Problems · NHTSA complaints

2006 Lexus ES330 problems

Owners filed 79 complaints about the 2006 Lexus ES330 with NHTSA between May 2006 and Dec 2020. The most-cited component is air bags (26).

Complaints
79
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
18
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
8
People reported injured
Deaths
1
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Air bags26
  2. Vehicle speed control22
  3. Power train11
  4. Steering5
  5. Service brakes, hydraulic4
  6. Electronic stability control (esc)3
  7. Engine3
  8. Engine and engine cooling3
  9. Exterior lighting3
  10. Electrical system2
  11. Service brakes2
  12. Visibility2
  13. Structure1
  14. Fuel system, other1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20064
20072
20081
20094
201027
20112
20122
20134
20142
20157
20168
20176
20185
20194
20201

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Air bags

26 reports3 crashes
“THE PASSENGER AIR BAG APPEARS TO BECOMING DETACHED FROM THE DASH. IT SEEMS THAT IT MAY DEPLOY AT ANY GIVEN TIME. THIS DOES NOT FEEL SAFE TO ME AS MY FAMILY RIDES IN THE CAR WITH ME.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 29, 2020Air bagsODI 11385440

Vehicle speed control

22 reports15 crashes
“MY WIFE WAS DRIVING THE CAR TO PICK-UP OUR GRANDDAUGHTER FROM SCHOOL ON 10-22-2018. SHE MADE A FULL STOP AT THE CORNER AND TOOK HER FOOT OFF THE BRAKE AND STARTED TO MAKE A RIGHT TURN. WHEN SHE STARTED TO PRESS ON THE GAS PEDAL LIGHTLY, THE ENGINE REVVED UP TO FULL THROTTLE AND THE CAR ACCELERATED AND LUNGED UNCONTROLLABLY FORWARD. HER STEERING WHEEL WAS LOCKED. BECAUSE OF THIS ACCELERATION, SHE HIT THE CAR IN FRONT WITH GREAT FORCE AND SEVERELY DAMAGING OUR FRONT END AND THE CAR BUMPER IN FRONT OF HER. SHE WAS GETTING GET IN LINE TO WAIT FOR THE SCHOOL CHILDREN TO LET OUT. HAD HER THE CAR ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL WHEN CHILDREN WERE CROSSING THE STREET, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GREAT CATASTROPHE AND DEAD CHILDREN. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE TO ALERT THE PUBLIC. ANOTHER SUDDEN ACCELERATION OCCURRED WHEN I WAS DRIVING THE CAR ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO. BUT THE DEALER SAID THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG. OUR CAR HAS A LITTLE OVER 60,000. EACH TIME I TAKE MY CAR TO THE DEALER FOR AN OIL CHANGE, THEY REMOVED THE FLOOR MAT. THEY SAY THE FLOOR MAT CAN GET IN THE WAY OF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. I DON'T THINK SO, BUT WE KEEP THE FLOOR MAT IN THE TRUNK. I HAVE REPORTED THIS ISSUE TO…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 23, 2018Steering, Vehicle speed control, Electronic stability control (esc)Crash reportedODI 11141988

Power train

11 reports2 crashes
“TRANSMISSION WAS HESITANT AND SUDDENLY RELEASE CREATING A SUDDEN ACCELERATION RUSH WHEN GAS PEDAL WAS APPLIED AT 10 TO 15 MPH. THIS HAPPEN WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN DOWNSHIFT GEAR MODE AND WAS ASKED TO ACCELERATE UPSHIFT GEAR SUDDENLY. THE TRANSMISSION JERKING/HESITANT IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION ESPECIALLY IN MERGING TRAFFIC. THIS COULD LEAD TO SERIOUS ACCIDENT. TRANSMISSION ALSO HAS A ROUGH SHIFT FROM TIME TO TIME.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 13, 2015Power trainODI 10716347

Steering

5 reports1 crash
“DURING OIL CHANGE, MECHANIC NOTICES POWER STEERING FLUID LEAKING. WORRIED THAT THIS IS SAFETY PROBLEM AND COULD LOSE STEERING IF SEALS BREAK. HAD RACK AND PINION REPLACED. COST OVER $1000. FEEL THAT TOYOTA SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS COST. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 5, 2013SteeringODI 10515381

Service brakes, hydraulic

4 reports1 crash
“WOBBLE WHEN BRAKING DIAGNOSED AS FRONT BRAKE ROTOR PROBLEM. AT 32,000 MILES HAD TO PAY $500+ FOR REPLACEMENT OF ROTORS AND PADS. SEEMS LIKE TOO MUCH TOO SOON ON A CAR OF THIS QUALITY! *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 15, 2010Service brakes, hydraulicODI 10365688

Electronic stability control (esc)

3 reports2 crashes
“THE CAR WAS REVERSED AND DRIVEN FORWARD, SUDDENLY ACCELERATED FORWARD. APPLYING BRAKES WERE NOT HELPING AS ACCELERATION STILL CONTINUED. THERE IS NO FLOOR MAT ON THE DRIVER SEAT SIDE TO BLAME IT ON FOR GAS PEDAL GETTING STUCK TO THE MAT.. THE GAS AND BRAKE PEDALS WERE ADJUSTED TO THE HIGHEST LEVEL FROM THE FLOOR. HAPPENED A WEEK AGO AND HAPPENED AGAIN ON 17/02/2018. FIRST TIME THE VEHICLE WAS ON FOUR LANE CITY STREET. SECOND TIME ON TWO LANE CITY STREET. IT CAN HAPPEN ANY TIME ANY WHERE. I ASKED THE DEALER. NO RECALL YET I SEE LOT OF PEOPLE HAVING THIS PROBLEM ON THIS SITE. HTTPS://WWW.VEHICLEHISTORY.COM/LEXUS/ES-330/2006”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 19, 2018Vehicle speed control, Electronic stability control (esc), EngineODI 11073586
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.