Sir/madam, I am trying to help my friends (xxxx) and (xxxxx), long time residents of huntington beach and a very sweet couple. Peggy was driving her husband to a doctor's appointment and due to a fault in the engine (there is a recall and they were not informed), the engine caught on fire. If it hadn't been for the driver behind them who ran to them and got them quickly out of the car and walked them to safety, the outcome would have been very bleak. They are an elderly couple and the husband, (xxxxx), has great difficulty walking and the car burned very quickly. They, thank god, made it to safety in time only to watch their car burn. They informed toyota and since they are on fixed income asked toyota for help with the purchase of another used reliable car (the lexus they were driving was 15 years old but in good condition and more than enough car for their trips to local stores or doctor appointments. Surprisingly, toyota only responded with one letter from customer service. (xxxx)'s follow up calls and letters to customer service, eco mark templin were never acknowledged or answered. Please help this couple believe in humanity again. Toyota is a reputable company and to have something like this happen without so much as a phone call from the company is surprising to all that know of this case. I am attaching all the evidence: pictures, copies of letters for your reference. Please provide case number. Thank you so much for your help. (xxxxx) for (xxxxx) parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
Lexus ES300 fire or smoke problems
21 of the 680 owner complaints about the Lexus ES300 describe fire, smoke or burning smell, most of them for the 1993 model year.
- owner complaints
- 21
- worst model year
- 1993
- typical mileage
- 105,000
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 lexus es300. While driving at an unknown speed, smoke was noticed coming from the engine compartment. The contact managed to pull the vehicle over as it was stalling. The contact exited the vehicle, lifted the hood, and noticed flames coming from the battery. The contact called the fire department who extinguished the fire. The contact mentioned that the fire department cut the battery cord and informed the contact that the vehicle was unsafe to drive. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. An independent mechanic diagnosed that the battery needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 156,000.
While driving on a freeway the car made a sudden & brief shutter immediately followed by loss of response by the accelerator pedal. I immediately began to move off the freeway knowing that something was wrong with my car. Upon getting o the off ramp I saw flames coming from around the front left tire. I put the car into park, turned the engine off and exited the vehicle. Within a very few minutes the car was completely engulfed in flames. Passers by who stopped to assist me indicated that they saw flames underneath the car as I was pulling off the freeway. There was no indication of fire (either flames, smoke or gauge indications) for me s the driver until I had exited to the off ramp. The car has been deemed a total loss with cause listed as " undetermined" by the insurance co.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 lexus es300. While driving 30 MPH, there were flames and a black substance coming from the engine compartment of the vehicle. The fire department was able to extinguish the fire. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was towed to an auto body repair center, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000. The VIN was unavailable.
On 1/8/15 at approx. 9:30 am, I was driving to work south on hwy 95 near exit 67 . Suddenly, other drivers were frantically waving at me to pull over onto the shoulder of the highway. What they saw ( and which I couldn't), was that there were flames under my car. I pulled over and got out of the car. Within seconds ( not even a full minute), the entire car was engulfed in flames and soon became a complete and total charred mess. Fortunately, I was not physically hurt and a maryland state trooper came onto the scene 2-5 minutes after I got out of the car. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
Car exploded and started fire in the garage after the car had been parked for approximately 20 minutes. Got home from work and stop at grocery store. Parked car in garage and brought in some groceries. About 10 - 15 minutes later went out to get paper products (tp and paper towels) out of trunk. There was nothing out of the ordinary, no smoke, no fire, no noise. Went in side put away everything and started to cook. Heard loud explosion noise. Went to the garage and opened the door. Hot, heavy black smoke and chemical odor came pouring into the house. I could see flames to the left. It was very hot and there was some liquid mixed in, and the garage was pitch black yet it was a very sunny day with the sun pointing at the garage. Because it was so dark, it looked like the garage doors were closed, but actually, one side was open, but I didn't know because it was so black. Couldn't see anything, and my arm was so hot trying to open garage door at wall switch, burned all the hair off my arm. I then left house, 911 was on the way. Garage caught on fire, everything in garage burned or melted, including my car. Interior hall, all fixtures in hall and bath burnt or melted, extensive smoke damage to entire home. Thousands of dollars and almost 10 months in a hotel. Cars are not supposed to explode or start fire when they are off, parked for 20 minutes in your garage.
Tl* the contact 1993 es300 lexus. The contact was driving 45mph and the vehicle began to shake. Shortly after the vehicle begin to smoke. Upon pulling over the contact noticed fire coming from under the hood. The local mechanic inspected the vehicle and he stated that the steering fluid caught on fire and the fire started in the steering column. The contact had the vehicle towed over to the authorized dealer. The contact still has not heard back from the dealer as of the time of the complaint . The children in the vehicle were in shock but did not sustain any injuries. The failure mileage was 87000. The VIN was unavailable.
Our 2003 lexus es 300 engine area caught in fire when my wife parked in the parking lot. According to the witness, parking lot security, he saw the smoke came out from the engine area for about a minute and then fire. He said it looks like something is short in the electrical/engine and caught the fire. When the fire department arrived to put out the fire which damaged and burned half of the car, a lead fire man commented that he has seen several incidents that the lexus sedans were suddenly caught in fire while parking. With this unfortunate tragedy occurred to our lexus car, we are very concerned with the safety for all lexus sedan especially es 300 driving by consumers out there. Fortunately, my wife left the car few minutes before the car caught in fire, but mentally she was still in shock with it. We did contact lexus to file a complain, and they said an adjuster will contact us next 10 days to review and discuss the case. It's more than 3 weeks and we still have not heard back from lexus. Of course, our lexus es 300 is a total loss now, but we request the federal safety agency investigating and looking into this case for the safety of consumers and demand lexus to investigate and answer us and the public the cause for a sudden caught in fire. Thank you!
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 lexus es300. While driving at an unknown speed, the contact noticed smoke underneath the hood. She assumed that the vehicle was overheating and pulled over to allow the vehicle to cool down. A couple of minutes later, the vehicle caught fire and was towed to a body shop. The contact has pictures of the vehicle. The body shop does not know what caused the fire. The insurance company stated that the vehicle was destroyed. The dealer could not assist and stated that there were no recalls for the vehicle. The dealer further stated that this incident was only an "accident". The failure and current mileages were 114,000.
On june 15, 2009 we were driving home and my husband felt the car almost stalled. Then we smelled gasoline and saw smoke coming from the bottom right under the engine. We exited the car and it was already on fire. The car burst into flames and was completely destroyed. It was a 2002 lexus 300es with only 44,000 miles. Toyota has been extremely rude to us and took almost a month to inspect the car. They say they cannot determine the cause of the fire. How can a car start on fire while you are driving it over straight roads.? We never had an accident or any other problem. I read of a couple of other lexuses that caught fire. Something should be done to make toyota fully examine this problem.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Lexus ES300 fire or smoke
Which Lexus ES300 years have fire, smoke or burning smell problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1993 (5 complaints), 2002 (5 complaints) and 2003 (3 complaints).
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