2013 Lexus ES: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2013 Lexus ES
On the 2013 Lexus ES, the failure owners report most often is sunroof failure or glass breakage, with 5 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 45,000 miles. Overall it scores 70 out of 100, high risk for a 2013.
High risk for a 2013 — 175th riskiest of the 284 2013 vehicles we can rate. 49 owner reports; fleet size borrowed from other years of the same model.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 17 named failure modes on the 2013 Lexus ES, and the three most-reported carry 27% of everything filed, which is an unusually even spread for one model year.
Sunroof failure or glass breakage leads with 5 reports and about 0.5 per 1,000 vehicles.
Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure follows with 4 reports, median 165,000 miles.
Other fuel system problem follows with 4 reports, median 10,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into brakes (11), electrical (7) and body (6).
When these failures get reported
23 of the reports on the 2013 Lexus ES came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 45,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 61% by 50,000 miles, 91% by 100,000 miles and 96% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 0 and 10,000 miles, which alone holds 26% of the dated reports.
48% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, which is early enough that a fair number of these cars were still under a factory warranty when the owner complained.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 17. The full list is in the table below.
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, 6 mention a crash and 5 an injury. 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 5.57, 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: sunroof failure or glass breakage at $700–$4,500, ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure at $250–$1,500, other fuel system problem at $300–$2,200 and other brake problem at $300–$1,800. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
12% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunroof failure or glass breakage | body | 5 | 3 | — | 6k | — | 0.5 | $700–$4,500 | High |
| Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure | electrical | 4 | 1 | — | 163k | — | 0.4 | $250–$1,500 | High |
| Other fuel system problem | fuel | 4 | 3 | — | 9k | — | 0.4 | $300–$2,200 | High |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 4 | 2 | — | 46k | — | 0.4 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Other speed control problem | adas | 4 | 3 | — | 9k | — | 0.4 | $250–$2,000 | Critical |
| Loss of braking | brakes | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.3 | $400–$3,000 | Critical |
| ABS module or sensor failure | brakes | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.3 | $500–$2,400 | High |
| Airbag failed to deploy in a crash | airbag | 3 | 3 | — | 45k | — | 0.3 | $1,000–$5,000 | Critical |
| Other engine problem | engine | 3 | 1 | — | 56k | — | 0.3 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 3 | 1 | — | 56k | — | 0.3 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 3 | 2 | — | 34k | — | 0.3 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Master cylinder or brake booster failure | brakes | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $450–$2,200 | Critical |
| Other steering problem | steering | 1 | 1 | — | 56k | — | 0.1 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Other wheel or tire problem | wheels | 1 | 1 | — | 63k | — | 0.1 | $200–$1,500 | High |
| Other lighting problem | lighting | 1 | 1 | — | 130k | — | 0.1 | $120–$1,200 | Moderate |
| Other visibility problem | glass | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $150–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.1 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 4 | 1 | — | 34k | — | 0.4 | — | 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 2013 Lexus ES draws about 4.8 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 85th percentile of complaint rates among 2013 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 2013 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.
Sunroof failure or glass breakage
I was driving on the freeway when all of a sudden the sunroof exploded. The noise was deafening. The glass clearly exploded up and then chipped the paint on the roof and the trunk. All windows were rolled up at the time with the air on. Nothing hit my car and it happened completely on it's own. The dealership is not being helpful and they are blaming me for it. *tr
My 2013 lexus es 350 has a panorama sunroof which exploded when an attended closed the passenger side door. I only had the car eight months and have less than 6,000 miles. The weather that day was sunny and 75 degrees.I shudder to think what could have happen if my 82 year old mom was in the car. We had plans for that day to travel out of state that very day. The shatter glass fell inside the car. This is a safety issue as if I had been driving down the freeway just the mere sound of the explosion could have startle me and I may have lost control of the car. There is a great possibility of exploding roofs causing injuries . This is a safety issue. *tr
Other fuel system problem
Lexus es350 stall or hesitation problem on 2013 model. My car frequently but intermittently hesitates when accelerating from a stop or rolling stop position. I've had it about 8 months and it has probably stalled at least 100 times. Tulsa's lexus dealership says there's nothing wrong with it and that lexus designed the car that way for fuel efficiency (yes, that is what they've told me, and with a straight face). My 2010 es did the same thing, and my 2007 es did the same thing. You'd think I would have learned my lesson by now and bought a different brand of car. This is an extremely dangerous problem when pulling out into traffic. I would not recommend a lexus to anyone until they get this problem fixed. [xxx]in tulsa, ok. 7-16-13 information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr
Ever since car was purchased @one year ago, there are occasional 1-3 second hesitations upon acceleration. These occur from dead stop or at low speeds. Two dealers have examined the computers, finding no evidence that the problem exists. They also say no other local owner has complained of a similar problem and the manufacturer reportedly has no record of such a complainant nationwide. But a number of different passengers in the car have felt the hesitation and asked what's wrong. I wish I knew and I wish lexus knew. Since this has happened many times when I was changing lanes on a surface street or the freeway (socal) or making left/right turns with oncoming traffic, my fear is that my vehicle is going to be hit, although I am as careful as I can be when changing lanes/turning because I know at any time the car will hesitate for a few seconds. I experienced this problem noticeably, as did other owners, with previous year models, but am assured by dealers and the local district office that lexus has solved it now. I only wish! *tr
How it ranks in the 2013 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
Where 2013 sits in the model line
High risk for a 2013 — 175th riskiest of the 284 2013 vehicles we can rate. Because the ranking is against the same model year only, age cancels out of it.
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 2013 itself at 70.
If the model year is negotiable, 2021, 2010, 2004, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2002 score lower than 2013 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
49 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 49 reports, 23 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 47% 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".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
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 2013 Lexus ES?
The most-reported failures are sunroof failure or glass breakage (5 reports, median 5,000 miles), ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure (4 reports, median 165,000 miles) and other fuel system problem (4 reports, median 10,000 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 2013 Lexus ES reliable?
It scores 70 out of 100 on our risk index, which is high — 175th riskiest of the 284 2013 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2013 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