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. Car towed back to dealership only to be told I need a transmission on a pre owned certified car!
Lexus ES jerking problems
30 of the 673 owner complaints about the Lexus ES describe jerking or lurching, most of them for the 2005 model year.
- owner complaints
- 30
- worst model year
- 2005
- typical mileage
- 34,000
By model year
- 20231
- 20201
- 20181
- 20131
- 20111
- 20081
- 20073
- 20061
- 200512
- 20043
- 20032
- 20022
- 19991
Often reported together
Hesitation 13Sudden acceleration 3Transmission failure 2Fire or smoke 2ABS 2Won't shift 1Pulling 1Stalling 1
What owners say
The contact owns a 2013 Lexus ES 300H. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked abnormally. The service ABS, Brakes, and hazard warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed; however, no cause for the failure was determined. An appointment with the dealer was scheduled to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Lexus ES 350. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle jerked abnormally. The driver was able to drive to the residence. Upon test-driving the vehicle, the contact noticed that the vehicle was hesitating and jerking. The contact stated that the vehicle made an abnormal clicking sound while driving the following day, and the vehicle later became undrivable. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an unknown dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 200.
I was driving and my car has a certain jerking motion to it, as I tried to break and accelerate the car wasn’t able to stop or move properly. As a result I rear ended the car in front of me. In addition to that my airbag wouldn’t go off after the accident so it seems like there was a malfunction. Lexus always assured me that all system ran well and that there was nothing wrong with the car. I made all necessary repairs they told me to make a despite my questions about the car being fully functional, they still didn’t warn me and told me that my car was fine every time I took it in or got work done on my car.
While driving on the highway, whenever you approach an exit or an intersecting part of a highway, the lane keep assist will jerk hard towards that exit or towards the direction of the nonexistent line on the right or left side of the lane. Weather that line of that lane has faded out or is part of a type of highway intersection. Since the car drifts in between lines of that lane (while in LANE KEEP ASSIST LKA), it is hard to tell initially what the car is trying to do. Then it pulls hard to the right or the left, depending on where that line has disappeared. While there’s always at least one full line of that lane visible. I’ve already almost been in several car accidents since I got this car last April. Also I am driving a 2025 Toyota Corolla and I’m having the same exact problems. This is unsafe for everyone.
WHEN IM DRIVING THE CAR SHUTS OFF.or your driving car loses power and then dose a hard jerk and then starts driving again.
When I stop and try to accelerate the car hesitate and then starts to jerk. If I give it heavy gas it drives normal
Car began to lurch, stopped, smoke and flames began coming out of front of car. Fire enlarged, several small explosions. Firemen put out fire, but front half of car totally burnt.
Transmission had issues with flare at speeds of 30-40 MPH on a cold start and brought it to lexus and they updated my ecu with the software. After getting the car back they had a jerking/hesitation between 1st and 2nd gear. This happens every time when when at a stop and slowly accelerating. Lexus recommended a new transmission, but I did some research and lots of owners had this issue for the early 2007 models of the es350. Apparently lexus is a ware of the issue but has done nothing about it.
I had a car accident approximately one month ago due to sudden unintended acceleration and loss of steering in a 2004 lexus es330. I am the only owner of the car and I had it serviced regularly over the past 13 years. The night of my accident I lost complete control of my car as I attempted to merge on to the local lanes of an interstate highway in northern, nj. The car accelerated to the left and crossed sped across 8 lanes of the highway, including over a median before it spun around and jerked to a stop in the left lane of the west bound lanes facing east. I was hit head on by another driver. I was not injured, but the car was a total loss. Both of my parents also currently drive lexus vehicles, and both models were noted to have similar issues. Furthermore, my mother recently received a letter indicating her car was being recalled due to the passenger air bag issues, the letter stated while toyota would offer what they considered to be a suitable fix at no charge. The letter further explained that they did not currently possess the parts needed for the repairs and would be in touch in the future, no indication of the expected time frame was provided. Between my accident and knowing both of my parents are currently driving vehicles that are unsafe to drive, by toyota's own admissions, I have been and continue to experience significant distress. I am aware of the significant fines and suits settled against toyota in the past, but they continue to seem unfazed despite their cars putting all of our lives at risk daily. I am also incredibly disgusted by their history of victim blaming and would love to do whatever I can to bring attention to this issue. I feel it is only fair that toyota accept responsibility for their seemingly never ending list of wrongdoing and take immediate steps to correct ongoing issues.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Lexus ES jerking
Which Lexus ES years have jerking or lurching problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2005 (12 complaints), 2004 (3 complaints) and 2007 (3 complaints).
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