST MAY BE WRITTEN OFF AS A”

— NHTSA complaint filing

SPEED CONTROL

5 complaints

10%

• LEXUS ES350 STALL OR HESITATION PROBLEM ON 2013 MODEL. MY CAR FREQUENTLY BUT INTERMITTENTLY HESITATES WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP OR ROLLING STOP POSITION. I'VE HAD IT ABOUT 8 MONTHS AND IT HAS PROBABLY STALLED AT LEAST 100 TIMES. TULSA'S LEXUS DEALERSHIP SAYS THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT AND
• EVER SINCE CAR WAS PURCHASED @ONE YEAR AGO, THERE ARE OCCASIONAL 1-3 SECOND HESITATIONS UPON ACCELERATION. THESE OCCUR FROM DEAD STOP OR AT LOW SPEEDS. TWO DEALERS HAVE EXAMINED THE COMPUTERS, FINDING NO EVIDENCE THAT THE PROBLEM EXISTS. THEY ALSO SAY NO OTHER LOCAL OWNER HAS COMPLAINED OF A SIMILA
• VEHICLE HAS THE "HESITATION ON ACCELERATING" OR "THROTTLE LAG" PROBLEM WHICH IS DOCUMENTED ON MANY MODELS OF BOTH TOYOTA AND LEXUS VEHICLES. VEHICLE HESITATES WHEN ACCELERATING FROM STOP LIGHT, SLOWING TO MAKE A TURN, OR IN TRAFFIC WHEN SLOWING AND THEN ACCELERATING. IT IS UNRESPONSIVE FOR 1-2 SEC

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 1 crashes

“LEXUS ES350 STALL OR HESITATION PROBLEM ON 2013 MODEL. MY CAR FREQUENTLY BUT INTERMITTENTLY HESITATES WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP OR ROLLING STOP POSITION. I'VE HAD IT ABOUT 8 MONTHS AND IT HAS PROBABLY STALLED AT LEAST 100 TIMES. TULSA'S LEXUS DEALERSHIP SAYS THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT AND ”

— NHTSA complaint filing

OTHER

5 complaints

10%

• DOOR LOCKS DO NOT LOCK VIA KEY FOB ON 3 DOORS. LEXUS WANTS $800 PER DOOR TO FIX. HAVE MANUALLY LOCKED CAR FOR ONE YEAR; NOW CANNOT MANUALLY LOCK DOOR AS THE MANUAL LOCK NO LONGER LOCKS. THIS IS SAFETY ISSUE AS CAR REMAINS UNLOCKED AT ALL TIMES.
• THE PCS (PRE COLLISION SYSTEM) WARNING ICON FLASHED IN THE DISPLAY INDICATING THAT THE PCS WAS TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN ON A HIGHWAY. PULLED OVER TO LOOK IN THE OWNERS MANUAL ONLY TO FIND THAT THE MANUAL TOLD ME TO STOP. WE PROCEEDED TO RETURN HOME WITHOUT EXPERIENCING A
• The moonroof suddenly shattered (it sounded like an explosion) while I was driving on the freeway in 70 degree weather. Initially I had no idea what it was but realized subsequently that I was shedding glass shards behind me. There were no overpasses where someone could have dropped something, I d

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“DOOR LOCKS DO NOT LOCK VIA KEY FOB ON 3 DOORS. LEXUS WANTS $800 PER DOOR TO FIX. HAVE MANUALLY LOCKED CAR FOR ONE YEAR; NOW CANNOT MANUALLY LOCK DOOR AS THE MANUAL LOCK NO LONGER LOCKS. THIS IS SAFETY ISSUE AS CAR REMAINS UNLOCKED AT ALL TIMES.”

— NHTSA complaint filing

VISIBILITY

4 complaints

• I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE SUNROOF EXPLODED. THE NOISE WAS DEAFENING. THE GLASS CLEARLY EXPLODED UP AND THEN CHIPPED THE PAINT ON THE ROOF AND THE TRUNK. ALL WINDOWS WERE ROLLED UP AT THE TIME WITH THE AIR ON. NOTHING HIT MY CAR AND IT HAPPENED COMPLETELY ON IT'S OWN. THE
• MY 2013 LEXUS ES 350 HAS A PANORAMA SUNROOF WHICH EXPLODED WHEN AN ATTENDED CLOSED THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR. I ONLY HAD THE CAR EIGHT MONTHS AND HAVE LESS THAN 6,000 MILES. THE WEATHER THAT DAY WAS SUNNY AND 75 DEGREES.I SHUDDER TO THINK WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPEN IF MY 82 YEAR OLD MOM WAS IN THE CAR.
• MY 2013 LEXUS ES 350 HAS A PANORAMA SUNROOF WHICH EXPLODED WHEN AN ATTENDED CLOSED THE PASSENGER SIDE DOOR. I ONLY HAD THE CAR EIGHT MONTHS AND HAVE LESS THAN 6,000 MILES. THE WEATHER THAT DAY WAS SUNNY AND 75 DEGREES.I SHUDDER TO THINK WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPEN IF MY 82 YEAR OLD MOM WAS IN THE CAR.

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE SUNROOF EXPLODED. THE NOISE WAS DEAFENING. THE GLASS CLEARLY EXPLODED UP AND THEN CHIPPED THE PAINT ON THE ROOF AND THE TRUNK. ALL WINDOWS WERE ROLLED UP AT THE TIME WITH THE AIR ON. NOTHING HIT MY CAR AND IT HAPPENED COMPLETELY ON IT'S OWN. THE ”

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

BRAKES(~50K mi)

$500

ELECTRICAL(~50K mi)

$500

SPEED CONTROL(~50K mi)

$500

OTHER(~50K mi)

$500

VISIBILITY(~50K mi)

$500

Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 48 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
BRAKES: I WAS PARKING MY CAR ON A COMMERCIAL COMPLEX. I AM PRESSING ON THE BRAKE AS THE CAR SLOWS DOWN. WHEN I FURTHER PRESSED ON THE BRAKE, THE CAR INSTEAD OF TAKING A COMPLETE STOP, ACCELERATED. IT HIT THE BUILDING IN FRONT OF ME. WHEN TRYING TO BACK UP, IT ACCELERATED AGAIN IN REVERSE. I PRESSED THE
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
ELECTRICAL: THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN TWO YEARS THE BATTERY HAS DIED ON THIS CAR. THE FIRST TIME WAS AUGUST 2014, JUST ONE MONTH PAST THE CAR ONE YEAR MARK. THE SECOND, THAT IS WHY I AM WRITING THIS COMPLAINT, IS ALMOST ONE YEAR TO THE DAY OF THE LAST BATTERY FAILURE. WHILE THE FIRST MAY BE WRITTEN OFF AS A
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
SPEED CONTROL: LEXUS ES350 STALL OR HESITATION PROBLEM ON 2013 MODEL. MY CAR FREQUENTLY BUT INTERMITTENTLY HESITATES WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP OR ROLLING STOP POSITION. I'VE HAD IT ABOUT 8 MONTHS AND IT HAS PROBABLY STALLED AT LEAST 100 TIMES. TULSA'S LEXUS DEALERSHIP SAYS THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT AND
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
OTHER: DOOR LOCKS DO NOT LOCK VIA KEY FOB ON 3 DOORS. LEXUS WANTS $800 PER DOOR TO FIX. HAVE MANUALLY LOCKED CAR FOR ONE YEAR; NOW CANNOT MANUALLY LOCK DOOR AS THE MANUAL LOCK NO LONGER LOCKS. THIS IS SAFETY ISSUE AS CAR REMAINS UNLOCKED AT ALL TIMES.
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)