Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE
0050405/10/200410007640Excessive sulfur dioxide odor. *tt07/07/2004
EG0020307/16/200310003443Malfunction indicator lamp on with diagnostic trouble code p0031, p0051, p2238 or p2241. *tt10/20/2003

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
11/01/200540000
 2003 es 300 - transmission issues: i have been experiencing hesitation upon acceleration almost every time, along with hard shifting 50% of the time. the acceleration hesitation can be scary if i'm trying to enter the highway, or turning left. the hard shifting feels like i got hit from behind. both problems have been going on for years and lexus dealer has never been any help. i read many of the online forums and found that both of these problems are very common as are their results for getting these issues fixed - not much luck from the dealer - it works as it is designed. really? lexus needs to stand behind their product. i can't believe how many complaints i have read (100s) and their hasn't been a recall. how does a consumer go about pushing for a recall, or class action or will the lemon law work?
07/05/200356
 There is a delay after sitting at a stop light and then at take off. the dealer could duplicate the problem and the manufacturer and dealer states that it is the new design. *ak the problem would also occur when making a left turn, merging into traffic, entrance ramps, intersections and parking spots. *sc *jb
06/01/200467
 Vehicle hesitated from a standing start position. the rpms went up but the vehicle did not move until it got into another gear. it will drive for a while and then vehicle will stop. consumer did not feel safe. *ak the technicians claim that the cable from the gas peddle to the engine was removed and replaced by a computer in the 2003 models. on the highway, if the vehicle was slowed down, a hesitation would be present while pressing on the gas peddle to resume speed. the engine light would come on along with the hesitation, also when the engine light would come on the vehicle would lose power along with blue smoke blowing out of the exhaust, and the rear seat contained a flaw. *sc *jb
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE
03/26/201041237
 On march 26, 2010 my husband and i were stopped at a traffic signal, (with my foot on the brake as you would expect), when the car suddenly accelerated at full throttle. in the brief but terrifying moments that the car was out of control i unfortunately collided with another vehicle as i threw the gear selector into neutral.
01/01/19011
 Vehicle lurches forward when brakes are applied.*mr this caused consumer to hit a sign. dealership checked brake system and found no codes of defect. also, check engine light was on due to a misfire on the cylinder. *la
05/30/2003904
 Intermittently when pulling from a stop or turning a corner from a stop, the vehicle would hesitate for several seconds before accelerating. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the consumer that the hesitation was normal. this hesitation has happened more than three times since ownership of the vehicle. the manufacturer is aware of the problem. *ph
05/12/20031
 The vehicle had problems picking up speed, when the accelerator was pressed the vehicle did not respond, it sounded as though something was ticking inside the vehicle. the consumer contacted the lexus manufacture and was told they were aware of the problem which was called the hazard computer module control but did not know how to repair it. *jb
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE
05/13/2003105005/13/2003
 There is a pronounced hesitation when the accelerator is floored. this lack of responsiveness leaves the vehicle and the driver exposed to accident and injury. lexus had offered repair for this, but it does not work on all types of models. they now state that the auto is working as designed. *la *jb
10/28/2002
 While driving at highway speed the vehicle jerks and drags, contacted the dealer they said that lexus was doing some sort of computer program update that relates to her vehicle. please add any additional information. mr
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM
01/11/2010190001
 Our 2003 lexus es 300 engine area caught in fire when my wife parked in the parking lot. according to the witness, parking lot security, he saw the smoke came out from the engine area for about a minute and then fire. he said it looks like something is short in the electrical/engine and caught the fire. when the fire department arrived to put out the fire which damaged and burned half of the car, a lead fire man commented that he has seen several incidents that the lexus sedans were suddenly caught in fire while parking. with this unfortunate tragedy occurred to our lexus car, we are very concerned with the safety for all lexus sedan especially es 300 driving by consumers out there. fortunately, my wife left the car few minutes before the car caught in fire, but mentally she was still in shock with it. we did contact lexus to file a complain, and they said an adjuster will contact us next 10 days to review and discuss the case. it's more than 3 weeks and we still have not heard back from lexus. of course, our lexus es 300 is a total loss now, but we request nhtsa investigating and looking into this case for the safety of consumers and demand lexus to investigate and answer us and the public the cause for a sudden caught in fire. thank you! *tr
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL - CATALYTIC CONVERTOR
06/01/20035000002/28/2003
 Strong sulfur smell inside car when stopping after brisk acceleration. a/c in normal setting. lexus aware of this problem and there is even a service bulletin on sulfur complain smell. odor is so strong that sometimes people get nauseated.*ak i would have never bought this car have the dealer make me aware of this problem and they knew about this defect before i took delivery of car. need nhtsa help since there are many lexus owners complaining about sulfur smell and lexus is ignoring us - i guess they have a major problem and do not know how to fix or correct problem. they even told me to use only amoco premium since they claim it has the lowest sulfur content. also, if the sulfur smell is getting inside the car how about the carbon monoxide which is also getting out of the exhaust. all these fumes are being sucked in by the a/c system and i'm sure that in the long run somebody will get sick. - we, lexus owners need our government to investigate this issue since lexus is trying to ignore these problem for obvious reasons. thank you.