2013 Lexus ES350: problems, recalls and reliability
1 recall and 23 owner complaints on record; most reports concern visibility.
Data updated weekly · latest recall Nov 2015
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 23 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The contact owns a 2013 Lexus ES350. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, the contact heard a loud gunshot like sound and the sunroof shattered into pieces. The contact stated that small fragments of glass fell all over him due to the failure however, he was not injured. The contact pulled over, cleaned out his vehicle and was able to drive the vehicle home. The contact called the dealer where he was informed that there were no recalls on his vehicle. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was 135,394.”Owner report · Visibility · Aug 2021
“Tl* the contact owns a 2013 lexus es350. The contact stated that while attempting to close to the sun roof, there was a loud explosion coming from the vehicle. The contact became aware that the sun roof glass had shattered. The contact contacted chatham parkway lexus (1120 chatham pkwy, savannah, ga 31405, (912) 330-6051) and informed the dealer of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 64,000.”Owner report · Visibility · Dec 2020
“Tl* the contact owns a 2013 lexus es350. While driving approximately 40 mph, an explosion like sound was heard. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and discovered that the sun roof had shattered. There were no injuries. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000.”Owner report · Visibility · Nov 2019
Show 7 more owner reports
“Tl* the contact owns a 2013 lexus es350. While driving 65 mph, the sun roof exploded and glass entered the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated or injuries. The vehicle was taken to lexus of winter park (305 n semoran blvd, winter park, fl 32792, (407) 678-2000) where a diagnostic appointment was scheduled for the following day. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 23,000. The VIN was unknown.”Owner report · Visibility · Nov 2018
“Passenger-side leg airbag failed to fully deploy during an accident. It also exploded and expelled accelerate. The driver-side airbags deployed properly. This was during a front-end collision with the side of another vehicle. My car was proceedingstraight through an intersection on a parkway-like city drive. ..updated 09/26/17 *bf *js”Owner report · Air Bags · May 2017
“Tl* the contact owns a 2013 lexus es350. While driving approximately 60 mph, the cruise control leveler fractured from the base of the steering column the vehicle was driven to the dealer. The parts for the repair were not available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 42,300. Updated 06/13/17*lj *cn”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Mar 2017
“I was parking my car in front of a store. Car was in parking spot, ready to stop. All of a sudden, car accelerated, jumped the curb, went thru sidewalk into the store ahead. Luckily, store was vacant. Car kept going thru the store, came out from the back wall onto the rail guards which finally stopped car. Car was damaged.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Jan 2017
“Tl* the contact owns a 2013 lexus es350. The contact stated that the leather material on the driver seat was peeling off. The failure occurred constantly. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure was diagnosed to be a result of wear and tear. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 43,000.”Owner report · Seats · Mar 2016
“While attempting to make a 3-point turn, I first backed out of a driveway onto the road, paused to check for traffic, shifted from reverse into drive and pulled forward and .started to turn to my left. As I did I experienced a loss of steering and brakes and the dashboard indicator lights all lit at once. My car drifted across the center line and I was unable to stop it from rolling to the other side of the road where it ended up perpendicular to oncoming traffic and only stopped when it hit an embankment. My car sustained front bumper and grille damage.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Jul 2015
“I bought pre-owned 2013 lexus es300h car in moth of april and started having sever back pain, I contacted lexus customer service with fact that something wrong with seat, please help me as I am having sever back pain every single time I use the car. Lexus representative has been going round about and not addressing the issue, they did not even properly inspected the seat and dismissed the case. No good solution provided. (lexus ask me to sell the car!!!) I urge NHTSA to intervene to resolve the issue, it not easy to sell and buy car, I will lose lot of money. I am feeling that common man has no say in front of these big corporations, this is exact same way how lexus treated this case.”Owner report · Seats · Jun 2015
When filing, owners marked a crash in 5 of these complaints and injuries in 4 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 1 campaign
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Avalon and Avalon Hybrid vehicles manufactured October 19, 2012 to October 27, 2015 and 2013-2015 Lexus ES350 and ES300h vehicles manufactured June 18, 2012 to July 6, 2015. The affected vehicles are equipped with a Pre-Collision System (PCS) as optional equipment. In these vehicles, the PCS may unexpectedly activate and apply the brakes when the radar detects a steel joint or plate in the roadway as an object.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace certain PCS components, free of charge. The recall began on July 28, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this campaign are F1V and F2E.
How other years compare
Check your exact ES350 by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2013 Lexus ES350 reliable?
NHTSA has 23 owner complaints and 1 recall campaign on record for the 2013 Lexus ES350. The most complained-about area is visibility.
Does the 2013 Lexus ES350 have open recalls?
1 recall campaign has been issued, the latest concerning forward collision avoidance: crash imminent braking. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.