Lexus Es Reliability by Year
Based on 2M+ real complaints filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
831 NHTSA complaints (1996–2025).Complaint rate: 7.2 per 10,000 vehicles sold in the US.
Should I buy a Lexus Es?
Quick answer from 831 NHTSA complaints · 1996–2025
Lexus Es shows elevated crash or fire rates — buy with caution. 18.2% of reported complaints involved a crash — above the ~4% mainstream average. Most complaints relate to airbags. Inspect carefully or consider a different model in the same class.
- 2017 Lexus Es· 0.4/10K sold
- 2014 Lexus Es· 0.4/10K sold
- 2015 Lexus Es· 1.1/10K sold
- 2007 Lexus Es· 19.3/10K sold
- 2011 Lexus Es· 14.4/10K sold
Keep scrolling for year-by-year complaint trends, recall campaigns, and component breakdowns — or click any year above for a full report.
Why these years are worse
The most common issues driving the complaint spikes:
- airbags — 220 complaints (15.9% involved a crash)
- unintended acceleration — 48 complaints (45.8% involved a crash)
- electrical faults — 47 complaints (19.1% involved a crash)
- engine problems — 46 complaints (19.6% involved a crash)
- body structure — 45 complaints (31.1% involved a crash)
What Happened to 17,610 Lexus Ess On the Road
Complaints record what owners reported. These are the outcomes actually recorded against 17,610 Lexus Es VINs built 1990–2025 — accidents, title brands and odometer flags from our vehicle-history database, not from the NHTSA complaint file.
Typical Lexus Es on record: 1.5 owners on average, 52,967 average miles.
Lexus Es Generations
Manufacturer redesigns the car every few years (a “generation”). Each generation has different engineering and common issues. Click a generation to see year-by-year breakdown.
| Generation | Years | Code | Complaints | Crashes | US Sold | Volume | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 2 | 1992–1996 | XV10 | 2 | 0 | — | Show years | |||
| Gen 3 | 1997–2001 | XV20 | 25 | 1 | — | Show years | |||
| Gen 4 | 2002–2006 | XV30 | 193 | 57 | 143,564 | Show years | |||
| Gen 5 | 2007–2012 | XV40 | 404 | 51 | 344,167 | Hide years | |||
| 2007 | 160 | 19 | 82,867 | View 2007View→ | |||||
| 2008 | 76 | 9 | 64,135 | View 2008View→ | |||||
| 2009 | 29 | 4 | 48,485 | View 2009View→ | |||||
| 2010 | 46 | 2 | 48,652 | View 2010View→ | |||||
| 2011 | 59 | 12 | 40,873 | View 2011View→ | |||||
| 2012 | 34 | 5 | 59,155 | View 2012View→ | |||||
| Gen 6 | 2013–2018 | XV60 | 77 | 11 | 368,237 | Show years | |||
| Gen 7 | 2019–2025 | XV70 | 130 | 31 | 303,698 | Show years | |||
| Gen 8 | 2026–present | — | 0 | 0 | — | Show years | |||
Which Years to Buy & Avoid
Years auto-clustered by complaint volume relative to this model's median.
Rankings based on complaints per 10,000 vehicles sold — normalized for production volume so low-sales years aren't falsely rated "good".
Bottom line: Avoid the 2007–2008 Lexus Es. The 2014–2018 models had significantly fewer reported issues. Most common issue across all years: Airbags.
Avoid These Years
Average
Better Years
Too New
Need 3+ years on the road for reliable complaint data.
A model's reputation is just the start.
Even within the “good” years, individual cars can have hidden accidents, title issues, or odometer rollbacks. Check the actual VIN before you buy — full history report for $8.99 (vs. Carfax $44.99).
Complaint Rate per 10,000 Vehicles Sold
Normalized by US annual sales volume — higher = more complaints relative to sales
Show raw complaint counts
Common Lexus Es Problems
Most reported component complaints to NHTSA. Bar length = volume; color = crash-involvement rate.
Show full table
| Component | Complaints | Crash % |
|---|---|---|
| Airbags | 220 | 15.9% |
| Unintended Acceleration | 48 | 45.8% |
| Electrical Faults | 47 | 19.1% |
| Engine Problems | 46 | 19.6% |
| Body Structure | 45 | 31.1% |
| Brakes | 41 | 41.5% |
| Automatic Transmission | 29 | 6.9% |
| Fuel System | 28 | 14.3% |
| Wipers & Visibility | 27 | 0.0% |
| Transmission / Drivetrain | 24 | 8.3% |
When Each Problem Spiked
Year × component heatmap. Darker cells = more complaints that year. Reveals which model years a specific defect concentrated in — useful for spotting redesign-cycle quality dips.
