2012 Lexus ES350 - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2012 Lexus ES350 has an overall safety rating of 3 out of 5, with good front crash ratings but lower side crash ratings. It is equipped with electronic stability control for added safety on the road. Unfortunately, it does not have forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems. However, it does have a respectable rollover rating of 4.

In terms of complaints and recalls, this model has had 113 complaints reported and 3 recalls issued. It's important for potential buyers to be aware of these numbers and for current owners to stay informed about any necessary maintenance or safety updates.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

113

Recall Count

3

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

3/5

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Safety Features

2012 Lexus ES350 4 DR FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2012 Lexus ES350 4 DR FWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2012 Lexus ES350 4 DR FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2012 Lexus ES350 4 DR FWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2007 Score 2012 Score 2018 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated 4 4
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 4 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 4 4

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2007 Score 2012 Score 2018 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 2 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 2 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated 4 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 2 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 2 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2007 Score 2012 Score 2018 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated 2 4

Complaints for the 2012 Lexus ES350

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"airbag recall was replaced 8/02/2022. car accident occurred 8/03/2022. airbags did not deploy."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2022-03-08
Complaint:
"i received a letter to take the vehicle to nearest dealer for air bag recall replacement process, and i called and initiated online chatting w/ the lexus air bag recall support team numerous times but failed to get a response from them. online chat representative stated they can't help with scheduling, and representatives over the phone, more than 6 times of attempt, either hung up during the call and kept on transferring. it happened since march on a different dates and they still refused to complete the appointment scheduling process."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2020-01-04
Complaint:
"light can on and off 12/20/2019 when i was driving, i pull into parking lot and cut off engine...waited a few minutes and started car back up it went away, the next day 12/21/2019 when i started up my car it came on while still park and stay on, not a good feeling ."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2020-08-12
Complaint:
"tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2012 lexus es350. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 17v006000 (air bags); however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time the recall repair. the lexus dealer (hennessy lexus of atlanta, 5955 peachtree industrial blvd, atlanta, ga 30341, 770-457-6800) was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. the manufacturer was made aware of the issue and was not able to confirm when the parts were to become available. the contact had not experienced a failure. parts distribution disconnect."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2016-11-07
Complaint:
"driver side knee airbag caused hematoma, second degree burn on l. leg, resulting in 2 surgeries, use of wound vac for 2 1/2 months, and permanent lympedema and scarring on l. calf. driver has replaced knees that are at high risk if further crash and knee bag deploys again. driver needs on-off switch installed for driver knee airbag. driver was not at fault in this accident and wants knee airbags removed or an on-off switch installed. the airbag on steering wheel deployed correctly and caused no damage. the knee airbag is a danger to driver."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2016-01-04
Complaint:
"tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2012 lexus es350. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 17v006000 (air bags) however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. (nalley lexus roswell located 980 mansell rd, roswell, ga) was contacted and confirmed that the parts were not available for the recall remedy. the manufacturer was made aware of the issue and was not able to confirm when the parts were to become available. the contact had not experienced a failure. parts distribution disconnect."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-01-02
Complaint:
"tl* takata recall. the contact owns a 2012 lexus es350. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 17v006000 (air bags) and stated that the part was not available within a reasonable time frame to schedule the recall repair. the dealer (lexus of chattanooga, 5800 lee hwy, chattanooga, tn 37421, (423) 499-9095) was unable to verify when the parts would be supplied from the manufacturer. the manufacturer was contacted. the contact had not experienced a failure. parts distribution disconnect."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-02-10
Complaint:
"the lexus dealership is unable to acquire a replacement air bag for my car. i have been told not to carry passengers in the front seat, which is impossible therefore a risk to my family."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-06-07
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2012 lexus es350. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 17v006000 (air bags); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. treasure coast lexus in fort pierce, florida was made aware of the recall and stated that the parts were unavailable. the manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. the contact had not experienced a failure. parts distribution disconnect."
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-01-08
Complaint:
"takata recall. i have called lexus of greenville, s.c. numerous times with no success. they will not even call me back. according to the recall i can't have someone ride in the passenger front seat. i have virtually lost the use of this vehicle. this has been going on for at least six months with no end in site. what else can i do?"
Components Involved: AIR BAGS
Date of incident: 2017-01-05

