2005 Lexus ES Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2005 Lexus ES most often describe transmission hesitation and lurching when accelerating from low speed, including delays, jerky shifts and surges after slowing. Sudden or unintended acceleration, often at low speed in parking lots or traffic, is the next most common theme, and a smaller set of complaints describe airbags that did not deploy or showed a warning light. Hesitation complaints that give mileage mostly describe the first few thousand miles, while sudden acceleration reports that give mileage range from about 9,700 to 70,000 miles.

1. 1
   Transmission and drivetrain

   Transmission hesitation and lurching when accelerating

   • 27 complaints (46%)
   • median 600 mi at 0.9 yrs old (18 state mileage)
   • 4 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2005–2020

   Owners describe hesitation, a delay before the car responds when the accelerator is pressed, and then a sudden lurch forward, sometimes at low speed, after slowing down, or when entering a freeway. Some describe erratic upshifts and downshifts, hang-ups between first and second gear, and jerking during acceleration. Several owners say the dealer found nothing wrong, updated the software or reset the control module, or suggested premium fuel, and some say a service bulletin repair did not resolve the problem. Some owners say the hesitation made them afraid of being rear-ended or of hitting traffic. Most reports that give mileage describe symptoms under about 4,000 miles, while a few mention about 49,000 and 72,000 miles, and several describe hesitation when accelerating from low speed or after coasting or slowing.

   What to check: Ask for records of any transmission software updates or service bulletin repairs and whether the dealer confirmed the hesitation. On a test drive, accelerate gently from low speed and after coasting to check for a delay or lurch.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “My 2005 es330 has a lurching problem with the transmission. Lexus just replaced the program in the computer but never told me they were aware of the problem. It is too soon to tell if the fix will work. They just told me to buy premium gas. I have read from many other Lexus consumers that the fix and better gas do not work.”

   NHTSA complaint #10131779, filed 2005-08, 1 miles

   “I own and purchased new a 2005 Lexus ES 330 over a year ago and have continual problems with a lagging transmission which can not be fixed per Lexus but poses a definite safety problem as reported by many Lexus owners over the past year or so. I feel Lexus should be made to replace these transmissions with acceptable performing transmissions for all of the affected vehicles.”

   NHTSA complaint #10161193, filed 2006-07, 1 miles
2. 2
   Vehicle speed control

   Sudden or unintended acceleration, often at low speed

   • 13 complaints (22%)
   • median 13,000 mi at 1.8 yrs old (10 state mileage)
   • 7 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2005–2014

   Owners describe the car accelerating suddenly, sometimes with a surge or a revving engine, while parking, pulling into a space, or driving slowly. Some say they hit a wall, a barrier, or another vehicle, and others say they could not steer or slow the car, or that the engine stalled for a second or two before engaging. Some complaints say the dealer found nothing wrong, and a complaint quotes the manufacturer as saying the behavior is operating as designed. Mileage is given in most of these reports, from about 9,700 to 70,000 miles, and several happen while parking or pulling into a space at low speed.

   What to check: Ask the dealer for service records on the accelerator or throttle system and for any stored fault codes. On a test drive, pull away gently from a stop and from parking speed to check for surging.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “On july 9, 2006 at 3:30 p.m., I stopped at fishers foods in canton, ohio. I pulled into the parking lot from the frank rd. Side of fishers and was driving slowly with my foot on the brake to enter a parking space. The parking space was located directly across from the entrance and I turned left and eased slowly into the space with my foot on the brake bringing the car to a stop. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10173182, filed 2006-11, 13,000 miles

   “While driving in heavy traffic and traveling at a low speed, the car lurched forward and hit the car that was 6 feet in front of me. The sound of the engine was that of a spontaneous acceleration just like the incident we had on april 30, 2013. There was little or no damage to the car in front of me but the Lexus sustained over $10,000. Worth of damage and has subsequently been considered a total loss. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10524741, filed 2013-07, 63,000 miles
3. 3
   Air bags

   Airbags not deploying, warning light, or cover damage

   • 9 complaints (15%)
   • median 13,425 mi at 2.7 yrs old (6 state mileage, few)
   • 5 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2005–2019

   Several owners describe airbags that did not deploy in a crash, including a crash where the passenger was injured. Others describe an airbag warning light that stayed on, and an airbag off light that stayed on after a dealer recalibrated the system and reportedly said the airbags would not activate in that state. The passenger airbag housing or cover is reported to be lifting, bulging, or separating from the dash, and owners ask whether this could affect deployment. Mileage is given in a few reports, from about 60 to 18,000 miles, and the airbag faults are described both during a crash and during normal driving.

   What to check: Ask the dealer to scan for airbag warning codes and to inspect the passenger airbag cover for separation or bulging before buying. Owners say they found no recall for these symptoms, so ask whether any service campaign applies to the vehicle VIN.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Wed may 23, 2007 went to jm Lexus to check on the lights on the dashboard which say air bag on and air bag off. Saw joshua lentz who said they recalibrated the system. He told me that as long as front passenger weighs above 70 lbs the air bag system should operate. I asked if the air bag would activate in event of accident if the air bag off sign shows. He told me it would not activate. Today as we drove the sign air bag on showed. After a stop at a store we drove home and the air bag off sign showed all the way home. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10191816, filed 2007-05, 8,850 miles

   “On nov. 6, 2007 I was the last vehicle in a four car pile-up. The honda in front of me was totaled and my 2005 Lexus es330 had over $10,000 in damage. My concern is that the air bags did not deploy. With such significant damage I was sure they would have protected me but they did not. I am concerned there may be a problem and I will not be protected in the future.”

   NHTSA complaint #10209289, filed 2007-11

Buying note. Someone considering a 2005 Lexus ES should test drive it at low speeds and in stop-and-go traffic to check for hesitation or surging, and ask for records of any transmission software updates and accelerator or throttle service. Ask the dealer to check the airbag warning lights and passenger airbag cover before buying.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 52 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.