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What 40 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Lexus Es300h
These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.
1 of 40 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters
Jul 10, 2018Transmission & drivetrainSpeed controlCrash
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. I RELEASED THE BREAK AND ACCELERATED TO GO UP THE HILL. THE CAR ACCELERATED IN REVERSE. I HIT THE BREAKS AND CONFIRMED AGAIN THAT THE GEAR SHIFT WAS CLEARLY IN DRIVE POSITION EVEN THOUGH I HAD NOW REVERSED AND CRASHED INTO THE GARAGE DOOR THAT HAD BEEN BEHIND ME. I THEN SET THE GEAR SHIFT TO PARK POSITION AND TURNED OFF THE CAR.
NHTSA ODI 11110641
Working with the data? Download all 40 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 23, 2026
How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your
pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the
full 2013 Lexus Es300h verdict →