The latest incidence happened in [XXX] of city [XXX] on XXX. The engine intermittently stalls automatically after I backed up in Reverse for a very short distance. The engine was still running but the car was locked, and red warning lights appear. I had to turn the engine off and restart it to move the car. The same incidence happened several times before. When it happened, there were no persons or cars behind at all. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Lexus ES stalling problems
19 of the 673 owner complaints about the Lexus ES describe engine stalls while driving, most of them for the 2019 model year.
- owner complaints
- 19
- worst model year
- 2019
- typical mileage
- 8,500
By model year
- 20251
- 20231
- 20201
- 20197
- 20171
- 20132
- 20081
- 20071
- 20053
- 20001
Often reported together
Fuel pump 3Loss of power 2Hesitation 2Won't start 1Warning lights 1Transmission failure 1Sudden acceleration 1Misfire 1
What owners say
Vehicle suddenly stalled in traffic, check engine light illuminated and lost power.
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!
The contact owns a 2023 Lexus ES 250. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle abruptly stalled. During the failure, the vehicle lost power brakes and power steering functionality, with the messages "High Power Consumption Temporarily Limited", "Braking Temporarily Disabled", and "Power Steering Temporarily Disabled" displayed. The contact was able to safely park the vehicle. The vehicle was later jump-started, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was jump-started a second time and driven to the local dealer, who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the alternator had failed due to several electrical charging ports being used at the same time. The contact was informed that the alternator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 67,995.
I have purchased two Lexus ES350s--a 2007 and a 2017. Both cars have been serviced at Lexus of Atlanta and both have had transmission failure. On August 28, 2025, after my car passed emissions and had just been serviced a month prior at the dealership, my car abruptly jumped and stalled, and the "Traction Control" message popped up. This was extremely scary as I was driving in Atlanta traffic. I immediately had it towed to Lexus of Atlanta. I received a call from my Service Advisor with whom I have worked for many years and he said it is my transmission and quoted me $10,000+. He also had zero empathy, could not tell me why my car all of the sudden "died" and essentially said, "these things happen and it is what it is." Those were actually his exact words. No one can explain why the transmission failed when I have had the car serviced routinely by the dealership from where the car was purchased. I just had the car serviced in July. I had no indication that the car was malfunctioning. I am unsure if the transmissions need to be recalled but this is a serious safety concern.
Issue number one the dashboard the steering wheel and the clutch handle for automatic or manual melts it gets extremely hot and slippery it burns no matter if you cover your car or anything it melts and the glare from it is very dangerous when the Sun hits the windshield while driving it makes it look like a mirror form I'm not the only one who complains about this issue because why does the dashboard melts and create a dangerous flare with glare excuse the heating and cooling seats I believe also I'm not sure if it's causing condensation because it's connected to the AC which is also an issue no matter how much you get it fixed like I'm not sure if the blend door actuator gets stuck but a lot of people complain about that too because I'm not the only one with that issue 3 the gas pedal gets stuck no matter how many treatments and maintenance and services you get done with your car that's still dangerous because I was driving one day on the highway and my pedal got stuck while driving I keep my car in tip top shape have evidence and all. The light fixtures also is an issue I'm not sure if they're supposed to go down no matter how many lights and replacements you do they still become dim which is dangerous at night while driving in the woods or on dark paths 4 the fuel system they tell to use premium gas which is 91 but then the dealers take to use 87 which causes a stalling on the I believe transmission which is also another faulty issue cuz no matter how many times you replace everything is still very faulty I ran into a lot of people and Friends who have the same issue and again I'm a person who take care of my car and 5 last but not least all the windows and sunroof keep opening which I didn't know was that supposed to be a feature.
The vehicle stalls when I try to take off causing me to pull into traffic slower
Car surges during acceleration. Stall out and idle extremely high while driving under 60 mph
I called Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis to get this recall addressed two weeks ago and they told me the parts are not available. I called again today and they told me the same thing. They do not know when the parts will be arriving. The letter they sent stated "If a vehicle stall occurs while driving, this could increase the risk of a crash". I am concerned that this is taking too long to remediate! [XXX] Cell: [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Accident description: traveling south on I-95 just past the 895 split. I was traveling in the middle lane with a speed of 60-65 MPH. The car started to drift left quickly. There was no vibration warning through the steering wheel indicating lane departure. I was rapidly moving toward the concrete base of the moravia road overpass. The steering was tight. I attempt to brake and steer right but nothing seemed to work. The autobrake was on but did not apply and I hit the concrete base of the wall on the left front corner of the lexus. I did several 360's and landed against the jersey wall in reverse direction of the traffic. The air bags did not deploy. The car would not start. I was able to put my window up/down and the door did open. I remained in place with my seat belt still on until office smith arrived. He recorded the incident. In summary, I believe the low precure fuel pump stopped operating causing the engine to stall at high speed and was thus the source of the crash.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Lexus ES stalling
Which Lexus ES years have engine stalls while driving problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2019 (7 complaints), 2005 (3 complaints) and 2013 (2 complaints).
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