Lexus Es300 1992

Model Es300 made in 1992 by Lexus got 42 consumer complains there is 1 recall as well as 4 service bulletins. Consumer complaints with reference, among others things, to air bags, digital instrument panel and electrical system. Technical service bulletines regarding seat belts, service brakes, hydraulic and structure. There was one recall concerning latches/locks/linkages . The car has one 3.0l engine.

Model 1992

Engine [L]CylindersTransmissionDriveEstimate MPG (city/highway/combined)Unadjusted MPG (city/highway/combined)FuelFuel costClassRelease date
( 3.0L) 6Lockup/automatic, 4 gearsFWD17/24/2019/30/23Regular$ 9004911024
( 3.0L) 6Manual, 5 gearsFWD19/26/2221/33/25Regular$ 8194911024

Recalls


CampaignManufacturerManufacturing dateType# of units affectedDate Owner notified MfgRecall Initiated byManufacturers of recalled vehicles/productsReport Recieved DateRecord Creation DateRegulation Part NumberFMVSS Number
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - HOOD - LATCH
94V039000TOYOTA MOTOR CO., LTD.from 07/01/1991 to 01/01/1992V (Vehicle)1603603/11/1994MFRTOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.02/23/199403/01/1994
Defect SummaryThe secondary hood latch mechanism has a narrow clearance between internal parts which, over time, accumulate dust or other foreign matter and cause the latch to not engage properly.
Consequence SummaryIf this occurs and the primary latch is not properly engaged, the hood could open suddenly without warning, blocking the vision of the driver, which could cause an accident.
Corrective SummaryLexus dealers will replace the secondary hood latch.
NotesSystem: structure; hood assembly; latches.vehicle description: passenger vehicles.note: if your vehicle is presented to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and the remedy is not provided within a reasonable time and freeof charge or the remedy does not correct the defect or noncompliance, please contact lexus service center at 1-202-775-1707. also, contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-800-424-9393.

Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
SEAT BELTS
BO0050103/23/2001619119Subject regarding new seat belt tongue plate stopper service parts. *tt05/15/2001
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
BR0039808/07/1998602274New front brake pads are available to reduce front brake groan noise, grinding noise, squeak or vibration. *yc10/20/1998
STRUCTURE - BODY - TRUNK LID
AX0010103/09/2001619113Subject regarding retro-fit internal trunk release kits. *tt05/14/2001
SUSPENSION
0120210/11/200210000251Suspension ball joint inspection method. *tt02/20/2003

