2020 Lexus Es problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (8) · Service Brakes (2) · Suspension (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Lexus Es model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (1)
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification 2023-12-20 · campaign 23V865000 · 999,901 vehicles
Defect: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2020-2021 Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Corolla, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, RAV4, RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus ES350, Lexus RX350, Lexus RX450H, 2021 Sienna Hybrid, Lexus ES250, 2020-2022 Camry, Camry Hybrid, and ES300H vehicles. A short circuit may develop in the Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensor, preventing the front passenger air bag from deploying.
Risk: An air bag that does not deploy during a crash increases the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the sensor as necessary, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed in February 2024. Some final remedy owner letters were mailed October 31, 2024. Letters will continue to be mailed in phases through January 2026. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's number for this recall is 23TB15/23TA15 Lexus 23LB03/23LA03.
Service bulletins (31)
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.
Electrical System 2026-02-02 · L-SB-0057-22 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
obsolete notice february 2, 2026: this bulletin is now obsolete. please see l-sb-0004-26.
Electrical System 2026-01-23 · L-SB-0004-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2018 – 2025 model year lexus vehicles equipped with the enform™ 2.0 navigation system, require a special service tool (sst) usb flash drive to update the map, points of interest, and system software.
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 2025-08-19 · L-TT-0326-23 Rev2 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some customers may experience operational difficulties with some telematics features which they cannot resolve on their own. these resources, in conjunction with the repair manual, are for dealership personnel to assist those customers with user issues, user errors, and compatibility issues with oth
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.
Electrical System 2025-04-02 · L-TT-0341-25 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
to assist with the early detection and early resolution of audio related concerns you may be asked to recover mmr data from the head unit. the following steps are instructions on how to retrieve the data from the system and are only to be used when requested by fts and/or fpe.
Showing the 6 most recent of 31 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-08-01 · Suspension“not sure if i have the right things checked. starting about december 2022 i experienced the car "lunging" forward upon putting the car into drive, after having backed out of a parking space. it continued to do this off and on even through today. it seems to do it most after the car has been sitting for a good length of time.perhaps overnight, or wh…”
2026-07-08 · Engine“the front timing chain cover on the engine was leaking at 53k miles. this is a 2gr-fks engine. we have had the car for 19k miles, and bought it as a certified pre-owned. we're looking at spending over 10% of the purchase price of the car on a repair, after barely having it for three years. …”
2026-03-14 · Service Brakes“i was driving on a freeway. i had my adaptive cruise control turned on. the car in front of me slowed down. my adaptive cruise control did not slow me down so i applied the breaks. the breaks did not work. the breaks did not slow me down or stop me. my pre-collision system did not activate. i collided with the rear end of the car that was in…”
2026-03-06 · Unknown Or Other“car has been stalling, jerking and revving of the engine! transmission service was done around 100,000 miles, about 30000 miles later, car was taken back to dealer and they were unable diagnose a problem. issue got worse until it became undriveable. car towed back to dealership only to be told i need a transmission on a pre owned certified car!…”
2026-02-11 · Unknown Or Other · 💥 crash“paring brake has been bucking backwards and forward for most of 2026 and finally it failed facing downhill on feb 4, 2026 and rolled downhill until it stopped after hitting a sign.…”
2025-09-27 · Unknown Or Other“there was a recall listed for my car in 2023, and now it is september 2025 and there is still no remedy available for the recall. manufacturer recall number: 23lb03 nhtsa recall number: 23v865 recall status: recall incomplete, remedy not yet available summary: the subject vehicles have occupant classification system (ocs) sensors in the front …”
2025-05-14 · Air Bags“there is an active recall for my vehicle involving the passenger airbag potentially not deploying. this is a huge safety risk and the remedy is still not available. the active recall was first initiated in december of 2023. …”
2025-05-04 · Air Bags“lexus has open recall on 2020 lexus es350 since dec 2023 with no remedy provided. it is extremely negligent of them to have no solution while drivers of their vehicles are putting their passengers in extreme risk of their safety for air bag sensors not working properly. …”
2025-03-26 · Air Bags“i am writing to formally express my deep concern and frustration regarding the prolonged recall of the passenger-side airbag in my 2020 lexus es350 (vin #[xxx]). the recall numbers are (23la03, 23lb03 and 23v865) these were issued in december of 2023, which has been more than a year. lexus has provided a rental car for all this time, which demonst…”
2025-02-22 · Electrical System“• frequent battery replacements: my vehicle is now on its third battery within a five-year lifespan. the previous owner replaced the battery two years ago when the vehicle was only two years old, and i recently had to replace it again. • unacceptable battery lifespan: no vehicle should require a new battery every two years under normal conditions. …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.