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Lexus · NHTSA safety record

2011 Lexus ES

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

46

Complaints

6

Crashes

0

Fires

4

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2011 Lexus ES have filed 46 safety complaints with NHTSA between October 2011 and July 2026. The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 27 of them (59%). The typical failure was reported at 47,000 miles, the median across the 18 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 46.

AIR BAGS 27 59%
STRUCTURE 6 13%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 11%
SERVICE BRAKES 3 7%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 7%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 3 7%
STEERING 2 4%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 4%
ENGINE 1 2%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 2%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 2%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2017 at 20.

2011 2017 2026
2011 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed · 170,000 miles

The contact owned a 2011 Lexus 350. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, her vehicle collided with another vehicle that ran a red light at 50 MPH on the front passenger side door. The impact caused the vehicle to careen off the roadway and collide with a billboard support beam where it came to stop. No air bags were deployed. A police report was filed, and injuries were reported. The contact was transported to an area hospital by emergency services and treated for ocular facial pain, diplopia gaze, and a possible brain aneurysm, resulting in post-concussion syndrome. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss.

NHTSA complaint 11553879, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

The contact owned a 2011 Lexus ES 350. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, another vehicle crossed over into oncoming traffic, resulting in a head-on collision with the contact's vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by the contact insurance provider. A police report was filed, and injuries were reported. The contact's wife was transported to an area hospital by EMT and treated for injuries to her right shoulder, left hip, left femur, and left foot, requiring surgery on her shoulder, hip, and femur. The contact also stated that it was required that a stint be placed in his wife's

NHTSA complaint 11586401, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

1 injured · crash

AT ABOUT 2:00 PM ON DEC 26, 2011, WHILE PARKING IN A PUBLIC COVERED GARAGE, I TURNED INTO THE PARKING SPACE, POSITIONED MY CAR, AND WAS ABOUT TO TURN OFF THE ENGINE WHEN THE CAR LURCHED FORWARD, HITTING THE CONCRETE WALL IN FRONT OF ME. THE PASSENGER IN MY CAR, MY 21 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER, ALSO A LICENSED DRIVER, FELT THE CAR LURCH AND ACCELERATE FORWARD. SINCE I HAD REACHED A GOOD PARKING POSITION, I AM CERTAIN THAT I HAD MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE AND WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE. THE INJURY TO MY FOOT, FROM ALL INDICATIONS, SHOWS THAT MY FOOT WAS ON THE BREAK. I HAD IT X-RAYED ON DEC 27 AT A PATIENT FIRST MEDICAL FACILITY AND ALSO WAS SEEN ON DEC 28, BY MY FAMILY PHYSICIAN. HE EXAMINED

NHTSA complaint 10441934, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

1 injured

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A OWNS A 2011 LEXUS ES350. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DRIVER EXITED THE VEHICLE AND FORGOT TO SHUT THE IGNITION OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS EQUIPPED WITH A PUSH TO START AND STOP FEATURE. THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO RUN UNTIL A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR SOUNDED. THE DRIVER SUFFERED CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING AND AS A RESULT, WAS TAKEN TO A HOSPITAL TO TREAT THE CONDITION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO HAVE THE FAILURE DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

NHTSA complaint 10458009. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I AM GETTING A PARASITIC ELECTRICAL DRAW OF 12% OVERNIGHT. ON A NEW INTERSTATE BATTERY. I HAVE CHECKED LIGHTING AND ALLSTATE MILEWISE MONITOR AND NEITHER APPEAR TO BE THE SOURCE. IS THERE A COMMON ISSUE ON A 2011 ES350?

NHTSA complaint 11752883. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL

137,912 miles

The contact owns a 2011 Lexus ES 350. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed fluid leaking from the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 137,912.

NHTSA complaint 11681439. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
We purchased this vehicle in mid 2018. In October of 2018 Lexus issued a customer support process ZLZ which covered our vehicle for problems with the dashboard. At that time, we had no deterioration of our dashboard so we did not respond. The Lexus program expired in 2021. In the last two years, our dashboard has deteriorated quite substantially becoming sticky and more importantly, becoming very reflective. This condition is a serious safety issue for day and night driving as light reflects up on the windshield and obscures vision out of the windshield. We took the vehicle to Lexus San Diego in August of 2024 and they declined to address the repair as a defect and offered to replace the

NHTSA complaint 11624496, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I started my vehicle and drove about 1/2 mile when the car started acting like it was running out of gas. I pulled over and got about 1gallon of gas in a gas can and put it in the vehicle. I turned the car back on and drove about 2 blocks when the vehicle started jumping like it was going to run out of gas again. The vehicle then shut down while I was driving it. I made it to the side of the road and put the vehicle in park and turned off the ignition with the push start button. I tried to start the vehicle again with the push start button and the vehicle would just try to start but just crank and not turn on. This ended up being a fault fuel pump. After some research I was able to find out

NHTSA complaint 11607669, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

65,000 miles

The contact owns a 2011 Lexus ES350. The contact stated that the passenger’s side air bag warning light was flashing constantly. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the Occupant Classification Sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred, and the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the Occupant Classification Sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact had researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V865000 (Air Bags). The

NHTSA complaint 11584675, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Lexus ES

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 9 2 —
2023 10 2 —
2021 28 1 —
2020 18 1 —
2019 34 1 —
2013 33 0 —
2012 31 0 —
2010 41 0 —

Other 2011 Lexus models

ES350 153 IS 250 30 RX350 30 GX460 26 CT 22 RX Hybrid 12

Every Lexus on this site — 88 vehicles, 116 recall campaigns and 1 open investigation .

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst