chuyrobles, thank you for your feedback, I've adjusted the list accordingly.

Major known issues for ES that are not covered with recalls:

1. Water pump failure

2. Timing cover oil leaks.

3. CV drive shaft vibration. (100k-200k miles)

4. The alternator decoupler pulley (100k miles+)

5. Passenger Window Derailment

6. Ignition coil failure (100k-200k miles)

Quirks of the 5th Gen:
1. Transmission has a weird shift behavior (aka 2-3 and/or 3-4 flare).
2. Steering wheel controls tend to rub off easily (pre-facelift)


Covered by TSBs:

1. Dashboard issues on early models

2. Rubber oil lines bursting

EDITED BASED ON FEEDBACK.

 

I have a question on the water pump failure issue. Is the problem just with the original water pump or do replacement pumps suffer the same fate? The reason I ask is because I bought a used 2008 ES350. It's repair history shows a a water pump failure and replacement at about 30K miles. I am wondering if it's something I have to monitor closer than usual. Thanks.

 

Respectfully, I disagree about Toyota / Lexus not caring about their product after the warranty expires.
While I understand your point, the Toyota brand, and especially the Lexus brand has worked VERY hard for many years to establish themselves as the most reliable auto manufacturer in the world. They have earned their place at the pinnacle of quality and dependability. And that has no doubt been instrumental in making them the world´s largest auto manufacturer.
I don´t believe that they would risk that reputation if they were not very sure of the ability their WS ATF to hold up well past the warranty period.

Having said that, I just bought my second Lexus, a 2007 ES350 UL which is in stunning condition. It looks like it has about 20k miles on it but the odometer reads 164k.
I have all of the maintenance records which were performed at the local Lexus dealer and there is no indication of any ATF fluid change in those records.
It performs perfectly except for the cold 3-4 flare that is common on them, yet I am planning on doing a fluid and filter change in a couple of weeks. I will use all OEM products. (Filter, Toyota WS ATF.) I am planning to change out a full 12 qts of fluid, so it will be mostly fresh.
That should get it set for a long time.
My last Lexus went over 340k with only normal maintenance.

 

2010 with 61K miles on it. Only time it's been to a dealer was for recall fixes. Oil change every 5K miles and air and cabin filters changed at 30K miles. On 3rd set of tires. Net is boring reliability

 

I have a 2007 ES 350 that I bought new, May of 2007 - 120,000 miles. The car runs great. The 3.5L car can still bring a little "seat" feeling if the excitement is long-lasting, the sound of engine screaming sounds quite excited. Automatic transmission gear is quite smooth. Dress cars should run at a high speed very like and confident. In addition, it is quite long to move and the red light can be released from the distance, and the car slows down and glides to near the red light.
However, when starting the car, it sounds a bit loud. I think the problem is with the tires, maybe I need to replace with a better, quieter set of tires that I found here https://tireer.com/best-quiet-tires/

 

We had a water pump failure on our 2008 Es350 at 165,453 miles (ownership 9 yrs, 6 months) and had that replaced at the Lexus dealership in Warwick, RI. The weird thing is that at 172,444 miles (10 years) the Lexus replacement failed and was replaced with a Lexus water pump (no charge as it was under warranty) for the second time. We now have 192,318 miles (11 yrs, 7 mo) on the odometer. By and large, the repairs required for this amazing vehicle have been normal other than excessive warping brake rotors. we are still getting between 27 and 30 mpg from this vehicle, and we do travel at "normal" highway speeds. Very few pass us along the way! We did purchase this vehicle new with just 42 miles on the odometer.

 

My 07 Es350 is holding up very well: the ride is quiet, the engine is smooth, all electronics work and other than normal maintenance, everything's is going well!

... Except for the transmission. When the engine is cold, the transmission sometime slips or flare between 1st - 2nd gear and between 2nd - 3rd gear. I had the transmission fluid changed (NOT FLUSHED) twice at 70k miles and the liquid was clear and clean. No codes are showing up whatsoever. Also, the car is vibrating when at the red light on drive (when I'm not moving) but goes away if I'm on park/ driving away. It's been that way for as long as I had the car, still have no idea what it is.

Other than that, car is flawless!

 

Our fabulous '08, purch new in Jan 2008; now showing 201,679 mi at 12 yrs 5mo. This car has been garaged nightly and received timely maintenance as recommended. Other than the continuing issue with warping rotors (replaced multiple times with full range of different quality rotors, pads & calipers as needed). my wife fell in love with the Aquamarine Pearl Blue color, and is unwilling to move to a newer Lex because they do not repeat old colors. When we bought this car we were forced to make the purchase in FL as the RI dealer said we would not be allowed to buy that color in RI! dumbest thing we ever heard, but as we do spend some of our winter weeks in FL, that was no problem. Lexus Palm Beach was very happy to sell us that car, and we have never regretted the purchase. Every time we take it to the shop we always get positive views on the gorgeous color.

 

My 2007 ES350 is amazing. Now over 360,000 miles there are no signs of any issues.

My wife and adult kids all love driving it, as every bit of the 303 HP and quiet, comfortable ride are still a prime characteristic of the car.

Fortunately, I'm the guy in the household who gets to drive it to my office and customers every day! ;-)

 

303HP? How did you get that option?

 

My wife's ES gets only 19 mpg around town. I'm not sure of the highway mileage as we haven't taken a road trip in it since it was new. At that time, it was getting 29-30 mpg on the highway. I might start a new thread regarding this as I'm shocked by how poor the mileage is as compared to the EPA estimates.

 

other than the normal wear and tear stuff.

rear struts at 100kkm. water pump fail at 200kkm. a couple ignition coils between 150-200kkm. radiator at 230kkm. 235kkm exhaust leak.

Seems like the problems have been starting to creep up at 200kkm.

Also when i looked into water pump replacements, i noticed the original water pump part was revised 3 or 4 times.

Still plan to keep the car for years to come, so hopefully no more issues.