Selling a dead or junk Lexus ES

The 2007 tops every other year with 664 complaints, 283 of them about air bags. If your ES is stuck in the driveway or not worth repairing, sell the whole car as it sits. We buy whole non-running and junk cars, with free pickup anywhere in the US.

The 2007-2012 ES: air bags and floor mats

Wikipedia dates this fifth-generation ES (XV40) from March 2006 to June 2012. It was built at Toyota Motor Kyushu in Miyawaka, Fukuoka, powered by the 2GR-FE, a 3.5-liter V6, through a six-speed U660E automatic. Its six model years account for 1,658 ES complaints, and on each of those six the air bag category leads.

Inflator swaps for the front passenger bag run through five campaigns that reach these ES years: 16V340, 17V006, 18V024, 19V005 and 19V741. Each also covered many Toyota, Scion and Lexus models, with whole-campaign counts from 577,875 to 1,754,517 vehicles. None of those numbers is the ES's alone.

Vehicle speed control is the second component on the 2007 (113 complaints), the 2008 (37) and the 2009 (25). Recall 09V388 covers 2007-2010 ES models: the accelerator pedal could get stuck wide open, trapped by an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat. That campaign counted 4,445,056 Toyota and Lexus vehicles from 2004 to 2010. Structure is the third component on the 2007, with 65 complaints.

Every figure here comes from owner-filed reports in NHTSA's October 10, 2026 file; none is a verdict on the car.

ES complaints and recalls by model year

Low-volume early years sit together by generation, and the post-2012 cars sit in two blocks. A campaign that reaches five ES years shows up in all five rows. The newest ES sedans haven't been driven long, so owners have had little chance to report.

The ES before and after

1990-2001: the first three generations

Per Wikipedia, the first ES 250 (V20) had a 2.5-liter 2VZ-FE V6, with a four-speed A540E automatic or a five-speed stick. The 1990 and 1991 have 22 complaints between them. The second generation (XV10, built October 1991 to July 1996) used a 3.0-liter 1MZ-FE V6 in North America, and its 1992-1996 model years hold 199. Recall 99V307 tightened the steering wheel set nut on 1994-1998 cars, in a campaign of 540,037 vehicles that included other models.

The third generation (XV20, August 1996 to July 2001) holds 228 complaints. Under recall 97V156, 1997 ES cars sold or registered in some states, such as Alaska, Colorado, Illinois and Michigan, got a new brake vacuum hose.

2002-2006: the fourth generation (XV30)

Wikipedia lists a 3.0-liter V6 and, in North America, a 3.3-liter 3MZ-FE V6, both with a 5-speed U151E automatic. These five years hold 788 complaints. The power train leads the 2002 (52), 2004 (58) and 2005 (63), and vehicle speed control leads the 2003 (44). Recalls include the driver air bag module on some 2002s with a three-spoke wheel (01V372), the front passenger seat belt buckle switch on 2004-2005 cars (04V595) and a crankshaft pulley check on 2004-2005 ES 330s (11V539).

2013-2025

These years hold 362 complaints. On 2013-2015 ES 350 and ES 300h sedans, campaign 15V728 swapped out parts of the pre-collision system. Recall 20V064 reaches some 2020 ES 300h hybrids with the 2.5-liter four; porosity in the engine is the issue, and the free fix runs as far as a new engine and block if inspection calls for it. Fuel pump recalls 20V012 and 20V682 reach 2018-2020 cars, and recall 23V865 covers the occupant classification sensor on 2020-2022 models. Air bags still lead the 2021, with 25 of 35 complaints.

Lexus began building North American ES 350 sedans at Toyota's Georgetown plant in late 2015, according to Wikipedia's Lexus article. The EPA data now lists electric versions too, the ES 350e and ES 500e.

Repair the ES, or sell it?

1. Search the VIN on NHTSA's recall page. Owners of a 2007-2012 should look for the inflator campaigns listed above.
2. Did the air bags deploy? Fixing an older ES after that kind of crash often runs past what the car is worth. See airbags deployed.
3. 2020 ES 300h engine trouble? Ask a Lexus dealer about recall 20V064 before paying for anything.
4. Hybrid system warning on an ES 300h? The hybrid battery guide explains the choice.
5. Then compare the quote with what a running ES of the same year sells for. Close or over? Selling it as it sits makes sense.

Selling your ES whole

1. Have ready the VIN, the mileage, the version (ES 250, 300, 330, 350 or 300h) and what's wrong.
2. Get an offer online, or call (877) 421-6008.
3. Explain the setting: a front-drive ES that shifts into Neutral loads differently from one with a locked transmission. It's free pickup anywhere in the US either way.
4. Keep the sedan intact. The ES we quote is the one with its converter, battery and wheels in place; tell us about anything gone.
5. Have the title signed over and ID that matches it ready for the driver. After you sell covers plates by state, and the no-title guide helps if the title is lost.

Other Lexus sedans: the IS, GS and LS, or all Lexus models.