The Used Car Index

2003 Lexus ES300 problems

NHTSA lists 116 complaints for the 2003 Lexus ES300, 43 of them mention a crash and 4 mention a fire. 16 complaints mention an injury, with 18 injuries and 2 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as LEXUS ES300.

At a glance

Complaints
116
With crash
43
With fire
4
With injury (complaints)
16
Injuries
18
Deaths
2
Recalls
0
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
Unavailable
Investigations
4
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
77

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL4841.4%
POWER TRAIN2723.3%
AIR BAGS1311.2%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING119.5%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM108.6%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC76.0%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE65.2%
ENGINE54.3%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER43.4%
STRUCTURE32.6%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
POWER TRAINAUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION20
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLINGENGINE6
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROLACCELERATOR PEDAL6
AIR BAGSFRONTAL3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM12V/24V/48V BATTERY3
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLINGEXHAUST SYSTEM2
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULICANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP2
TIRESTREAD/BELT2
AIR BAGSSIDE/WINDOW1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMIGNITION1

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags: This model year has not been tagged.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

0 recalls.

Investigations

4 investigations; 0 open.

DP09001

Opened: 2009-04-08. Closed: 2009-10-29.

UNWANTED AND UNINTENDED ACCELERATION

THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) OPENED DP09-001 ON APRIL 8, 2009, TO EVALUATE A DEFECT PETITION REQUESTING ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATION OF POTENTIAL THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM DEFECTS UNRELATED TO FLOOR MAT INTERFERENCE WITH ACCELERATOR PEDALS IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2007 LEXUS ES 350 VEHICLES.THE PETITIONER REFERENCED AN EARLIER ODI INVESTIGATION CONCERNING FLOOR MAT INTERFERENCE WITH ACCELERATOR P

Systems: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

DP05002

Opened: 2005-08-05. Closed: 2006-01-05.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

IN A LETTER DATED JULY 8, 2005, AND AFTER EXPERIENCING TWO INCIDENTS (AND ONE CRASH) WHERE HE ALLEGES HIS MODEL YEAR (MY) 2002 CAMRY ACCELERATED WITHOUT DRIVER INPUT, MR. JORDAN ZIPRIN PETITIONED THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION?S (NHTSA) OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) TO COMMENCE A PROCEEDING TO DETERMINE THE EXISTENCE OF A DEFECT WITHIN THE ETC SYSTEM IN MY 2002 TO 2005

Systems: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

PE04021

Opened: 2004-03-03. Closed: 2004-07-22.

THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM

THE LEXUS MODELS WERE THE SUBJECT OF DEFECT PETITION (DP) 04-003.TWELVE ODI COMPLAINTS ARE DUPLICATIVE TO TOYOTA REPORTS, INCLUDING THE TWO MINOR CRASHES.THE V6 EQUIPPED SOLARA MODELS HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED BECAUSE THEY DO NOT CONTAIN THE SUBJECT THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM.TOYOTA INTRODUCED ELECTRONIC THROTTLE CONTROL (ETC) ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES BEGINNING IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2002.ODI OPENED THE INVESTIG

Systems: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

DP04003

Opened: 2004-02-17. Closed: 2004-03-05.

THROTTLE CONTROL SYSTEM

THE POPULATION NUMBER NOTED ABOVE IS ESTIMATED.IN THE JANUARY 15TH, 2004 PETITION REQUEST LETTER TO THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION (NHTSA), THE PETITIONER IDENTIFIED 37 VOQ COMPLAINTS AS RELATED TO VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL ISSUES SIMILAR TO THOSE THE PETITIONER ALLEGEDLY EXPERIENCED IN THEIR OWN VEHICLE ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS (AS DESCRIBED IN THE PETITION REQUEST LETTER).DURING IT'

Systems: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

Manufacturer communications

77 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT19
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM13
STRUCTURE12
POWER TRAIN11
VISIBILITY6
AIR BAGS4
SEATS3
STEERING3

11003586

Date: 2024-04-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

Vehicles may occasionally be subjected to contamination by airborne iron particles shed from railroad tracks, train wheels, exposure to heavy machinery facilities, grinding, welding, etc. This type of contamination can be identified by the presence of small, red or brown particles on the paint surfa

11003587

Date: 2024-04-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

Lexus vehicles are currently protected with RapgardTM protective film designed to protect the horizontal painted surfaces. This material protects from acid rain, environmental fallout, and rail contamination. Follow the Removal Procedure in this bulletin to remove the RapgardTM protective film withi

11003588

Date: 2024-04-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

Acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical impurities in the atmosphere. If these acidic compounds settle on an exposed vehicle, especially the horizontal areas such as the hood, roof, and decklid, significant damage to the painted surfa

11003641

Date: 2024-04-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

Vehicles may occasionally be subjected to contamination by airborne iron particles shed from railroad tracks, train wheels, exposure to heavy machinery facilities, grinding, welding, etc. This type of contamination can be identified by the presence of small, red or brown particles on the paint surfa

11003642

Date: 2024-04-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

Lexus vehicles are currently protected with RapgardTM protective film designed to protect the horizontal painted surfaces. This material protects from acid rain, environmental fallout, and rail contamination. Follow the Removal Procedure in this bulletin to remove the RapgardTM protective film withi

11003643

Date: 2024-04-19. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

Acid rain results from rainwater or other airborne moisture that become acidic due to industrial chemical impurities in the atmosphere. If these acidic compounds settle on an exposed vehicle, especially the horizontal areas such as the hood, roof, and decklid, significant damage to the painted surfa

10214355

Date: 2022-04-13. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Lexus Safety Recall and Service Campaign - Technician Certification Requirements 4.13.2022

10207945

Date: 2022-01-12. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT, TIRES, WHEELS.

POL: This consolidated Tire Warranty Guide contains the complete warranty terms for all brands of ground and spare tires currently in use by Lexus. This information must be kept near the point of vehicle sale and be available to any customer that requests it. Customers can find this information o

10179601

Date: 2020-08-05. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE, POWER TRAIN.

TSB: Vehicles may display evidence of a fluid leak or fluid seep from powertrain components. This bulletin explains how to determine the differences between a fluid leak versus a fluid seep. Cases that are determined to be a ?leak? should be repaired accordingly and will be covered under warranty

10179697

Date: 2020-08-05. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

TSB: Vehicles may display evidence of a fluid leak or fluid seep from powertrain components. This bulletin explains how to determine the differences between a fluid leak versus a fluid seep. Cases that are determined to be a ?leak? should be repaired accordingly and will be covered under warranty

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
ES300116

Same model, other years

All model years | All Lexus models

Other Lexus models, 2003

Sources

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