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
AIR BAGS - FRONTAL
01/07/19981
 Defective airbag system on driver's side deployed suddendly when pulling at driveway at approximatley 5-10 mph, causing chemicals burns and bruises. *ak
09/26/1997
 After hitting a curb, while making a u turn at 5 mph, the driver's side air bag deployed. *ak
05/23/1996103/01/1993
 Another vehicle ran red light, hit lexus passenger side, spun vehicle, hit telephone pole on driver's side, air bags did not deploy upon impact. *ak
DIGITAL INSTRUMENT PANEL
01/28/2007106775101/13/2007
 When i purchased my vehicle i noticed that the speedometer was acting a little funny. after about two weeks the speedometer no longer gave an accurate reading and also noticed that the mileage was slow. i compared a few distances and the car's speedometer only recorded half of the actual mileage traveled. the lights on the needles are flickering and the gas light needle is completely out. it is very hard to know at what speed i am traveling, as well as even know if i have enough fuel, without turning on the cabin light. this speedometer issue has become a real problem, i can't control my speed and i am constantly distracted. *jb
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD
03/07/2000
 Consumer was driving at 20 mph and vehicle started smoking under the hood. consumer called the lexus dealer, and was told to bring it in to the nearest lexus dealer. consumer got on the freeway and the vehicle broke down. consumer was able to coast down the ramp and was pushed a block away. fire department was called because of the amount of smoke coming from it. consumer wasn't sure if vehicle was on fire. dealer told consumer that after reaching so many miles the same thing happened to other es300's . also, radiator cap blew out. *ak
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH
10/15/199905/01/1997
 The electrochromic display lighting that lights up the speedometer have failed, there is no way to know what speed you are traveling at night. also the odometer had an electrical short @82,500 miles, smoke from the odometer short caused driver to panic, and could have resulted in a serious accident. the car was taken to a local mechanic, and i was told there were no other electrical problems, but to replace the speedometer and odometer would cost at least $2,000. i think this is a safety problem, and that i should not have to absorb all of this cost. i would like to make a formal complaint to nhtsa about this. thank you very much... chris hall. *ak
 Replace instrument of the combination meter, involving speedo/tach, temperature gauge unit, gas gauge, when on the indicator needle malfunction, causing light indicator needles to blink or remain off for extended period.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
08/16/1999
 Was driving vehicle & noticed temperature gauge indicating hot. took vehicle in for service. had no indication a problem with engine head gaskets. had no leaking nor was vehicle overheating. took to dealer & was informed the engine head gasket was cracked. ak
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM
09/15/2004607/22/2004
 Bought this car used, and what seemed to be very good condition with up to date maintenance records. i have had this car three months. all but about 1 week has been in the shop.. the instrament lights went out completely $1000 to fix,,, joke... the power steering pump amd sensors went out causing the radiator to fail caused the car to severly overheat,, caused the transmission to fail and the electrical harness failed to the fuel injector controls causing carbon buildup in the fuel injectors, in my opinion this is the biggest peice of junk i have ever owned.*ak
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - RADIATOR ASSEMBLY
03/07/2000
 Consumer was driving at 20 mph and vehicle started smoking under the hood. consumer called the lexus dealer, and was told to bring it in to the nearest lexus dealer. consumer got on the freeway and the vehicle broke down. consumer was able to coast down the ramp and was pushed a block away. fire department was called because of the amount of smoke coming from it. consumer wasn't sure if vehicle was on fire. dealer told consumer that after reaching so many miles the same thing happened to other es300's . also, radiator cap blew out. *ak
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE
08/16/1999
 Was driving vehicle & noticed temperature gauge indicating hot. took vehicle in for service. had no indication a problem with engine head gaskets. had no leaking nor was vehicle overheating. took to dealer & was informed the engine head gasket was cracked. ak
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM
10/25/1996
 When starting the vehicle smoke was noticed coming from the exhaust system, as a result the valve seals needed replacement. *ak
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS
01/01/1994
 404-634-2414 ext 24, sealed unit in the head light assembly, has moisture causing the bulb blow out, lost candle power. tt
EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS - HIGH/LOW BEAM DIMMER SWITCH
05/23/20031
 The needles on the vehicle's tachometer and speedometer are beginning to fade. dealership only offered to pay 20% of the repair cost. *mr *cb there was a 90 car accident due to fog/clouds, and trucks. *scc
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE - FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM
09/15/2004607/22/2004
 Bought this car used, and what seemed to be very good condition with up to date maintenance records. i have had this car three months. all but about 1 week has been in the shop.. the instrament lights went out completely $1000 to fix,,, joke... the power steering pump amd sensors went out causing the radiator to fail caused the car to severly overheat,, caused the transmission to fail and the electrical harness failed to the fuel injector controls causing carbon buildup in the fuel injectors, in my opinion this is the biggest peice of junk i have ever owned.*ak
INTERIOR LIGHTING
09/15/2004607/22/2004
 Bought this car used, and what seemed to be very good condition with up to date maintenance records. i have had this car three months. all but about 1 week has been in the shop.. the instrament lights went out completely $1000 to fix,,, joke... the power steering pump amd sensors went out causing the radiator to fail caused the car to severly overheat,, caused the transmission to fail and the electrical harness failed to the fuel injector controls causing carbon buildup in the fuel injectors, in my opinion this is the biggest peice of junk i have ever owned.*ak
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
12/27/20081700001
 Driving down the road at about 55-60 mph when the hood suddenly popped open damaging the hood and windshield. *tr
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - HOOD - LATCH
03/04/2010142366
 Tl*the contact owns a 1992 lexus es 300. the contact was driving approximately 35 mph, the front hood released in an open position without warning. immediately, the sun roof glass shattered. there was no personal injury. the vehicle has not been diagnosed for the malfunction at this time. the failure mileage was 142366.
