Lexus ES
Registered from 2019 to 2023.
About this model
The Lexus ES is a luxury sedan marketed since 1989 by Lexus, the luxury division of Toyota, across multiple generations, each offering V6 engines and a front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout. The first five generations of the ES used the Toyota Camry platform, while the latter generations are more closely related to both the Camry and the Avalon. Manual transmissions were offered until 1993, a lower-displacement inline-four engine became an option in Asian markets in 2010, and a gasoline-electric hybrid version was introduced in 2012. The battery electric version was later introduced in 2025. The ES was Lexus's only front-wheel drive vehicle until 1998, when the related RX was introduced, and the sedan occupied the entry-level luxury car segment of the Lexus lineup in North America and other regions until the debut of the IS in 1999. The ES name stands for "Executive Sedan". However, some Lexus importers use the name, "Elegant Sedan".
From the Wikipedia article Lexus ES, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What fails its inspection
Great Britain's MOT record for the 2020 2.5 hybrid. 54 of 1,130 tests failed, 5%.
Better than 87% of 2020 cars. The typical one fails 8%, across 906 models with enough tests behind them to say.
| Where | Share of failures | Failed tests |
|---|---|---|
| Tyres and wheels | 85% | 46 |
| Visibility | 11% | 6 |
| Brakes | 4% | 2 |
| Steering | 4% | 2 |
| Exhaust and emissions | 2% | 1 |
The defects inspectors cite
- A tyre cords visible or damaged
- A tyre seriously damaged
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
- A tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
- Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured and affecting the driver's view of the road or of an obligatory external mirror
Where it stands out against its peers
- Tyres and wheels: failed more often than 92% of 2020 cars — 85% of its 54 failed tests, where an ordinary 2020 car has 55%.
Same model year only, at least 30 peer cars, zeros included. Every car has a worst part; this shows which, and how far from ordinary it is. A high share means more to check, not a verdict.
NHTSA's investigations are American; no European regulator publishes an equivalent record, so this section has nothing to draw on for a European car. There is no European equivalent of the service-bulletin register either.
Before you buy one
Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.
- Tyres and wheels — 85% of its failures
- A tyre cords visible or damaged
- A tyre seriously damaged
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
- Visibility — 11% of its failures
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
- Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured and affecting the driver's view of the road or of an obligatory external mirror
When it starts failing
At 60–80k miles this one fails 5% of its inspections, against the 14% an ordinary car of the same age fails.
| Odometer | Failure rate | Rate | Its age | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–20k miles | 2% | 5% | 392 | |
| 20–40k miles | 5% | 10% | 459 | |
| 40–60k miles | 7% | 13% | 179 | |
| 60–80k miles | 5% | 14% | 65 |
1,095 British inspections, grouped by the odometer reading recorded at the test.
Half of these have more than 20k miles on them. That is how far people drive this car, not how long it lasts.