2009 Lexus ES350 Problems

What owners report

Owners of this model year most often write about the Takata passenger-side airbag inflator recall, usually because the replacement part was not available and they were told to keep the front passenger seat empty. A second common theme is unexpected or unintended acceleration, often at low speed leaving a parking space or at a stop, with owners describing limited brake response. Smaller groups of complaints cover brakes, a melting or sticky dashboard, and occasional electrical and fuel-system symptoms.

1. 1
   Air bags

   Passenger airbag inflator recall parts not available

   • 87 complaints (60%)
   • median 42,780 mi at 8.8 yrs old (4 state mileage, few)
   • filed 2016–2018

   Owners describe receiving notice of the Takata passenger-side inflator recall and then waiting months for a remedy. Complaints say dealers told them the part was on order, that another model line was being handled first, or that no estimate could be given, and some were advised not to carry a front passenger. A few say a dealer denied the recall applied to their car, or that repairs were refused because the car was originally sold in another state. Filed mostly in 2016-2017, when vehicles were roughly 7-8 years old and often around 40,000 miles or more.

   Recall 19V741000Recall 18V024000Recall 17V006000Recall 16V3400002 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask for the recall completion record for the passenger-side inflator and confirm the campaign number on the vehicle matched a finished remedy. Check whether a customer support program covers the inflator on this model year.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Takata recall I received recall notice in the past and was told I would be notified when parts were available. Now dealer tells me there is no recall. Dealer is Lexus of rockville centre ny”

   NHTSA complaint #11055214, filed 2017-12, 55,000 miles

   “Takata recall. I received a recall notice and was told 1) I should not have a passenger in the passenger seat of my car and 2) there is no replacement yet. I checked today(8/16/16) and there still is not a solution for this safety defect. This problem with takata airbags has been going on for several years and there is no solution. How can there be no solution. Have there been no safe airbags installed in the last several years? If there are safe airbags inflators available why can't they be installed on affected autos. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10896395, filed 2016-08, 46,000 miles
2. 2
   Vehicle speed control

   Unexpected acceleration, often at low speed

   • 19 complaints (13%)
   • median 10,140 mi at 1.4 yrs old (14 state mileage)
   • 6 mention a crash, fire or injury
   • filed 2009–2015

   Complaints describe the car gaining speed without a clear command: while pulling out of a parking space, at a stop sign, or after releasing the accelerator. Owners say brakes sometimes felt ineffective until hard pressure, and some reported collisions with walls, fences or parked objects. Several complaints were filed after the accelerator pedal recall work was done, saying the car still behaved unexpectedly; others were told the floor mat or the pedal shape was responsible. Spread from under 1,000 miles to about 71,000 miles; many were reported within the first few thousand miles.

   Recall 09V388000

   What to check: Ask whether the accelerator pedal and floor mat recall work was completed, and confirm the mats fitted are the ones specified for the car. During a test drive, try gentle starts from a stop and check that the pedal returns smoothly.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “On july 22, 2010 I had been traveling from cape cod and was on i84 using my cruise control on my 2009 Lexus es, set to 64 MPH. I would cancel it by pushing the lever towards me when traffic got heavy and push resume when I had an open road. After traveling about 210 mi and using it in the above manner it would not resume as before. The car would surge and accelerate to over 75 MPH. I had to cancel the cruise for it to stop accelerating because it was not stopping. I was not using the pedals at any time. I tried it twice. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10345426, filed 2010-07, 7,939 miles

   “When I was going to park my car in the box in front of the hotel room, I touched the accelerator slightly to advance the two meters distant to be properly parked, then the accelerator run in high speed the brakes did not respond. To reduce the impact, I turned the wheel to the right and crashed into the hotel wall. People from Lexus is making an investigation. The question is how confident is that investigation. The car was check the day before for 15,000 miles check. I live now in durango, mexico and just came to have my car checked.”

   NHTSA complaint #10382019, filed 2011-02, 15,807 miles
3. 3
   Air bags

   Airbags not deploying in a collision

   Mentioned in 6 of 60 sampled complaints

   A small group of complaints describes frontal impacts in which the airbags did not deploy, including one where the driver reported striking the steering wheel. Owners say dealers explained deployment depends on impact speed and angle, and one noted that a harness or wiring repair was only covered within a time and mileage limit. Reported between roughly 3,500 and 81,000 miles, in collisions rather than during ordinary driving.

   Recall 16V340000Recall 17V006000

   What to check: Confirm the passenger inflator recall is complete, and ask whether any airbag warning light history or wiring repairs are documented. A scan tool check for stored airbag fault codes is worth requesting before purchase.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “On tuesday, 6/28/11 my wife was involved in a head on accident. The vehicle in front of her had no brake lights and she slammed into the back of his truck. She has $9,000 worth of front end damage and none of the airbags on her 2009 Lexus ES350 deployed. I find that to be an issue. Due to that fact she has sustained a head, neck, back and knee injury. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10410133, filed 2011-06, 20,000 miles

   “I was driving on the freeway when I got rear ended with my daughter in the backseat in her car seat, and I being the driver 8 months pregnant. Car was severely damage no air bags deploy, this is not the first time this happens that the air bags do not deploy at the time of the accident. I was wearing my seat belt I hit my forehead on the steering wheel both times. I am concerned regarding this. Very expensive car to have these malfunctions.”

   NHTSA complaint #10639676, filed 2014-09, 81,230 miles

Buying note. Check that the Takata passenger inflator recall has actually been completed, since many complaints here are about waiting for parts rather than the failure itself. It is also worth confirming the accelerator pedal recall work and looking over the dashboard and brakes on a test drive.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 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.