Car surges during acceleration. Stall out and idle extremely high while driving under 60 mph
2000 Lexus ES
Owners filed 6 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the electrical system. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| Unknown or Other | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Disc › Rotor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsELECTRICAL SYSTEMS IS FRIED, DRAINING EVERY BATTERY I BUY ( ABOUT A TOTAL OF 15 OR MORE BOUGHT) I'VE CHANGED THE STARTER AND ALTERNATOR MULTIPLE TIMES AS WELL. IF I TURN THE A/C ON THE LIGHTS DIM AND THE CAR SLOWS DOWN DANGEROUSLY BEFORE COMPLETELY SHUTTING DOWN! MY CAR IS A RISK ON THE ROAD SO I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DRIVE IT SINCE FINDING OUT, YET, I STILL HAVE TO PAY INSURANCE EVERY MONTH ON IT.
ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2018, AT AROUND 1:05 P.M I WAS DRIVING MY LEXUS ES 300 DOWN ROUTE 88 PENNSYLVANIA APPROXIMATELY 5 MINS FROM MY RESIDENCE. WHEN SUDDENLY SMOKE BEGAN TO FILL THE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE. I BEGAN TO PANIC AND PULLED VEHICLE OVER AND STOPPED TURNING IGNITION OFF AND IMMEDIATELY FLED THE VEHICLE. HEAVY SMOKE WAS POURING OUT OF THE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE. I RAN TO THE CLOSEST RESIDENCE AND POUNDED ON THE DOOR TO GET HELP AND TO WARN THE OCCUPANTS OF THE POSSIBLE FIRE. AS I WAS PARKED AT THE EDGE OF THEIR DRIVEWAY. THERE WAS NO ANSWER, AT THE SAME TIME A PASSERBY NOTIFIED ME THAT I HAD FIRE UNDERNEATH MY VEHICLE, HE IMMEDIATELY CALLED 911. POLICE RESPONDED IN ONE MINUTE. FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDED WITHIN FIVE MINUTES, BY THIS TIME VEHICLE WAS FULLY ENGULFED. VEHICLE WAS A TOTAL LOSS. VEHICLE HAD JUST ST UNDER 150,000 MILES AT TIME OF INCEDENT.. CONTACTED TOYOTA WHO THEN HIRED AN INDEPENDENT FIRE INVESTIGATOR, WHO STATED THAT THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WAS DAMAGED AT THE SUNROOF, SO INTERIOR FUSE PANEL AND CENTER CONSOLE.
I PUT MY KEY IN THE IGNITION, THE CAR STARTED BY ITSELF SOUNDED BAD, I HAD NOT TURNED KEY. REMOVED KEY AND CAR KEPT RUNNING. WE HAD IT PARKED IN GARAGE. COULD NOT GET CAR TO TURN OFF, HEARD SOMETHING EXPLODE UNDER HOOD, SMOKE STARTED POURING OUT FROM UNDER HOOD. CALLED FIRE DEPARTMENT. FIREMEN OPENED HOOD, STARTER HAD CAUGHT FIRE AND POSSIBLY SOLENOID. NEW BATTERY BOUGHT 1/4/2014 WAS DAMAGED AND DEAD. LEXUS MECHANIC TOLD ME HE SAW THIS ON OTHER MODELS BUT NOT OUR MODEL. ESTIMATED REPAIR COST 820.00. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 LEXUS ES. THE CONTACT STATED THAT ALL OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS ILLUMINATED, FUMES WERE COMING IN THROUGH THE VENTS, AND FUEL WAS LEAKING OUT OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHO HAD NOT PERFORMED A DIAGNOSTIC TEST WHEN THE COMPLAINT WAS FILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE VEHICLE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 140,000.
I PURCHASED A NEW LEXUS, ES-300 IN 2000 (PLATINUM SERIES). HAD TO HAVE THE FRONT BRAKES AND ROTORS REPLACED AFTER 24,000 MILES. AGAIN AT 60,000. JUST THE FRONT NOT THE REAR. ONLY CAR I HAVE EVER OWNED THAT HAS DONE THAT. THE TIRES(MICHELIN) ALSO WERE WORN OUT AT 24,000. I ROATED THEM EVERY 6,000 MILES. SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE FRONT BRAKES WITH THAT YEAR LEXUS? *JB
6 of 6 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 — this page | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | Routine |
| 1999 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | Routine |
| 1998 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1997 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1996 | 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.