Year-by-Year Breakdown
NHTSA complaint count per model year — click any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
| Year | Generation | Complaints | Rate | US Sales | Crashes | Fires | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996NO DATA | Gen 2(XV10) | 2 | — | — | 0 | — | View → |
| 1997NO DATA | Gen 3(XV20) | 2 | — | — | 0 | — | View → |
| 1998NO DATA | Gen 3(XV20) | 3 | — | — | 0 | — | View → |
| 1999NO DATA | Gen 3(XV20) | 8 | — | — | 1 | 3 | View → |
| 2000NO DATA | Gen 3(XV20) | 9 | — | — | 0 | 5 | View → |
| 2001NO DATA | Gen 3(XV20) | 3 | — | — | 0 | — | View → |
| 2002NO DATA | Gen 4(XV30) | 48 | — | — | 15 | 13 | View → |
| 2003NO DATA | Gen 4(XV30) | 37 | — | — | 17 | — | View → |
| 2004NO DATA | Gen 4(XV30) | 21 | — | — | 7 | — | View → |
| 2005AVOID | Gen 4(XV30) | 75 | 11.1 | 67,577 | 18 | — | View → |
| 2006GOOD | Gen 4(XV30) | 12 | 1.6 | 75,987 | 0 | — | View → |
| 2007AVOID | Gen 5(XV40) | 160 | 19.3 | 82,867 | 19 | 1 | View → |
| 2008AVOID | Gen 5(XV40) | 76 | 11.8 | 64,135 | 9 | — | View → |
| 2009 | Gen 5(XV40) | 29 | 6.0 | 48,485 | 4 | — | View → |
| 2010AVOID | Gen 5(XV40) | 46 | 9.4 | 48,652 | 2 | — | View → |
| 2011AVOID | Gen 5(XV40) | 59 | 14.4 | 40,873 | 12 | — | View → |
| 2012 | Gen 5(XV40) | 34 | 5.8 | 59,155 | 5 | 2 | View → |
| 2013 | Gen 6(XV60) | 48 | 6.6 | 72,581 | 6 | — | View → |
| 2014GOOD | Gen 6(XV60) | 3 | 0.4 | 72,508 | 0 | — | View → |
| 2015GOOD | Gen 6(XV60) | 7 | 1.1 | 64,969 | 2 | — | View → |
| 2016GOOD | Gen 6(XV60) | 9 | 1.5 | 58,299 | 1 | — | View → |
| 2017GOOD | Gen 6(XV60) | 2 | 0.4 | 51,398 | 0 | — | View → |
| 2018GOOD | Gen 6(XV60) | 8 | 1.6 | 48,482 | 2 | — | View → |
| 2019AVOID | Gen 7(XV70) | 51 | 9.9 | 51,336 | 14 | — | View → |
| 2020 | Gen 7(XV70) | 18 | 4.2 | 43,292 | 3 | — | View → |
| 2021 | Gen 7(XV70) | 28 | 6.2 | 45,406 | 2 | — | View → |
| 2022GOOD | Gen 7(XV70) | 8 | 1.9 | 41,465 | 0 | — | View → |
| 2023GOOD | Gen 7(XV70) | 10 | 2.6 | 39,117 | 5 | — | View → |
| 2024TOO NEW | Gen 7(XV70) | 9 | 2.1 | 43,156 | 2 | — | View → |
| 2025TOO NEW | Gen 7(XV70) | 6 | 1.5 | 39,926 | 5 | 2 | View → |
Year-by-Year Breakdown
Tap any year for full problems & recalls breakdown.
Data Sources & Methodology
Complaints: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation consumer complaint database (831 records for this model). Public domain data, updated monthly.
Sales data: US annual vehicle sales from goodcarbadcar. Coverage: 70% of model years have sales data. Total US sales: 1,159,666.
On-road outcomes: Accident, title-brand, theft and odometer records for 17,610 Lexus Es VINs in our vehicle-history database. Independent of the NHTSA complaint file — a complaint is what an owner reported, these are what was recorded against the vehicle. Year-level figures are shown only for model years with at least 200 VINs on record.
Rate calculation: Complaints per 10,000 vehicles sold = (complaint count / US annual sales) x 10,000. This normalizes for sales volume so high-volume models like Civic or Camry aren't unfairly penalized.
Year classifications: AVOID = 1.5x+ the model's median complaint rate. GOOD = 0.6x or below. Years less than 3 years old are marked TOO NEW (insufficient data).
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