There are 2 owner-reported fuel system complaints for the 2011 Lexus ESin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
I started my vehicle and drove about 1/2 mile when the car started acting like it was running out of gas. I pulled over and got about 1gallon of gas in a gas can and put it in the vehicle. I turned the car back on and drove about 2 blocks when the vehicle started jumping like it was going to run out of gas again. The vehicle then shut down while I was driving it. I made it to the side of the road and put the vehicle in park and turned off the ignition with the push start button. I tried to start the vehicle again with the push start button and the vehicle would just try to start but just crank and not turn on. This ended up being a fault fuel pump. After some research I was able to find out Lexus had several thousand vehicles of the same year make and model recalled due to a faulty fuel pump that goes out while driving causing a dangerous driving condition which is exactly what occurred in my vehicle. I contacted Lexus and was told my vehicle was not included in the recall which I don’t understand due to the fact that my fuel pump went out while was driving. I am requesting this issue be investigated and the vehicle be added to the list of recalled vehicles with faulty fuel pumps
WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY WITH THE TRAFFIC AT APPROXIMATELY 70MPH, MIDMORNING, WE HEARD A LOUD POP FROM THE CAR. WE SAW NOTHING ON THE ROAD AND NO ONE ELSE TRAVELING AROUND US EXPERIENCED ANY PROBLEMS. WE WERE NOTIFIED BY A CAR TRAVELING NEXT TO US THAT WE WERE LEAKING GAS. WE PROCEEDED OFF THE HIGHWAY AT THE FIRST EXIT AND PULLED INTO A GAS STATION AND SHUT DOWN THE CAR. WITHIN 8-10 MIN, THE ENTIRE TANK OF GAS (WE JUST FILLED THE TANK UP APPROXIMATELY 20 MIN PRIOR) HAD LEAKED ONTO THE GROUND. THE FIRE DEPT WAS CALLED JUST IN CASE THE CAR BLEW UP. THE FIREFIGHTER LOOKED UNDER THE VEHICLE AND PUT A PLUG IN THE GAS TANK TO STOP WHAT FUEL WAS LEFT FROM LEAKING OUT THE TANK. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO THE CLOSEST DEALER. THE SERVICEMAN AT THE DEALERSHIP DETERMINED THE CAR HAD A WHOLE IN THE GAS TANK, A DENTED OIL PAN AND A SMALL 2IN GASH IN THE SPARE-TIRE WELL ( THE LATTER TWO WE NEVER VERIFIED). THE VEHICLE, PURCHASED NEW 1 MONTH PRIOR, HAD BEEN DRIVEN APPROXIMATELY 600-800 MILES WITHIN A 4 DAY PERIOD. AS THE MAIN DRIVER, I NOTICED THE VEHICLE HAD A SLOW TAKEOFF AND TOOK SEVERAL PUSHES OF THE GAS PEDDLE TO GET MOVING EVENTHOUGH IT IS A 6 CYLINDER VEHICLE. *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.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026