04/05/2001
 During oil change mechanic noticed hood latch was failing, there is a recall but this vehicle not affected due to vin. *ak
02/18/2000
 Recall 94v039 000/hood assembly:latches: hood unlatched while traveling on the highway at 45 mph, causing hood to fly over windshield and damage windshield, also, damages was done to the roof and fender. dealer notifed, and informed consumer that vehicle was not covered under recall due to vin. *ak
OTHER
09/05/2002107/01/2000
 The lights , check engine and the temperature gauges i felt do not work properly. the engine was getting hot and overheating, cutting out dying and the check engine light never came on. then the temp guage never bobbled or moved until the car tried to die at 45 mph. then it bobbled, just slightly then went back to normal. the radiator was fried dried. and the piston rings are fried and toast and i had absolutely no warning. i had the car towed to the shop, they changed the radiator and advised me of the transmission problem which i knew nothing of and the piston rings. if i just replace the piston rings, in about a 3 months i will have to do the bottom half of the engine. i can not afford to do that. the idiot lights and gauges should have been recalled. dt
11/01/1999111/01/1997
 The instrumentation cluster on the es300, which includes the speedometer and odometer, uses lighted needles and gauges. the lighting for the needles and the gauges intermittently dims or goes out. this can be a bit frightening and somewhat dangerous when operating the vehicle - especially at night. while the vehicle was still under warranty we contacted the lexus warranty company and a dealer. they said they would not cover the part and that it would cost just under $1000.00 to replace. we have done some research on this problem and it appears (even via this web site) that this is a common safety problem amoung the lexus es300 models. please let us know what else we can do to get lexus to fix what is clearly a defect in craftmanship and design and certainly poses a safety hazard. thank you.
1
 The lighted indicator needles on the instruments have a number of led's that funtion intermittently.
POWER TRAIN
01/01/2000
 This is a safty issue and a recall should be issued for the speedo assy.
01/01/1998101/01/1992
 Speedometer is unreadable at night and barely readable in the daytime due to failure of the speedometer (and tachometer) lights and backlights *ak
01/01/1999111/01/1991
 Lexus uses electroluminescent needles on dashboards. these needles indicate speed and other functions. when the needles fail, the speedometer and other gauges cannot be read. lexus indicated this is not an infrequent occurence. no accident resulted, but the system is unsafe in that the vehicle operator cannot read the instrument panel. this is an instrument panel failure, and is not related to maintenance of the vehicle.
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
09/15/2004607/22/2004
 Bought this car used, and what seemed to be very good condition with up to date maintenance records. i have had this car three months. all but about 1 week has been in the shop.. the instrament lights went out completely $1000 to fix,,, joke... the power steering pump amd sensors went out causing the radiator to fail caused the car to severly overheat,, caused the transmission to fail and the electrical harness failed to the fuel injector controls causing carbon buildup in the fuel injectors, in my opinion this is the biggest peice of junk i have ever owned.*ak
09/05/2002107/01/2000
 The lights , check engine and the temperature gauges i felt do not work properly. the engine was getting hot and overheating, cutting out dying and the check engine light never came on. then the temp guage never bobbled or moved until the car tried to die at 45 mph. then it bobbled, just slightly then went back to normal. the radiator was fried dried. and the piston rings are fried and toast and i had absolutely no warning. i had the car towed to the shop, they changed the radiator and advised me of the transmission problem which i knew nothing of and the piston rings. if i just replace the piston rings, in about a 3 months i will have to do the bottom half of the engine. i can not afford to do that. the idiot lights and gauges should have been recalled. dt
04/01/2001
 Vehicle stalls whenever consumer decelerates while going down a hill. contacted dealer. *ak
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL)
01/11/19981
 Driving 70mph when driver leaned towards passenger's side. in doing so, arm hit gear shift & vehicle went from drive to neutral & then deceleratedapidly and came to a dead stop. called dealer & was informed gear shift was designed that way. *ak
POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY
04/13/1996
 Consumer was driving and car cut off, dealer said it was the tran axle bolt that came loose. please describe . *ak
POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION
07/05/19951
 Gear shift locked, vehicle lunged forward, resulting in an accident. tt
SEAT BELTS - FRONT - RETRACTOR
01/19/2001
 Consumer was stopped in middle of street while trying to make a turn and consumer was hit from back at about 60 mph. vehicle was totaled. seat belt failed during collision, and driver sustained injuries. sent a letter to t manufacturer. *ak
STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST - PUMP
09/18/19958
 Inner part of power steering pump broke, allowing debris to enter power steering rack, causing resistance in steering. *dsh
STRUCTURE
05/20/200385000111/01/1991
 The consumer was unable to read the speedometer, because of the color in the back ground. *jb the consumer stated the fluorescent material dried out the instrument panel*ts *jb
STRUCTURE - BODY - HOOD
04/01/20052060001
 Nhtsa recall campaign 04v039000 concerning hood latch. consumer was driving at 60 mph on the highway when the hood flew up, broke the windshield. vehicle was drivable. consumer was later advised by the insurance company that there was a recall for the hood latch. consumer made contact with the manufacturer, and was told there was no recall for the vehicle. *ak
STRUCTURE - BODY - HOOD - HINGE AND ATTACHMENTS
12/27/20081700001
 Driving down the road at about 55-60 mph when the hood suddenly popped open damaging the hood and windshield. *tr
TIRES
1
 Goodyear eagle ga's p205/65 r15 tires failed.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
1
 Illumination of the speedometer needle has failed. consumer can not discern vehicle's speed when driving.*ak
10/26/1995110/14/1992
 Cruise control did not disengage, caused an accident. tt *jb
VISIBILITY - SUN ROOF ASSEMBLY
03/04/2010142366
 Tl*the contact owns a 1992 lexus es 300. the contact was driving approximately 35 mph, the front hood released in an open position without warning. immediately, the sun roof glass shattered. there was no personal injury. the vehicle has not been diagnosed for the malfunction at this time. the failure mileage was 142366.
VISIBILITY - WINDSHIELD
 There is a glare on the front windshield . tt

Car dealers selling


StateCityZipNamePhone
CAWOODLAND HILLS91364VISTA LEXUS818 888 2777
TXAUSTIN78722AUSTIN AUTO ASSITANCE512-472-6605