Lexus ES350
Owners filed 1,451 complaints across 17 model years of the Lexus ES350. The 2007 drew the most (539).
Which Lexus ES350 years should you avoid?
Going by 1,451 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the Lexus ES350 years to avoid are 2009 and 2007.
- 20097.0× the usual share of fires, crashes and deaths for a car of its age (2 fires, 14 crashes, 5 deaths).
- 2007539 complaints, 3.7× a typical ES350 year, most often about the airbags; and 2.2× the usual share of fires, crashes and deaths for a car of its age (6 fires, 60 crashes, 4 deaths).
Better bets: among years old enough for a low count to mean something, the 2012 drew the fewest complaints without an unusual share of serious ones.
How this is worked out: each year is compared with a typical year of the same model, which takes most of the difference in sales out of it, and its share of serious failures is compared with every other car of the same model year, because older cars were complained about differently. A year needs 25 complaints to be judged at all. Complaints are unverified owner reports. Full method →
Every Lexus ES350 model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | — | — | Unknown or Other | Routine | |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | — | — | Service Brakes | Routine | |
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | — | 1 | Wheels | Routine | |
| 2020 | 5 | 1 | — | 3 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2019 | 5 | 2 | — | — | Fuel System, Gasoline | Routine | |
| 2018 | 5 | 2 | — | 1 | Vehicle Speed Control | Routine | |
| 2017 | 22 | 1 | — | 8 | Unknown or Other | Routine | |
| 2016 | 21 | 1 | — | 1 | Unknown or Other | Routine | |
| 2015 | 16 | 1 | — | 1 | Unknown or Other | Routine | |
| 2014 | 28 | 1 | — | 4 | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 2013 | 23 | 1 | — | 5 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2012 | 89 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2011 | 153 | 3 | — | 7 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2010 | 137 | 5 | — | 10 | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2009Avoid | 145 | 5 | 2 | 14 | Air Bags | Fatalities reported | |
| 2008 | 255 | 5 | 1 | 27 | Air Bags | Above average | |
| 2007Avoid | 539 | 5 | 6 | 60 | Air Bags | Fatalities reported |
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, October 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.