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
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Air bags26
- Vehicle speed control22
- Power train11
- Steering5
- Service brakes, hydraulic4
- Electronic stability control (esc)3
- Engine3
- Engine and engine cooling3
- Exterior lighting3
- Electrical system2
- Service brakes2
- Visibility2
- Structure1
- 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
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
4
2
1
4
27
2
2
4
2
7
8
6
5
4
1
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 4 |
| 2007 | 2 |
| 2008 | 1 |
| 2009 | 4 |
| 2010 | 27 |
| 2011 | 2 |
| 2012 | 2 |
| 2013 | 4 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2015 | 7 |
| 2016 | 8 |
| 2017 | 6 |
| 2018 | 5 |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2020 | 1 |
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.
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.”
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…”
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.”
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”
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”
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”
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.