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All cars · Lexus ES · Transmission

Lexus ES transmission problems by year.

Worst years for transmission complaints per car sold: 2005 (64 complaints), 2004 (60 complaints), 2002 (49 complaints). Fewest since 2010: 2016, 2017, 2018.

Lexus ES
Photo shows a 2019 Lexus ES. Kevauto, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · background removed

Transmission complaints owners filed with the U.S. government (NHTSA) for each model year, per 100,000 cars sold. A complaint counts when it's filed under the transmission, or under the power train and the owner describes the transmission (shifting, slipping, gears, CVT). It's an owner's report, not a confirmed defect, and older years have had longer to collect complaints.

20001024.2 per 100K sold2001613.4 per 100K sold20024968.6 per 100K sold20033045.6 per 100K sold20046079 per 100K sold20056494.7 per 100K sold200679.2 per 100K sold20073238.6 per 100K sold200834.7 per 100K sold20090no sales data201024.1 per 100K sold20110no sales data20120no sales data201322.8 per 100K sold20140no sales data201523.1 per 100K sold201611.7 per 100K sold201711.9 per 100K sold201812.1 per 100K sold201935.8 per 100K sold20200no sales data20210no sales data20220no sales data20230no sales data20240no sales data20250no sales data

What owners describe

Delay or hesitation52%
Hard or jerky shifting18%
Slipping9%
Lost power while driving8%
Rolled away or park trouble3%
Transmission replaced3%

Share of this model's transmission complaints that mention each symptom. One complaint can mention several.

In owners' words

When driving at various speeds, vehicle jerked when transmission shifted gears. The cause of the problem was undetermined.*ak *bf

2005 Lexus ES owner · NHTSA complaint

2005 lexus es330 transmission "hunting" for proper gear when slowing down then wanting to immediately speed up before coming to a complete stop.

2005 Lexus ES owner · NHTSA complaint

Quick answers

Which Lexus ES years have transmission problems?

By transmission complaints filed with NHTSA per car sold, the worst Lexus ES years are 2005, 2004, 2002.

What are common Lexus ES transmission problems?

Owners most often describe delay or hesitation, hard or jerky shifting, slipping.

Which Lexus ES years have the fewest transmission complaints?

Since 2010, the Lexus ES years with the fewest transmission complaints per car sold are 2016, 2017, 2018.

See every problem, not just the transmission: Lexus ES reliability by year. How we count

Updated

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