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
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Fuel/Propulsion System1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Fuel/Propulsion System
Filed May 29, 2013235,600 milesTX

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

1 of 1 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2007
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20254110Routine
20249200Routine
202310200Routine
20229000Routine
202128100Routine
202018100Routine
201934100Routine
20185000Routine
20172000Routine
20169000Routine
20155000Routine
20144000Routine
201333000Routine
201231010Routine
201146000Routine
201041000Routine
200928000Routine
200868000Routine
2007125010Routine
200612000Routine
200558000Routine
200416000Routine
200323000Routine
200227050Routine
20012000Routine
20006030Routine
19998130Routine
19981100Routine
19972100Routine
1996 — this page1000Routine

Compare every ES year →

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.