NHTSA vehicle safety data

2013 Lexus ES350 Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

The 2013 Lexus ES350 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign and 23 owner complaints on file as of November 3, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized Lexus dealer.

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2013 Lexus ES350, plus NCAP crash-test ratings. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

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2013 Lexus ES350 owner complaints

Owners have filed 23 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Lexus ES350, describing incidents dated October 20, 2013 to August 25, 2021.

Most-cited components

Visibility/Wiper 5 complaints
Air Bags 4 complaints
Service Brakes 3 complaints
Unknown or Other 3 complaints
Vehicle Speed Control 3 complaints
Seats 2 complaints

Of the 23 complaints on file, 5 report a crash; across all 23 complaints, owners report 4 injuries (owner-reported, not verified by NHTSA).

Newest complaints

ODI #11430439 · Filed August 25, 2021
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…
ODI #11384668 · Filed December 23, 2020
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…
ODI #11282900 · Filed November 29, 2019
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…

Read all 23 complaints

Unexpected Braking due to Pre-Collision System

NHTSA #15V728000 · Forward Collision Avoidance — Crash Imminent Braking · NHTSA notice

Reported November 3, 2015 · Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

Potentially affected: 30,812 vehicles

Repair completion: 83.72% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated November 3, 2026)

Manufacturer campaign F1V, F2E · Owners notified July 28, 2016 · Vehicles built June 18, 2012 – July 6, 2015 (per NHTSA)

Defect description

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.

Safety consequence

A vehicle that unexpectedly brakes increases the risk of a crash.

Manufacturer 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.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

2013 Lexus ES350 4 DR FWD

out of 5

Overall Safety Rating

Frontal Crash

Driver: 5, Passenger: 5

Side Crash

Driver: 4, Passenger: 5

Side Pole

Rollover

11% rollover risk

Safety Technology

Electronic Stability Control Forward Collision Warning (Optional) Lane Departure Warning (Optional)

23 owner complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2013 Lexus ES350.

Visibility

ODI #11430439

Incident: August 25, 2021 · Filed: August 25, 2021

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.

Visibility

ODI #11384668

Incident: December 21, 2020 · Filed: December 23, 2020

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.

Visibility

ODI #11282900

Incident: November 27, 2019 · Filed: November 29, 2019

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.

Visibility

ODI #11155236

Incident: November 30, 2018 · Filed: November 30, 2018

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.

Air Bags

ODI #11045317

Incident: October 1, 2017 · Filed: November 11, 2017

TAKATA AIRBAG RECALL

Unknown or Other

ODI #10995129

Incident: May 24, 2017 · Filed: June 14, 2017

I WAS DRIVING ON I75 IN LOUISVILLE, KY, GOING APPROX 70-75 MPH WHEN I HEARD WHAT SOUNDED LIKE A GUN SHOT! PANICKED, I LOOKED AROUND IMMEDIATELY BUT THERE WERE NO OTHER CARS CLOSE BY AND NO OVERPASSES. THEN I REALIZED THAT GLASS WAS ALL OVER MY RIGHT ARM, SHOULDER, AND THE CENTER CONSOLE. I LOOKED UP TO SEE THAT MY MOON ROOF WAS SHATTERED. AFTER REALIZING WHAT HAD HAPPENED, I CLOSED THE SHADE SO MORE GLASS DID NOT FALL ON ME AND INSIDE MY CAR. I TOOK AN EXIT AND CALLED MY INSURANCE COMPANY. I TOLD THEM I HAD NO IDEA WHAT HAD HAPPENED, THAT NO ONE WAS AROUND BUT THAT MY MOON ROOF HAD JUST EXPLODED. THEY GAVE ME THE COMPANY TO CONTACT TO GET IT FIXED AND I TOOK IT THERE TO GET IT FIXED THE NEXT DAY. I HAVE PICS OF IT THOUGH. SO SCARY! I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY MY MOON ROOF WOULD JUST EXPLODE WITHOUT ANY EXTERIOR FORCE BEING EXERTED AND I AM SO AFRAID IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN.

Air Bags

ODI #10994028

Crash 1 injury

Incident: May 2, 2017 · Filed: June 8, 2017

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

Vehicle Speed Control

ODI #10958767

Incident: March 3, 2017 · Filed: March 6, 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

Service Brakes

ODI #10947475

Crash 1 injury

Incident: January 23, 2017 · Filed: January 24, 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.

Air Bags

ODI #10919172

Crash 1 injury

Incident: April 13, 2016 · Filed: October 26, 2016

AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AFTER CAR WAS IN A WRECK. FRONT END DEMAGED OF 12,000 IN DAMAGES. VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION.

Other Lexus ES350 model years

Check your 2013 Lexus ES350 VIN

Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your Lexus ES350 at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

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