Who are we? We are Lemberg Law, a Consumer Law Firm
Lemberg Law is a consumer law firm helping victims of bad manufacturing and run-arounds from auto companies. We are ranked A+ by the BBB. Call our Helpline today! There is no charge unless we win.
Today’s driver wants a cost-effective vehicle that is also luxurious and stylish. The 2018 Lexus ES300H appears at first glance to cover those bases. The automaker claims that the newest lineup provides “class-leading efficiency,” but there’s so much more that comes with this car that owners didn’t sign up for. This vehicle features a malfunctioning electrical system, defective air bags and a faulty engine.
Contents
Don’t be stuck with a lemon. You have legal rights to cash, return or buyback.
The law makes Lexus pay legal fees.
We've fixed thousands of lemon problems. Message or call 877-795-3666 today.
NHTSA Complaints for the 2018 Lexus ES 300H
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Engine | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Structure:body | |
| Air Bags | |
| Exterior Lighting | |
| Seat Belts | |
| Vehicle Speed Control |
Problems with the Electrical System
Hybrid vehicles rely heavily on a powerful and strong electrical system to run correctly. The 2018 Lexus ES300H struggles to get the minor electrical components to work right, let alone the most complicated systems.
One Edmunds user states, “The navigation software/operation system is THE dumbest, unfriendly, stupid system I have ever seen or used. It is absolutely useless unless you have the address. It is impossible to ask for and have navigation based upon: Navigate To, or Go To…Home Depot. The system will respond, “Italian Restaurants. Is this correct?” or similar. If I could change one aspect of this car it would be the entire radio/navigation operational system. It is THE stupidest.”
While this might seem humorous at first, it can become quite annoying for drivers that have to do it every day. Still, that’s not the largest electrical concern that owners are concerned about. Lexus issued Service Bulletin #LSB010817 that discusses a parasitic drain on the battery that causes the performance to decrease. Considering this vehicle relies on the battery, this becomes a large problem, and not something owners of luxury vehicles want to deal with. If Lexus customers wanted to deal with these concerns, they could have saved money and bought a Camry instead.
Problems with the Air Bags
When it comes to on-road safety, nothing quite compares to a set of air bags. Modern vehicles come with these systems to keep the occupants safe when everything is working the way it should, but that’s not the case with this Lexus model.
Look at this NHTSA complaint. “The contact owned a 2018 Lexus ES300H. The contact stated that while exiting the freeway at about 50 mph, unable to see very well during night time, the contact went off the pavement and onto the grass. The contact was on the right side of the guardrail and realized he was off the road then attempting to slow down but the vehicle slid on the grass. As a result, the contact crashed into a concrete wall. The front end of the vehicle jammed inward to the dashboard causing the steering wheel to encounter his chest. All the air bags deployed but the steering wheel air bag uninflated rapidly after deployment. The driver side door failed to open due to being jammed from the accident. The ‘inform device’ notified authorities that the contact was involved in a crash. The contact wiggled until he was released. A passerby stopped to assist and opened the front passenger side door and assisted the contact with exiting the vehicle. The EMS and the police arrived to the scene. They examined the contact chest pain, two blood pressure exams and echocardiogram on the scene. The following morning the contact sought further medical attention at the hospital where he was kept for 1 day. During his hospital stay there were x-rays and CT scan were performed. A police report was filed. The vehicle was totaled and was towed to a collision center. The contact called [dealer] to inform them of the incident. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000.”
When it comes to discussing air bag issues, automakers are cautious about sharing too much information. After all, the past few years have caused a lot of air bag discussion that makes manufacturers nervous. That’s exactly what’s happening with Lexus. The company hasn’t issued any information about defective air bags. Instead, the organization prefers that consumers focus on “efficiency.” That’s precisely what the air bag in the above complaint did – it deflated efficiently. So good in fact that the owner barely knew it was open at all.
Problems with the Engine
With a hybrid setup, the engine and powertrain are set up slightly different but still have the same purpose. This vital piece of equipment is necessary to operate the vehicle; otherwise, it wouldn’t move at all.
One prominent engine-related complaint is left by an NHTSA user. “The contact leased a 2018 Lexus ES300H. While driving 65 mph, a chemical substance entered the cabin of the vehicle from the ventilation system. The contact experienced itching of the face, coughing and throat complications that required medical attention. The dealer was made aware of the failure and cleaned the interior of the vehicle, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80.”
This owner didn’t get far before dangerous substances started infiltrating the cabin. What a scary situation to deal with, but it’s not the only engine-related failure that Lexus is dealing with. In fact, Service Bulletin #L-TT-0242-18_Rev talks about the engine coolant temperature gauge reading too hot and entering the red zone, despite no evidence of overheating. If a new terminology could be created based on this Lexus model is would be “hybrid lemon” because that’s precisely all this luxury car is good at being.
Your Lemon Law Legal Rights
Think you have a lemon? Sit back and let the experts work out your lemon case at no cost to you. The law makes Lexus pay legal fees. You may be able to get your lemon out of your life. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners like you.
