I have purchased two Lexus ES350s--a 2007 and a 2017. Both cars have been serviced at Lexus of Atlanta and both have had transmission failure. On August 28, 2025, after my car passed emissions and had just been serviced a month prior at the dealership, my car abruptly jumped and stalled, and the "Traction Control" message popped up. This was extremely scary as I was driving in Atlanta traffic. I immediately had it towed to Lexus of Atlanta. I received a call from my Service Advisor with whom I have worked for many years and he said it is my transmission and quoted me $10,000+. He also had zero empathy, could not tell me why my car all of the sudden "died" and essentially said, "these things happen and it is what it is." Those were actually his exact words. No one can explain why the transmission failed when I have had the car serviced routinely by the dealership from where the car was purchased. I just had the car serviced in July. I had no indication that the car was malfunctioning. I am unsure if the transmissions need to be recalled but this is a serious safety concern.
2017 Lexus ES
Owners filed 2 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the exterior lighting. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior Lighting | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Engine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsThe automatic headlights are giving me issues and not wanting to come on and off properly along with the auto high beams
2 of 2 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 — this page | 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 | 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.