2008 Lexus ES problems
The 2008 Lexus ES has 78 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (47%) concerns air bags. Next are body & structure (9%) and electrical system (5%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 78 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 47% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 9 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 8 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 53,000 miles 24 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 7 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 5 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 4 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 24 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 53,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 9 complaints mention a crash; 8 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Lexus ES with enough data (15 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
My driver side door was hit by someone going approximately 40 MPH as I turned a corner going 5 MPH. The impact threw me approximately 100 feet into a block wall and not one single airbag deployed. My head broke the driver door window....updated 07/30/15
In an accident in 2012, a car impacted this lexus from right side and the lexus shifted over the curb and hit the road side light post. The front driver side airbag exploded but instead of protecting people from injury, it damaged my wife's right knee badly. The knee bone was fractured and she had three surgeries in hospital. She had been on bed for half year before recovery. Now she still can't walk normally and feel pain from her knee.
The contact owned a 2008 Lexus ES350. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 - 40 MPH, the air bags suddenly deployed independently. The contact stated that his view was obstructed due to the air bag deployment, and he briefly lost control the vehicle and the vehicle came to a complete stop after crashing into a light pole. The remaining air bags did deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and was deemed a total loss by the Insurance provider.
Had to make a hard stop and the brake pedal faded badly. Pedal has become softer over time. Already had to pay to replace faulty designed rear pads and front discs. Lexus has a TSB on the squeaky rear pads but never let us know. It was a replace only if owner complained. 1 pad was badly worn, but the vehicle was out of warranty and lexus would not do anything. With all the toyota master cylinder issues under recall, I find it hard to believe our es350 is not experiencing the same thing.
I noticed the dash board is starting to melt. In the sun it is real sticky. I live in florida and the sun seems to be melting the dash close to the windshield.