I SMELLED WHAT I THOUGHT WAS TRANSMISSION FLUID OR ANTI-FREEZE. THE NEXT DAY MY WIFE SMELLED GAS AND SOME FRIENDS CALLED MY CELL TO TELL ME GAS WAS RUNNING OUT FROM UNDER THE CAR. I COULD NOT FIND A LEAK UNDER THE CAR. I LIFTED THE HOOD AND FOUND GAS RUNNING DOWN THE SIDE OF THE ENGINE. AFTER TAKING THE LEXUS COVER OFF THE ENGINE, I FOUND GAS SHOOTING STRAIGHT UP INTO THE AIR. IT WAS COMING FROM A VACUUM LINE THAT HAD POPPED OFF. I RE-ATTACHED THE LINE AND STARTED THE ENGINE. THE LINE POPPED OFF AND GAS AGAIN SHOT STRAIGHT INTO THE AIR. I REPLACED THE VACUUM LINE. IT STAYED ON BUT THE GAS RAN THROUGH A NEARBY SWITCH AND ONTO THE ENGINE. IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO FIGURE OUT THE GAS SHOULD NOT BE GOING THROUGH THE VACUUM LINE. THE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR HAD MAL FUNCTIONED AND ALLOWED THE GAS TO GO THROUGH THE VACUUM SIDE OF THE REGULATOR. WHILE DRIVING THE REGULATOR HAD ALLOWED OVER 10 GALLONS OF GAS TO POUR DIRECTLY OVER MY ENGINE. IT BOTHERS ME HOW EASY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR THE CAR, MY WIFE AND ME TO GO UP IN FLAMES. I WOULD HATE TO HAVE SOMEONE DIE BECAUSE I FAILED TO WARN PEOPLE OF THIS DEFECT. I DO HAVE THE DEFECTIVE PART. *TR
1996 Lexus ES
Routine
Owners filed 1 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the fuel/propulsion system. No safety recall has been issued.
What fails
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsFuel/Propulsion System
Filed May 29, 2013235,600 milesTX
1 of 1 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Across model years
Worst on record: 2007| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Deaths | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 2024 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2023 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2022 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2021 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2020 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2019 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2018 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2016 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2015 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2014 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2013 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2012 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 2011 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2010 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2009 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2008 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2007 | 125 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 2006 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2005 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2004 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2003 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2002 | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | Routine |
| 2001 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2000 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | Routine |
| 1999 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | Routine |
| 1998 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1997 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1996 — this page | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.