The 1996 Lexus Es300 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 540,037 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 44 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine and engine cooling. Last updated July 5, 2026.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE STEERING WHEEL SET NUT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENTLY TIGHTENED CAUSING STEERING VIBRATION AND LOOSENESS.
THIS CAN RESULT IN A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL.
DEALERS WILL TIGHTEN THE STEERING WHEEL SET NUT.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“Was driving home from shopping and went to turn left and all of a sudden the car did not respond smoothly and I almost lost control. Took it to the mechanic and had a lower control arm put in because of a bad bushing but was told the rack and pinion is also bad. There is a lot of play in the…”
“Was driving home from shopping and went to turn left and all of a sudden the car did not respond smoothly and I almost lost control. Took it to the mechanic and had a lower control arm put in because of a bad bushing but was told the rack and pinion is also bad. There is a lot of play in the…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 1996 lexus es300. The contact stated that while parked, a strong odor of fuel was coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuel filler neck needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not…”
“Car exploded and started fire in the garage after the car had been parked for approximately 20 minutes. Got home from work and stop at grocery store. Parked car in garage and brought in some groceries. About 10 - 15 minutes later went out to get paper products (tp and paper towels) out of trunk.…”
“Car exploded and started fire in the garage after the car had been parked for approximately 20 minutes. Got home from work and stop at grocery store. Parked car in garage and brought in some groceries. About 10 - 15 minutes later went out to get paper products (tp and paper towels) out of trunk.…”
“Dt*: the contact stated the panel in the dash failed and nothing in the dash could be seen. The vehicle was taken to a dealership were a diagnostics test was performed. It was determined that the instrument cluster panel needed to be replaced. No repairs were made. The manufacturer has been…”
“1996 lexus es300; sludge build-up; excessive oil consumption; white smoke on start-up; dealer says the engine needs to be rebuilt at a cost of about $7000. This is the same problem that toyota/lexus has acknowledged for 1997 to 2001 models with the v-6 engine. Why won't they honor the repair to…”
“Check engine light came on. Servicing dealer replaced o2 sensor - bank 2, sensor 1, part number 89465-33080 - dealer listed as $183.30 for the part while warranty company listed as $128.11 for the same part. When checking warranty coverage, was told warranty did not exist - paid $1,860.00 to…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1996 Lexus Es300 as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.