2009 Lexus ES: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2009 Lexus ES
On the 2009 Lexus ES, the failure owners report most often is airbag inflator rupture, with 11 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 90,000 miles. Overall it scores 66 out of 100, high risk for a 2009.
High risk for a 2009 — 226th riskiest of the 295 2009 vehicles we can rate. 29 owner reports; fleet size borrowed from other years of the same model.
What breaks on the 2009 Lexus ES
Owners have reported 11 named failure modes on the 2009 Lexus ES, and the three most-reported carry 55% of everything filed.
Airbag inflator rupture leads with 11 reports and about 1.1 per 1,000 vehicles.
Other speed control problem follows with 3 reports, median 25,000 miles.
Other body or interior problem follows with 2 reports, median 95,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into airbag (11), adas (4) and body (2).
At what mileage it happens
15 of the reports on the 2009 Lexus ES came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 90,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 27% by 50,000 miles and 67% by 100,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 20,000 and 30,000 miles, which alone holds 27% of the dated reports.
27% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
What happens when these parts fail
Across the named modes, 2 mention a crash. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 5.62, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: airbag inflator rupture at $0–$0, other speed control problem at $250–$2,000, other body or interior problem at $200–$2,000 and backup camera failure at $250–$1,200. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
3% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbag inflator rupture | airbag | 11 | 4 | — | 77k | — | 1.1 | $0–$0 | Critical |
| Other speed control problem | adas | 3 | 3 | — | 25k | — | 0.3 | $250–$2,000 | Critical |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 2 | 1 | — | 95k | — | 0.2 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Backup camera failure | infotainment | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $250–$1,200 | Moderate |
| Lane keep or steering assist fault | adas | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,600 | High |
| Tire blowout or tread separation | wheels | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,500 | Critical |
| Other engine problem | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 105k | — | 0.1 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 70k | — | 0.1 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 124k | — | 0.1 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Other suspension problem | suspension | 1 | 1 | — | 27k | — | 0.1 | $350–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other visibility problem | glass | 1 | 1 | — | 61k | — | 0.1 | $150–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 5 | 2 | — | 134k | — | 0.5 | — | Moderate |
This year had no usable recall paperwork, so the fleet-size estimate is the median of other years of the same model. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2009 Lexus ES draws about 2.9 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 84th percentile of complaint rates among 2009 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. This year had no usable recall paperwork, so the fleet-size estimate is the median of other years of the same model.
The working figure is 10,142 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2009 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Airbag inflator rupture
Lexus sent a recall notice on may 23, 2016, advising us not to use the passenger side seat due to the potential danger from exploding shrapnel from the takata airbag. It is now january 17, 2017, a full 8 months of not being able to use the vehicle as designed, with absolutely no information provided, no repairs and no target date for a fix, we are effectively unable to use of the vehicle. Requests for a loaner vehicle at several dealers has been denied, with advice to contact the manufacturer, who then advised us to call dealers. This is unconscionable behavior and is potentially worse than the volkswagon debacle. The value of the vehicle has essentially disappeared and it cannot be used for business or personal family use. Toyota must be held liable and either compensate owners, provide a loaner vehicle for the duration or pay for rental vehicles, plus a substantial fine for the extremely excessive delay.
Takata recall lexus does not feel the urgency of developing a response to this deadly situation their response seems to be that it is takata's problem what can be done to make my car safe to carry a passenger?
Other speed control problem
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 lexus es350. The contact stated that the vehicle suddenly accelerated from 65 MPH to 80 MPH without warning. The contact had to pump the accelerator pedal several times before it would release. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was advised that there were no problems found within the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was included in NHTSA recall campaign id number: 09v388000 (vehicle speed control: accelerator pedal) but did not confirm if the vehicle had been repaired under the recall. The failure mileage was unavailable. Updated 12/16/11*lj updated 12/22/11
How it ranks in the 2009 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Better and worse years of the same car
High risk for a 2009 — 226th riskiest of the 295 2009 vehicles we can rate. Every score on this site is a rank inside its own model year, which is what makes a 2004 and a 2019 comparable at all.
Across the 14 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2021 comes out best at 52 and 2019 worst at 86, with 2009 itself at 66.
If the model year is negotiable, 2021 and 2010 score lower than 2009 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 2006–2013 generation specifically, 2010 is the strongest year at 63 and 2011 the weakest at 71.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 2006-2013 generation, 2010 Lexus ES scores best at 63 and 2011 Lexus ES worst at 71.
The limits of complaint data
29 owner reports; fleet size borrowed from other years of the same model. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 29 reports, 15 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 52% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
Named failure modes come from matching phrases in the complaint text, so a badly worded complaint can land in the wrong bucket. The effect washes out across hundreds of reports and does not wash out across five.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2009 Lexus ES?
The most-reported failures are airbag inflator rupture (11 reports, median 75,000 miles), other speed control problem (3 reports, median 25,000 miles) and other body or interior problem (2 reports, median 95,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Is the 2009 Lexus ES reliable?
It scores 66 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 226th riskiest of the 295 2009 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2009 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Lexus ES is best?
Within the 2006–2013 generation, 2010 scores best at 63 out of 100 and 2011 worst at 71. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed