2013 Lexus Es Hybrid problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Vehicle Speed Control (3) · Structure:body (1) · Service Brakes, Hydraulic (1)
Safety recalls (1)
Forward Collision Avoidance: Crash Imminent Braking 2015-11-03 · campaign 15V728000 · 30,812 vehicles
Defect: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Avalon and Avalon Hybrid vehicles manufactured October 19, 2012 to October 27, 2015 and 2013-2015 Lexus ES350 and ES300h vehicles manufactured June 18, 2012 to July 6, 2015. The affected vehicles are equipped with a Pre-Collision System (PCS) as optional equipment. In these vehicles, the PCS may unexpectedly activate and apply the brakes when the radar detects a steel joint or plate in the roadway as an
Risk: A vehicle that unexpectedly brakes increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace certain PCS components, free of charge. The recall began on July 28, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-888-270-9371. Toyota's numbers for this campaign are F1V and F2E.
Service bulletins (266)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Structure:body 2025-12-15 · L-SB-0030-24 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2005 – 2026 lexus vehicles that have undergone water intrusion may exhibit a condition in which a musty odor is present. follow the procedures in this bulletin to remediate the odor and address this condition. the purpose of this service bulletin is to provide general guidelines and procedures
Electrical System 2025-06-13 · L-SB-0043-23 Rev1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the air conditioning dye injection tool kit has been developed to aid in identifying the location of air conditioning refrigerant leaks. the procedures outlined in this service bulletin aid in locating, inspecting, and repairing refrigerant leaks.
Structure:body 2025-02-07 · L-SB-0017-19 Rev1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2010 – 2026 model year lexus vehicles may exhibit paint stains after the removal of rapgard™. the paint stains may appear to be under the clear coat but are usually under wrinkles in the rapgard™. the wrinkles may trap water and cause the paint to stain from the trapped moisture, especially on
Structure:body 2025-02-07 · L-SB-0017-19 Rev1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2010 – 2026 model year lexus vehicles may exhibit paint stains after the removal of rapgard™. the paint stains may appear to be under the clear coat but are usually under wrinkles in the rapgard™. the wrinkles may trap water and cause the paint to stain from the trapped moisture, especially on
Structure:body 2024-07-29 · L-SB-0030-24 Rev1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2005 – 2024 lexus vehicles that have undergone water intrusion may exhibit a condition in which a musty odor is present. follow the procedures in this bulletin to remediate the odor and address this condition. the purpose of this service bulletin is to provide general guidelines and procedures
Structure:body 2024-07-29 · L-SB-0030-24 Rev1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2005 – 2024 lexus vehicles that have undergone water intrusion may exhibit a condition in which a musty odor is present. follow the procedures in this bulletin to remediate the odor and address this condition. the purpose of this service bulletin is to provide general guidelines and procedures
Showing the 6 most recent of 266 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-06-11 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · 127,000 mi“the contact owns a 2013 lexus es300 hybrid. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a sudden and significant reduction in braking efficiency. the contact stated that the brake pedal became extremely stiff and rigid, requiring excessive force to be depressed to stop the vehicle. simultaneously, the ant…”
2018-11-18 · Service Brakes · 10 mi“abs brake failure code c1391 brakes failed to function during emergency stop while in motion dry city street, lucky there was no accident. cost of repair $ 5000.00 by lexus dealer. this is an ongoing issue with both lexus and toyota vehicles. also cruise control function does not work after this happened as the abs system is now disabled. ```````…”
2018-07-10 · Vehicle Speed Control · 45,700 mi · 💥 crash“the vehicle was parked facing uphill in my driveway. i started the car and set the gear shift/selector (automatic transmission) to drive position while checking that the backup camera was not engaged. i released the emergency break with my foot on the break and confirmed that the gear shift was in drive and that the backup camera had not engaged.…”
2017-06-14 · Vehicle Speed Control · 50,000 mi · 💥 crash“the car experienced an unintended acceleration event while pulling into a parking spot at a low rate of speed. while the driver's foot was on the brake the car began accelerating out of control and bounced over a curb, down a hill, striking a pick up and a tree.…”
2017-01-06 · Vehicle Speed Control · 67,000 mi“parked in parking ramp front in.backed out slowly, tapped pillar at rear moved forward to adjust steering, reversed again, then engine accelerated slammed me back into pillar, steering wheel turned right engine continued to accelerate high speed up the ramp. i tired to put throttle in n, did not slow down, slammed one foot on brake, did not slow do…”
2016-04-15 · Unknown Or Other“nhtsa recall 15v728 was issued on 11/3/2015. lexus has an temporary fix that simply disables the pre-collission system. there has been no fix for the problem and i have had no success getting any information about when it will be fixed. the pre-collision system applies to when the vehicle is in motion.…”
2016-01-23 · Structure:body · 30,000 mi · 💥 crash“the car was in a very bad front end collision 1-15-16, and not 1 air bag deployed. we can send photos, and the car is on hold, not to be touched at the insurance storage yard. please contact us for more info.…”
2015-12-14 · Unknown Or Other · 22,000 mi · 💥 crash“car was rear ended by ford f-150 pretty hard while stopped at a light and got pushed forward into the front suv vehicle which also got pushed forward from stationary position and hit the vehicle in front of it. car got totaled that the length of the car shrunk wrapping the front and back rails and still airbags did not deploy. hence the complaint…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.