There are 6 owner-reported electrical system complaints for the 2000 Lexus ESin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2018, AT AROUND 1:05 P.M I WAS DRIVING MY LEXUS ES 300 DOWN ROUTE 88 PENNSYLVANIA APPROXIMATELY 5 MINS FROM MY RESIDENCE. WHEN SUDDENLY SMOKE BEGAN TO FILL THE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE. I BEGAN TO PANIC AND PULLED VEHICLE OVER AND STOPPED TURNING IGNITION OFF AND IMMEDIATELY FLED THE VEHICLE. HEAVY SMOKE WAS POURING OUT OF THE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE. I RAN TO THE CLOSEST RESIDENCE AND POUNDED ON THE DOOR TO GET HELP AND TO WARN THE OCCUPANTS OF THE POSSIBLE FIRE. AS I WAS PARKED AT THE EDGE OF THEIR DRIVEWAY. THERE WAS NO ANSWER, AT THE SAME TIME A PASSERBY NOTIFIED ME THAT I HAD FIRE UNDERNEATH MY VEHICLE, HE IMMEDIATELY CALLED 911. POLICE RESPONDED IN ONE MINUTE. FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDED WITHIN FIVE MINUTES, BY THIS TIME VEHICLE WAS FULLY ENGULFED. VEHICLE WAS A TOTAL LOSS. VEHICLE HAD JUST ST UNDER 150,000 MILES AT TIME OF INCEDENT.. CONTACTED TOYOTA WHO THEN HIRED AN INDEPENDENT FIRE INVESTIGATOR, WHO STATED THAT THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WAS DAMAGED AT THE SUNROOF, SO INTERIOR FUSE PANEL AND CENTER CONSOLE.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS IS FRIED, DRAINING EVERY BATTERY I BUY ( ABOUT A TOTAL OF 15 OR MORE BOUGHT) I'VE CHANGED THE STARTER AND ALTERNATOR MULTIPLE TIMES AS WELL. IF I TURN THE A/C ON THE LIGHTS DIM AND THE CAR SLOWS DOWN DANGEROUSLY BEFORE COMPLETELY SHUTTING DOWN! MY CAR IS A RISK ON THE ROAD SO I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DRIVE IT SINCE FINDING OUT, YET, I STILL HAVE TO PAY INSURANCE EVERY MONTH ON IT.
I PUT MY KEY IN THE IGNITION, THE CAR STARTED BY ITSELF SOUNDED BAD, I HAD NOT TURNED KEY. REMOVED KEY AND CAR KEPT RUNNING. WE HAD IT PARKED IN GARAGE. COULD NOT GET CAR TO TURN OFF, HEARD SOMETHING EXPLODE UNDER HOOD, SMOKE STARTED POURING OUT FROM UNDER HOOD. CALLED FIRE DEPARTMENT. FIREMEN OPENED HOOD, STARTER HAD CAUGHT FIRE AND POSSIBLY SOLENOID. NEW BATTERY BOUGHT 1/4/2014 WAS DAMAGED AND DEAD. LEXUS MECHANIC TOLD ME HE SAW THIS ON OTHER MODELS BUT NOT OUR MODEL. ESTIMATED REPAIR COST 820.00. *TR
TRAC OFF AND CK ENGINE LIGHTS ILLUMINATE DURING DRIVING. VEHICLE WILL THEN OPERATE IN A ROUGH MANNER AND WILL NOT STEADILY IDLE, RPM'S DRASTICALLY DROP AND VEHICLE FEELS LIKE IT WANTS TO STALL OUT ON THE ROAD DURING OPERATION. ON EACH OF THE FOLLOWING OCCASIONS THE VEHICLE WAS SERVICED AT LEXUS OF WILMINGTON IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE FOR THIS SAME ISSUE: 8/25/04 - CODE 440 PO AND RESET LIGHTS (WARRANTY) NO REPAIRS; 11/03/2005 - CODES P0046, P0441 & P0440 CLAIMED LOOSE GAS CAP & DIDN'T MAKE ANY REPAIRS; 11/16/05 - CANISTER SWITCHING VALVE SHORTED OUT, REPLACED & CLEARED LIGHTS, CHARGE 45.00 FOR VALVE; 02/16/2006 NOW OUT OF WARRANTY; AGAIN THE CHARCOAL CANISTER SHORTED OUT AND WAS REPLACED $362.52; 08/30/2006 BANK 1 SENSOR 1 OXYGEN SENSOR SHORTED OUT, REPLACED SENSOR $280.56; 10/29/09 DIAGNOSTICS SHOWED CODE P0420 CATALYST SYSTEM BELOW THRESHOLD ON BANK 1, NEED TO REPLACE..$124.95 FOR DIAGNOSTICS CHECK; REPLACE CATALYTIC CONVERTER 1,831.19; 05/13/10 CATALYTIC CONVERTER MALFUNCTION $434.25. MALFUNCTION FIRST OCCURRED DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD AND DEALER DID NOT SUGGEST REPLACEMENT PART DURING THAT TIME. NOT UNTIL AFTER WARRANTY EXPIRED, DID LEXUS EXPRESS CONCERN FOR REPLACE OF PARTS. NOW THE ISSUE HAS AROSE AGAIN AND I DON'T FELL I SHOULD HAVE TO PAY THE DEALER FOR ANY ADDITIONAL ISSUES ARISING FROM THE SAME MALFUNCTION. I HAVE ALL SERVICE REPORTS FROM THE DEALER TO DOCUMENT ALL OF THESE OCCASIONS AND MY SERVICE HISTORY FROM DATE OF PURCHASE. ALL OF THESE ISSUES ARE RELATED TO THE TRAC OFF & CK ENGINE LIGHTS ILLUMINATING. I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE BRAND NEW FROM LEXUS OF WILMINGTON AND FEEL THEY SHOULD NOW TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE REPAIRS THAT, MOST LIKELY, SHOULD HAVE COMMENCED DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD.
THIS IS NOT A FAILURE AS A PROBLEM. ON MAKING TURNS - L OR R - THE CAR WILL "STUMBLE". THAT IS IT WILL HESITATE. WHEN I ASKED ABOUT IT, THEY SAID IT IS BECAUSE LEXUS USES A "SENSOR" INSTEAD OF A WIRE FOR THE INJECTION CONTROL. THEY SAY LEXUS KNOWS OF IT BUT HAS DONE NOTHING, YET (NO FATALITIES YET?). I DO NOT FEEL IT IS SAFE. IT DOES NOT DO THIS ON A STRAIGHT AWAY ACCELERATION. HOWEVER, IF YOU START TO ACCELERATE THEN LET OF, THE CAR HAS A VERY NOTICABLE "JERK".
VEHICLE FAILS TO START. ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS GO ON AND OFF. DEALER UNSURE OF PROBLEM WITH CAR. REPLACED SENSORS, BUT NOW WANTS TO REPLACE ECU. VEHICLE FAILS TO START INTERMITTENTLY. *AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026