Complaint Data
| Category | Service Brakes, Structure:body, Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Oct 08, 2020 |
| State | CA |
| Description | I was at a stoplight and there were a couple vehicles in front of me. The light was red. I was a car length and a half away from the vehicle directly in front of me. As soon as the light turned green, I saw the vehicles in front of the vehicle directly in front of me proceed to move forward, and the driver in front of me took his foot off of his brakes, so I thought he was moving forward as well. So then I decided to accelerate to about 5-10 mph. By the time I realized the vehicle in front of me wasn't moving forward, my car hit his trail-hitch" (not his back bumper) and the front of my car was damaged, but I could drive it from the scene of the accident. The brake assist of my 2018 lexus es350 did not engage. I think the brake assist function on my vehicle was faulty and it should've been recalled and fixed, as it would've stopped me from getting into a car accident in the first place had it engaged and worked properly. |
| Category | Engine |
| Date | Sep 23, 2020 |
| State | NC |
| Description | Tl* the contact owns a 2018 lexus es350. The contact stated that while driving approximately 52 mph, the engine suddenly shutoff and approximately 5 to 10 seconds later, the engine suddenly restarted. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer johnson lexus located at 5839 capital blvd, raleigh, nc 27616, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. Information down loaded from the vehicle? S computer indicated that the driver was depressing both the brake and accelerator pedals at the same time. The contact indicated that was not the case. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 9,000. *ln *tr |
| Category | Air Bags |
| Date | Jan 02, 2020 |
| State | TX |
| Description | Tl* the contact owned a 2018 lexus es300h. The contact stated that while exiting the freeway at about 50 mph, unable to see very well during night time, the contact went off the pavement and onto the grass. The contact was on the right side of the guardrail and realized he was off the road then attempting to slow down but the vehicle slid on the grass. As a result, the contact crashed into a concrete wall. The front end of the vehicle jammed inward to the dashboard causing the steering wheel to encounter his chest. All the air bags deployed but the steering wheel air bag uninflated rapidly after deployment. The driver side door failed to open due to being jammed from the accident. The 'inform device' notified authorities that the contact was involved in a crash. The contact wiggled until he was released. A passer by stopped to assist and opened the front passenger side door and assisted the contact with exiting the vehicle. The ems and the police arrived to the scene. The contact examined the contacts chest pain, two blood pressure exams, and echocardiogram on the scene. The following morning the contact sought further medical attention at a hospital where he was kept for 1 day. During his hospital stay there were x rays and ct scan were performed. A police report was filed (case number: 19263125, police officer's badge number 12). The vehicle was totaled and was towed to a collision center. The contact called the north park lexus of san antonio, texas dealer (210-308-8900, located at 611 lockhill selma rd, san antonio, tx 78216) to inform them of the incident. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 36,000. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Aug 22, 2019 |
| State | CA |
| Description | The front windshield split in half when the a/c came on during a very hot day. |
| Category | Exterior Lighting |
| Date | Nov 24, 2018 |
| State | NJ |
| Description | When driving the low beams on my lexus es 300h illuminate a maximum 4 dividing lines on a road and that's equal to 120 feet. My auto high beams come on frequently as the low beam lights at night are very limited . I have a 2019 camry and those lights which are similar illuminate at least 200 feet and at least 8 dividing lines. My dealer checked and stated they are correct. |
| Category | Unknown Or Other |
| Date | Aug 03, 2018 |
| State | CA |
| Description | I have a horrible experience with my new lexus es300h 2018. I leased the car from keyes in van nuys(la). When I seat in the car after 5 minutes some thing cause itching my face,this situation is even worsed when I drive in the highway. I took my car to dealership more than 8 times they start cleaning changing the cabin air filter but the problem is still there. I gave rides to my friends also and they complain in a same way that I did (itching, coughing). Last week I went to the hospital because of breathing problem that I get and now I am using inhalation aerosol. This issue need a serious inspection because non of these dealer are able to identify the problem. |
| Category | Engine |
| Date | Jul 06, 2018 |
| State | CA |
| Description | Tl* the contact leased a 2018 lexus es300h. While driving 65 mph, a chemical substance entered the cabin of the vehicle from the ventilation system. The contact experienced itching of the face, coughing, and throat complications that required medical attention. The dealer (lexus of serramonte, 700 serramonte blvd, colma, california 94014) was made aware of the failure and cleaned the interior of the vehicle, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80. |
| Category | Seat Belts |
| Date | Apr 26, 2018 |
| State | CA |
| Description | I was told by a customer service agent through email that "the latch system should not be used for rear facing child seats." this is completely shocking to me as there are no indications in the manual that this is the case. We have been driving with our daughter for months using the latch system for her rear facing convertible car seat. It would have been easy enough to install with the seat belt instead. |
| Category | Vehicle Speed Control |
| Date | Nov 29, 2017 |
| State | CO |
| Description | Cruise control with distance following. This system when active and by design stops slowing the vehicle at an estimated 25 miles an hour. The operator is expecting the vehicle to come to a complete stop and it does not. This is a very serious safety issue and needs to be addressed immediately before rear end collisions become prominent regardless if documented in manuals. Since there are two types of this system the owner may not know with which one they have. So if you're coming up on stopped traffic and relying on the car to stop itself from say 65 70 miles an hour, the car slows to 25 mph or so and suddenly and unexpectedly brakes release you're on your own with only 50 feet or so to bring the car to a complete panic stop. Incredibally dangerous. It should bring the car to a complete stop if necessary. Dates of occurance are various |
Share your story
Does this ring a bell? Have you had a bad experience too? Sound off and share your experience with other visitors in the comment box below.
About the Author:
Brian Jones spent more than 20 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
See more posts from Brian Jones BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT