Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 1998 record →
WHILE TRAVELING AT 10MPH VEHICLE HIT A CURB, CAUSING THE AIR BAGS TO DEPLOY. A CHEMICAL RELEASED BY THE AIR BAGS CAUSED INJURY TO THE PASSENGER'S EYES. DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIR BAGS ALSO SHATTERED THE WINDSHIELD. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK
WHILE LIGHTLY APPLYING BRAKES THE VEHICLE SURGED SUDDENLY, RESULTING IN MINOR COLLISION. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 1998 Lexus ES300 → · Every ES300 year → · How the figures are calculated →