NHTSA has received 24 owner complaints about the 2020 Lexus ES, or 3.5 per year on the road — far fewer complaints than typical (complaint index 0.09, where 1.00 is the average of all tracked vehicles). Among the 83 model-year 2020 vehicles we track, it ranks #4 of 83 by complaints per year (#1 = fewest). Against other Lexus models its rate is 53% lower; against other Luxury sedans it is 28% lower.
Counts are normalized by time on the road, not by sales volume: a popular model generates more reports than a rare one, and complaints are not verified individually. How we count
Limited data: fewer than 30 complaints, so shares and indexes are unstable.
Complaints filed between 2020-11-10 and 2026-08-01. Median delay from incident to filing: 11 days.
24Complaints
3.5Complaints per year on the road
0.09Complaint index vs. all tracked vehicles
1Recalls
25.0%Share involving a crash or fire
5Last 12 months
Analysis
The previous model year (2019) drew 4.4 complaints per year, more than this one. The following model year (2021) drew 6.0 per year, more than this one.
The most common problem area is Airbags & seat belts (45.8% of complaints), followed by Brakes (16.7%) and Unspecified or other (16.7%). Airbags & seat belts complaints are 12.1 times as common here as across all tracked vehicles. 6 reports (25.0%) describe a crash or fire; owners mention 8 injuries and 0 deaths.
Half of the reported incidents happened within 57 months of the model year's start; the busiest period was years three to five (50% of incidents). 5 complaints were filed in the last 12 months.
NHTSA lists 1 safety recall for this model year. 1 NHTSA investigation covers this model year; the most recent is “Pedestrian alert sounds” (defect petition, opened 2023-01-27, closed 2023-08-07).
Complaint index
vs. all tracked vehicles0.09
vs. other Lexus models0.47
vs. other 2020 models0.09
vs. other Luxury sedans0.72
Complaints in first 2 years on the road · vs. same-year average (2)0.04
Paring brake has been bucking backwards and forward for most of 2026 and finally it failed facing downhill on Feb 4, 2026 and rolled downhill until it stopped after hitting a sign.
Unspecified or other · 2026-02-11 · ODI 11717319 · Crash
The contact owns a 2020 Lexus ES 350. The contact stated that while his father was driving at 35-37 MPH down a hill, he applied the brake pedal, but the brakes failed to respond. The contact continued to pump the brake pedal.
Brakes · 2024-12-05 · ODI 11628965 · Crash
Not sure if I have the right things checked. Starting about december 2022 i experienced the car "lunging" forward upon putting the car into drive, After having backed out of a parking space. It continued to do this off and on even through today.
Brakes · 2026-08-01 · ODI 11754220
The front timing chain cover on the engine was leaking at 53k miles. This is a 2GR-FKS engine. We have had the car for 19k miles, and bought it as a Certified Pre-Owned.
Engine · 2026-07-08 · ODI 11749126
Car has been stalling, jerking and revving of the engine! Transmission service was done around 100,000 miles, about 30000 miles later, car was taken back to dealer and they were unable diagnose a problem. Issue got worse until it became undriveable.
Unspecified or other · 2026-03-06 · ODI 11722630
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION Campaign 23V865000 · 2023-12-20
Summary: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Corolla, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus ES350, Lexus RX350, Lexus RX450H, 2021 Sienna Hybrid, Lexus ES250, 2020-2022 Camry, Camry Hybrid, and ES300H vehicles. A short circuit may develop in the Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensor, preventing the front passenger air bag from deploying.
Risk: An air bag that does not deploy during a crash increases the risk of injury.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the sensor as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed in February 2024. Some final remedy owner letters were mailed October 31, 2024. Letters will continue to be mailed in phases through January 2026. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TB15/23TA15 Lexus 23LB03/23LA03.
DP22005 · defect petition · ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:PROPULSION SYSTEM · Opened 2023-01-27 · Closed 2023-08-07 · Campaign 22V063000 · Model years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and ele…
