There are 10 stored owner reports matching the powertrain & transmission leading-label group for the 2000 Lexus ES in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 10 of 10 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)I WAS DRIVING AND THE VEHICLE STARTED TO STALL AND THEN JOLT INCREASING AND DECREASING IN ACCELERATION BY ITSELF I HAVE ALREADY HAD THE TRANSMISSION SERVICED AND REBUILT A COUPLE YEARS AGO AND NOW IT SEEMS TO BE DOING THE SAME THING. *TR
I HAVE A 2000 LEXUS ES300 WITH ABOUT 100,000 MILES. TRANSMISSION FAILED SUDDENLY AND CAR STALLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. JUST READ THE EDMUNDS FORUM AND THERE ARE 1,384 POSTINGS ABOUT TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS ON LEXUS. THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE AND NEEDS ATTENTION. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 LEXUS ES300. WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH AND APPROACHING A STOP, THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD GRINDING NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. SHE ATTEMPTED TO ACCELERATE, BUT THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY FAILED AND WAS UNABLE TO BE RESTARTED. THERE WERE NO FAILURES PRIOR TO THE TRANSMISSION STALLING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE REPAIR WOULD COST $3,700. THE CONTACT IS IN THE PROCESS OF NOTIFYING THE MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 130,000. UPDATED 1/6/09 *CN UPDATED 01/14/09. *JB
2000 LEXUS ES300 TRANSMISSION FAILURE 80,000 MILES, NO WARNING, DRIVING CAR AND SUDDENLY CAR WOULD NOT MOVE FORWARD WHEN ACCELERATING. VERY SCARY EXPERIENCE. COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 LEXUS ES300. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO DECELERATE, BUT THE ENGINE DID NOT SHUT OFF. THE CHECK ENGINE AND TRACK LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AS THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN. WHEN THE VEHICLE GAINED NORMAL SPEED, THE WARNING LIGHTS NO LONGER ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT IS UNABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE. THERE IS NO WARRANTY AND THE DEALER STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AT THE CONTACT'S EXPENSE. THE FAILURE OCCURRED TWICE. THE POWERTRAIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 146,000.
CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED WITHOUT WARNING THE VEHICLE WILL STALL AND IT WILL BE HARD FOR THE CONSUMER TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. DEALER NOTIFIED. MR
VEHICLE ROLLS BACKWARD WHEN PLACED IN THE DRIVE POSITION ACTING LIKE IT'S IN THE NEUTRAL POSITION. *SLC
ON SEPTEMBER 7 WITH THE SERVICEMANGER AND MECHANIC TESTING THE VEHICLE AT 55 MPH IN HEAVY TRAFFIC IT DOWNSHIFTED FROM 4TH TO 1ST GEAR, STARTED JERKING, AND MOVING ON IT'S ON AT A SLOW UNCONTROLLED PACE BY COMPUTER ONLY. DRIVER HAD NO CONTROL OVER ACCELERATION OR DECELERATION. THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED TO ME AT LEAST SIX TIME IN HEAVY TRAFFIC BARELY ESCAPED DEATH BY ONCOMING TRAFFIC. LEXUS PLANS TO REPLACE THE COMPUTER AND THE TRANSMISSION AND GIVE IT BACK TO ME TUESDAY, SEPT. 12. I HAVE A FEAR OF DRIVING THAT CAR AND DON'T WISH TO TAKE IT BACK. PLEASE HELP. THE CAR HAS A FACTORY DEFECT THAT LEXUS DOES NOT WANT PUBLICIZED. I DON'T WANT TO DIE IN THAT CAR, NOR CAUSE SOMEONE ELSE TO BE KILLED.
FAULTY COMPUTER AND TRANSMISSION CAUSES THE VEHICLE TO DOWNSHIFT FROM 4TH TO 1ST GEAR WHILE IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, STARTS JERKING, AND MOVES AT AN UNCONTROLLED PACED BY COMPUTER ONLY, DRIVER HAS NO CONTROL OVER ACCELERATION OR DECELERATION. NLM
2000 LEXUS ES300 ENGINE BEGAN LOSING POWER WHILE DRIVING AT 65-70 MPH. *TS WHEN THE ACCELERATOR WAS PRESSED THERE WAS NO ACCELERATION BUT THE TACHOMETER WAS SWINGING WILDLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A SERVICE FACILITY WHO INDICATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *NM
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Aug 30, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.