What are the common problems with the 2011 Lexus ES?
Owners of the 2011 Lexus ES have filed 46 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the airbags (27) and the body structure (6). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 18 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 46 owner complaints on the 2011 Lexus ES. Owners named the airbags most often: 27 complaints, and half of the 12 that list a mileage came after 46,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 46 complaints, 6 report a crash, none reports a fire and 4 report an injury (4 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2011 ES
NHTSA's file holds 46 owner complaints on the 2011 Lexus ES. Owners named the airbags most often: 27 complaints, and half of the 12 that list a mileage came after 46,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 27 | 12 | 47,000 |
| Structure | 6 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
| Electrical System | 5 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
| Service Brakes | 3 | 2 | Under 5 mileages |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 3 | 1 | Under 5 mileages |
Of the 46 complaints, 6 report a crash, none reports a fire and 4 report an injury (4 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2011 ES
The 18 mileages owners gave run from 1,998 to 170,000 miles, and half are at or under 47,000. With fewer than 20 mileages this page gives the median only: the other percentiles are too few to say. 2 came after 100,000 miles, 1 after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2011 ES wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 16 of the 18 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2011 ES can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 1,998 miles |
| 25th percentile | Too few to say |
| Median (50th percentile) | 47,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | Too few to say |
| 90th percentile | Too few to say |
| Highest mileage listed | 170,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 2 of 18 |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 1 of 18 |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 323 NHTSA owner complaints on the Lexus ES that list mileage came after 57,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a Lexus ES last? →
Is the 2011 ES a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2011 is a good or a bad ES: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2011 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 46 complaints, the 2011 ranks 4th of the 21 Lexus ES model years from 2002 to 2023 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2007 (125). The fewest: the 2018 and 2023 (10 each).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 ES | 27 | 24 | 88,300 |
| 2003 ES | 23 | 17 | 68,000 |
| 2004 ES | 16 | 11 | 89,000 |
| 2005 ES | 60 | 35 | 8,850 |
| 2006 ES | 12 | 7 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2007 ES | 125 | 59 | 80,123 |
| 2008 ES | 68 | 20 | 57,000 |
| 2009 ES | 28 | 14 | 70,000 |
| 2010 ES | 41 | 15 | 70,000 |
| 2011 (this page) | 46 | 18 | 47,000 |
| 2012 ES | 31 | 14 | 65,000 |
| 2013 ES | 42 | 22 | 45,000 |
| 2014 ES | 15 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2015 ES | 12 | 7 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2016 ES | 16 | 8 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2018 ES | 10 | 5 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2019 ES | 36 | 11 | 11,000 |
| 2020 ES | 19 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2021 ES | 30 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2022 ES | 14 | 3 | Under 10 mileages |
| 2023 ES | 10 | 2 | Under 10 mileages |
2011 Lexus ES recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2011 model year under the names ES and ES HYBRID. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2011 Lexus ES: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2011 ES lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2011 ES.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 28 of the 46 complaints on the 2011 Lexus ES give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: ES and ES HYBRID. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file names matched: ES and ES HYBRID.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2011 Lexus ES questions
What are the most common 2011 Lexus ES problems?
NHTSA's file holds 46 owner complaints on the 2011 Lexus ES. Owners named the airbags most often: 27 complaints, and half of the 12 that list a mileage came after 46,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 46 complaints, 6 report a crash, none reports a fire and 4 report an injury (4 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2011 Lexus ES?
Of the 18 complaints on the 2011 Lexus ES that list mileage, half came after 46,000 miles; 2 came after 100,000 miles, 1 after 150,000 and none after 200,000. With fewer than 20 mileages, the median is the only percentile given. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2011 ES can cover.
Is the 2011 Lexus ES a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2011 is a good or a bad ES: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2011 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 46 complaints, the 2011 ranks 4th of the 21 Lexus ES model years from 2002 to 2023 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2007 (125). The fewest: the 2018 and 2023 (10 each).
How many recalls does the 2011 Lexus ES have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list no campaign for the 2011 model year under the names ES and ES HYBRID. Recalls can be filed under another name (a trim, a body or a series name), so a recall may still exist for the 2011 Lexus ES: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2011 Lexus ES before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2011 Lexus ES.