Recalls for the 2012 Lexus ES350

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) is recalling certain 2014-2016 toyota 4runner, 2014-2015 scion xb, lexus is350c, is250c, 2014 toyota sienna, lexus is-f, and 2014-2017 lexus gx460 vehicles sold, or ever registered in the states of alabama, california, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. virgin islands or "zone a." toyota is also recalling certain 2011-2013 toyota corolla, corolla matrix, lexus is250, is350, 2011-2016 4runner, 2011-2015 scion xb, lexus is350c, is250c, 2011-2014 toyota sienna, lexus is-f, 2011-2017 lexus gx460, and 2011-2012 lexus es350 vehicles ever registered in the states of arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missouri, nebraska, nevada, new jersey, new mexico, north carolina, ohio, oklahoma, pennsylvania, tennessee, virginia, and west virginia or "zone b." toyota is also recalling certain 2010-2013 toyota corolla, corolla matrix, lexus is350, 2010-2016 4runner, 2010-2013..."
Consequence:
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy:

Toyota will notify owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, or replace the air bag assembly. The recall began February 15, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are "Zone A" Toyota: G0P, Lexus: GLG; "Zone B" Toyota: G0R, Lexus GLH; "Zone C" Toyota: H0A, and Lexus: HLA.

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL > PASSENGER SIDE > INFLATOR MODULE
Date of incident: 2019-01-09
Recall:
"toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) is recalling certain 2010-2016 4runner, 2003-2006 tundra, 2003-2013 corolla, 2009-2010 corolla matrix, 2004-2005 rav4, 2002-2007 sequoia, 2011-2013 sienna, 2008-2012 scion xb, 2008-2009 lexus is-f, 2007-2012 yaris and lexus es350, 2010-2017 lexus gx460, 2002-2010 lexus sc430, 2006-2012 lexus is250 and is350 and 2010-2015 lexus is250c and is350c vehicles. these vehicles had their driver or passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. the inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling."
Consequence:
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy:

Toyota will notify owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front driver inflator, front passenger airbag inflator, the airbag assembly, or the front passenger airbag sub-assembly and inflator. The recall began November 20, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are J0A, J0B, and J0C. Lexus' numbers for this recall are JLI, JLJ, and JLK.

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL > PASSENGER SIDE > INFLATOR MODULE
Date of incident: 2019-10-17
Recall:
"toyota motor engineering & manufacturing (toyota) is recalling certain 2012 toyota 4runner, corolla, corolla matrix, sienna, yaris, scion xb, lexus es350, gx460, is-f, is250, is350, is250c, is350c, and lexus lfa vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in alabama, california, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. virgin islands, or "zone a." additionally, unless included in "zone a" above, toyota is recalling certain 2009 toyota corolla, corolla matrix, yaris, yaris hb, scion xb, pontiac vibe, lexus, es350, is250, is350, and is-f vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missouri, nebraska, nevada, new jersey, new mexico, north carolina, ohio, oklahoma, pennsylvania, tennessee, virginia, and west virginia, or "zone b." additionally, unless included in "zone a" or "zone b" above, toyota is recalling certain 2006-2008 lexus is250 and..."
Consequence:
An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Remedy:

Toyota will notify the Toyota, Scion and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the model, dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator or the air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began on February 1, 2017. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331, or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. Toyota's numbers for final remedy for this campaign are G0P (Toyota Zone A), G0R (Toyota Zone B), H0A (Toyota Zone C), GLG (Lexus Zone A), GLH (Lexus Zone B) and HLA (Lexus Zone C).

Component(s) Involved: AIR BAGS > FRONTAL > PASSENGER SIDE > INFLATOR MODULE
Date of incident: 2017-01-09

LEXUS Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

LEXUS ranks 23 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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