10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
20,500 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2001 Lexus ES 300 engine problems

engine problem

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2001 Lexus ES 300 Owner Comments

problem #4

Feb 152010

ES 300

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2001 Lexus ES 300. Acceleration issues the consumer stated when his wife started the vehicle, it immediately went to full RPM, probably around 6,000 plus. Her feet were flat on the floor. She had not put the gear in reverse to back out of the garage, nor had she touched the brake or the accelerator, when the rpms began acting erratically. The consumer stated only a computer failure could have caused the RPM to instantly increase in that manner. The consumer stated he went to the garage to see what was going on and was able to turn the vehicle off. The consumer re-started the vehicle and it behaved in a normal manner.

- Glendale, CA, USA

problem #3

May 052007

ES 300 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 82,000 miles
On 2 recent occasions (Nov 13, 2006 and May 5, 2007) my wife was pulling into a parking space and shifting the car into park when the car accelerated rapidly and slammed into a wall. Both incidents were almost identical. Extensive damage was done to the front sheet metal (about $9,000 on each incident). It's possible that my wife stepped on the accelerator when she thought she was stepping on the brake but she swears that this did not happen. Also, it is unlikely that this have happened twice.

- Warrenton, VA, USA

problem #2

Sep 252005

ES 300

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
While driving the car would speed up on own without pushing on the accelerator. I found my car going from 40 to 60. In park position the car will rev to high RPM but if I am in drive mode it will just accelerate. I took it to Lexus and the technician says the idle speed control valve was not working and the repair work would be $500.

- Riverside, CA, USA

problem #1

Nov 112001

ES 300

  • miles
On November 11th, 2001 I experienced a terrifying and potentially life-threatening incident with my car. On that evening, I was approaching a stop sign at a busy intersection, and when I pressed on the brake the car wouldnT stop and instead a sudden acceleration forced me into the middle of the intersection. I was able to stop the vehicle by using the emergency brake. Since this has never happened before, I thought it was an isolated incident, so I continued to drive the vehicle. It seemed to be operating properly for the next week or so, when it occurred again. On the evening of November 21st, 2001 I was dropping a friend off at home when I proceeded into a parking space. As I pulled forward, out of nowhere, a sudden acceleration occurred and forced the car over the curb and up a hill. The passenger in my car pulled on the emergency brake and was able to stop the car. Another witness saw the rear tires spinning as the car took off over the curb and up the hill. Obviously there are some serious problems with this car.

- Potomac Falls, VA, USA

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