There are 3 stored owner reports matching the powertrain & transmission leading-label group for the 2008 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 3 of 3 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)WE CURRENTLY HAVE ALLSTATE FOR INSURANCE AND THEY HAVE THIS ITEM CALLED THE DRIVEWISE. THIS DEVICE FITS IN THE OBD II PORT UNDER THE STEERING COLUMN. THIS DEVICE CREATED MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS ERRORS WITHIN THE COMPUTERS FOR THE CAR. AFTER READING UP ON THIS, IT SEEMS THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING THIS ISSUE IN MANY MAKES/MODELS. THE VEHICLE SHIFTED FUNNY INTO ANOTHER GEAR ON ITS OWN. THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WAS NOT WORKING AND WOULD NOT LIGHT UP. THE RADIO WOULD NOT WORK AT ALL AND THE SUNROOF WAS MAKING A FUNNY NOISE. THE SPEAKERS WERE MAKING A CRACKLING SOUND AND THE A/C WASN'T WORKING. THE HEATED AND COOLED SEATS WERE NOT WORKING. AFTER BRINGING THE VEHICLE INTO THE LEXUS DEALER THEY COULD SEE THAT THE VEHICLE WAS HAVING MULTIPLE COMMUNICATIONS ISSUES BETWEEN THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS. THIS DEVICE IS A SAFETY CONCERN AND WE WILL NOT CONTINUE USING IT. EVERYTHING IS BACK TO NORMAL NOW THAT THE DEVICE HAS BEEN REMOVED. HAD WE NOT BEEN PROACTIVE ABOUT THIS, THE DEVICE COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. POTENTIALLY HARMING SOMEONE. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS CONCERN WE HAVE AND I FEEL THAT SOMEONE SHOULD DO MORE RESEARCH ON THE PRODUCT. *JS
BEGINNING ON OR AROUND JANUARY 13TH, 2010, THE TRANSMISSION ON THE ABOVE NAMED VEHICLE BEGAN TO JERK WHEN PLACED IN REVERSE. THIS PROBLEM PERSISTED UP UNTIL MARCH 15TH, 2014, WHEN THE TRANSMISSION ULTIMATELY FAILED. DESPITE BRINGING THE VEHICLE IN FOR DIAGNOSIS AT TREASURE COAST LEXUS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS FROM 2010 TO 2014, THE DEALERSHIP AND ITS TECHNICIANS NEVER IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM. THIS ULTIMATELY PLACED THE DRIVER AND OTHERS AT RISK AND RESULTED IN THE REPLACEMENT OF THE TRANSMISSION AT OUR EXPENSE. *TR
I WAS MAKING A RIGHT TURN ONTO A BUSY STREET AND ACCELERATED HARD WITH MY 2008 ES 350 LEXUS. AFTER ACCELERATING TO 45MPH I STOPPED APPLYING PRESSURE TO THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BUT THE CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE UP TO 80MPH WHILE GOING UP HILL AND MY FOOT WAS COMPLETELY OFF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. I TRIED TO SEE IF THE PEDAL WAS STUCK BY LIFTING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WITH MY FOOT BUT THE CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE. I WAS APPROACHING AN INTERSECTION AND USED BOTH FEET TO APPLY FIRM PRESSURE TO THE BRAKE PEDAL. I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE CAR ALTHOUGH THE ENGINE WAS IDLING AT A MUCH HIGHER RPM THAN NORMAL. I DID NOT EXPERIENCE THE SITUATION AGAIN ON THE REMAINDER OF MY 20 MINUTE TRIP. I DID NOT HAVE MY WINTER DRIVING MATS IN PLACE WHEN THIS OCCURRED. I DID NOT REPORT THIS TO LEXUS ALTHOUGH DESCRIBED MY EXPERIENCE TO CO-WORKERS THAT SAME DAY. BASED ON RECENT NEWS REPORTS I FORMALLY NOTIFIED MY EXPERIENCE TO LEXUS CUSTOMER SERVICE TODAY. I EXPLAINED THAT THIS PROBLEM HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL GETTING STUCK ON A FLOOR MAT. *TR
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.