1998 Lexus ES300 problems
The 1998 Lexus ES300 has 61 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (15%) concerns air bags. After that come seat belts (11%) and engine (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 61 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 15 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 13 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 68,000 miles 27 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 | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 10 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Among the 27 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 68,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 15 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 13 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 94% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1998 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the Lexus ES300 with enough data (28 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
No deployment of airbag during vehicle collision causing injuries to passengers elbow, chest, neck and back, passenger in the rear also sustain injury to the chest, neck and back from the seatbelt. Nlm
Tl*the contact owns 1998 lexus es300. While approaching an intersection with her foot on the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated and crashed into a pole causing extensive damage to the vehicle and the passenger. The air bags deployed breaking her hand in two places. The driver and passenger were transported to the hospital. The vehicle was towed from the scene and was destroyed. A police report is available if needed. The toyota manufacturer was not called.
I have had my 1998 es300 in with tom wood lexus of indianapolis well over a dozen times since december of 2002 for the same problems. The abs/trac off and low oil level warning lights went off randomly. After replacing the ABS pump ($1,400 for the part alone), the problem persisted. After an unacceptable amount of false diagnostics, wasted service trips (at least a week long each time) and useless but costly repairs, my car is still in the shop. They suspected that a sludge engine is the cause of my problems.