AI Damage1998 Lexus ES300: common problems
Owners of the 1998 Lexus ES300 filed 52 complaints with NHTSA, most often about air bags and seat belts. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 52
- involving a crash
- 13
What fails most often
- 1 Air bags 17% of all complaints
- 2 Seat belts 12% of all complaints
- 3 Engine and cooling 10% of all complaints
- 4 Fuel system 10% of all complaints
- 5 Vehicle speed control 10% of all complaints
- 6 Electrical system 8% of all complaints
- 7 Seats 8% of all complaints
- 8 Service brakes 8% of all complaints
- Air bags: 9 complaints (17% of all), 6 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Seat belts: 6 complaints (12% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Engine and cooling: 5 complaints (10% of all).
- Fuel system: 5 complaints (10% of all).
- Vehicle speed control: 5 complaints (10% of all), 5 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 52 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air bags | 9 | 6 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Seats | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Tires | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
The front air bags did not deploy. The contact sustained injuries to the neck and shoulder and was transported to the hospital via ambulance. A police report was available. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was contacted and they advised that the legal department would contact him. The vin was unavailable.
My 1998 lexus hit a cement wall and the air bag did not deploy. I called and wrote to lexus headquarters three times and they never responded. I want to hear from lexus about this problem.
Tl contact owns a 1998 lexus es300. While driving approximately 5 mph pressure was applied to the brake pedal but the vehicle would not stop until colliding with another vehicle in a minor crash. He continued driving and the brakes began to function as normal.
I experienced unintended acceleration in my 1998 lexus es while backing into my garage. I had my foot on the brake, but the vehicle took off in reverse and crashed into the back of the garage, damaging both the car and the garage. I was not injured, but was certainly frightened by the incident.
The accident was due to unintended-acceleration as the car lurched forward fighting the brake. It seemed as though the accelerator had a life of its own overriding the braking actions I tried to implement. I was proceeding slowly up the long narrow driveway.
While parking vehicle surged, jumped a curb, and ran into an apartment building.
Ignition key released, car parked in drive, rolled back and hit other vehicle. Key also released in reverse, drive, as well as in park . Should only release in park.
No deployment of airbag during vehicle collision causing injuries to passengers elbow, chest, neck and back, passenger in the rear also sustain injury to the chest, neck and back from the seatbelt. Nlm
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 5,242 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 14% most complained about).
On average one model year of the ES300 has 43 complaints (16 years in the data). This year has 52, above average.
What to check before buying
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Seat belts. Belt pretensioners after airbag deployment, SRS codes.
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
- Fuel system. Fuel smell, leaks, rough running, fuel-system codes.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1998 Lexus ES300?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: air bags, seat belts, engine and cooling. Total complaints: 52. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: seat belts (12%), airbags did not deploy (8%), unintended acceleration (8%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1998 Lexus ES300?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1998 Lexus ES300 from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1998 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.