2011 Lexus ES

No clear pattern

0% of complaints about the 2011 Lexus ES arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2011 vehicle, but with only 60 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is air bags (28 complaints), typically at 5.8 yr or about 53,400 miles.

Complaints: 60
Median age at failure: 5.8 yr
Median mileage: 47,000 n=23
Crash / fire / tow: 21.7% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Air bags mileage not reported 5.8 yr in service

TAKATA RECALL: INFORMATION FROM LEXUS DEALER IS PARTS TO CORRECT THE RECALLED AIR BAG PROBLEM WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE TILL JANUARY 2017. THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE AND UNREASONABLE TO EXPECT THE CUSTOMER TO WAIT FIVE OR SIX MONTHS FOR REPAIRS.

Air bags mileage not reported 5.8 yr in service

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 LEXUS ES-R350. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTIFICATION FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 16V340000 (AIR BAGS) AND STATED THAT THE PART NEEDED WAS UNAVAILABLE TO PERFORM THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

Air bags mileage not reported 5.8 yr in service

I WAS NOTIFIED IN JULY OF 2016 I CALLED THEM TWICE IN TAMPA FLORIDA. TO THIS DATE THEY TOLD ME TO CALL THEM AGAIN IN JANUARY 2017. THIS IS ALMOST SIX MONTHS SINCE I WAS NOTIFIED I HAVE PASSENGERS IN MY CAR ON A DAILY BASIS. AND I LIVE IN FLORIDA WHERE IT IS VERY HOT AND HUMID IN THE CAR IT CAN GET OVER 200 DEGREES.

Other ES model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2011 Lexus ES

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other ES model years

How to read this