1999 Lexus ES300 Problems, complaints & recalls

Wife drove lexus 2 miles to bakery, crust n'crumbs at 1370 n main road, vineland, nj. When she came out of bakery, smoke was coming from under the hood. She called me. I drove there and raised the hood. 2 Coil packs were on fire (about a 2 inch flame) and the hood insulation was smouldering. I blew out the two fires and put water on the coils and hood insulation. Then called a tow truck. Was not reported to police or fire departments.

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 lexus es300. The contact was unable to turn the ignition switch and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact mentioned that the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 85,135.

1999 Lexus es300. Consumer requests information on toyota defective products *tgw the consumer stated his mother was involved in a near fatal accident and suffered injuries as a result of the accident. *Jb

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 lexus es300. The contact was driving approximately 5 mph in the reverse position. When the accelerator pedal was depressed a sudden acceleration occurred causing the vehicle to crash into another vehicle. The vehicle continued to travel and crashed into a residential home. The vehicle was destroyed. The other vehicle driver suffered severe injuries. A police report was filed for the incident. The failure and current mileages were 35,000.

Call lexus and made complain about my car and the problems I am having getting resolution has been frustrating. They are requesting that I tow my car to the dealership before they do anything to fix my vehicle. *Tr

My car accelerated without my control and all attempts to bring it to a stop by using the braking system was futile. After engaging the emergency brakes the car slowed down and stopped. Car was towed by triple aaa to ntb in alexandria va. Report the incident to toyota /lexus customer service and did not get a favorable response. *Tr

Complained to dealer about improper shifting of transmission while under warranty. Dealer advised the transmission was fine, but changed the fluid anyway. I still continued to have issues with the transmission, but was told by the dealer not to come back. The vehicle has been serviced according to manufactures recommendations and now at 88,000 miles the transmission has failed. This is an u140e transmission, which has had numerous complaints. *Tr

Had a check engine light and was informed that the oxygen sensor and charcoal canister needed to be replaced. This problem happened in toyota and lexus vehicles up until and including 1998. I was told this was not covered under the warranty that covered the older vehicles. *Tr

On or about october 22, 2007 the driver's seat belt on 1999 lexus es300 would not buckle as the female(console side)part of the seat belt would not return all the way up -the red button remained part way down. It was replaced with a lexus part no. 73240-33010-A0, belt assy, frt st ,by the complainant and upon examination of the removed part , a broken off piece of red plastic similar in nature to that of the buckle release was caught in the assembly. When the piece of red plastic was removed from the assembly, the latch(buckle) again appeared to be working normally. This failure rendered the vehicle unsafe to drive until it could be replaced. *Tr

Had to replace evap charcoal canister on my lexus es300, my co-worker also had to replace this on his rx300 along with the o2 sensors. *Tr

Issue involve 1999 lexus es300 chrome wheels (rims). Failures to maintain air pressure. Numerous owners are experiencing this lexus known problem, but vehicle manufacture unwilling to fix this failure, which result in owners purchasing new chrome wheels at $500 each.

Tl*the contact owns a 1999 lexus es 300. While driving 20 mph, the vehicle began to fishtail. The brakes failed and the contact crashed into a tree. The vehicle was towed to an impound lot and the cause of failure was diagnosed as the rear lower control rod. A police report was filed. The current and failure mileages were 85,000.

Audio display has been completely faded out. This problem is having to a lot of 98-99 lexus es300 models. Contacted dealer, but they would not repair this problem for consumers even they know this is a failure to many vehicle owners. *Jb

During a drive home, the car suddenly jerked coming to an almost complete stop. The panel light came on with the abs. It then returned to running smoothly> I returned home within I mile without further problems, no odor or panel signs showing. The car was put into our garage and turned off, within minutes my husband saw the car on fire. The fire dept put out the fire and the car became a total loss. Calls to lexus and follow-up with toyota were not answered at all, no comment. Has there been a previous complaints with that model car? Thank you. *Jb

Sudden acceleration - cruise control malfunctioned, it would not turn-off but instead the vehicle accelerated on its own from 55 to 90 mph. *Nm

Dt*: the contact stated the passive restraint system light on the dash illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on two occasions. The dealer determined the buckle harnesses needed to be replaced but the light remains illuminated.

The following letter to lexus & they denied fault or obligation to assist me: I spoke with heather stafford who asked me to call 800-348-2788 to get my car inspected by a lexus in charleston sc. I was told nothing could be done since the car had already been fixed. They told me that the service mngr: daryl would call me back but I never heard from anyone. Life-threatening experience involved the cruise control malfunctioning on my 1999 lexus es300, thursday, 3/9/06. I had set my cruise on 50 mph and it suddenly...

Air bag light comes on , airbags will not deploy in the event of an accident, dealer attributes the light coming on to a loose wire located under driver's seat. This has been occurring since 2003 at about 35,000 miles . The vehicle now has 70,000 miles and the light continues to come on , I feel my safety is in jeopardy every time this light comes. After repeated visits to the dealer this problem continues. *Jb

While driving on a recently oiled and chipped rural road, I had to veer to the right in order to avoid an oncoming vehicle driving in the center of the road. Upon said vehicle passing, I slightly turned the wheel to the left in order to fully return to the road. At this point, the vehicle started to "fish tail" terribly, no matter how much I tried to regain control, and eventually turned head on toward the opposite side of the road, directly toward trees lining the opposite side. I must have lost consciousness,...

The iac valve in the consumer's 1999 lexus es300 failed. This resulted in the vehicle not starting after being driven a short distance. *Nm *jb

I own a 1999 lexus es-300 automobile that was purchased used in 2002. The engine stopped running as I was driving home from the atlanta airport and would not restart. Just prior to stopping the car began making a rattling noise and then simply stopped while I was driving it. Upon inspection of the engine by lexus mechanics I was informed that there was "oil gel" in the engine and that a new engine would be required. *Ak

While driving at any speed engine check light came on and stayed on. Consumer could take the battery out and replace it, and the light would stay on for several weeks. Engine check light came on more than eight times in the last eight months. Dealer examined the vehicle twice, but could not find the cause of the problem.*Ak

The lexus specialist at the repair shop informed me that he has seen similar problems with other es 300 models as well as the rl models at about the same mileage. The ones with the toyota camry engines haven\\\\\\'t had any problems. There is a tsb on the nhtsa website and I have also filed a complaint there.

None of the rear seat belts hold the child seat firmly. When the car turns or swerves lightly the child seat tilts accordingly. *Jb

Just bought a 1999 lexus es 300, took it to be checked out because the engine sounded rough in the reverse gear. Found out the transmission is leaking badly and has to be replaced, the lexus specialist says he has seen similar problems with transmissions in the es 300 models as well as some of the rl models but have not heard of any recalls. Information is found regarding this problem in the tsb database. *Jb