I am far from being an expert, but I have owned several Lexus starting with one of the first SC300's. Following that came 3 LS, 2 ES, 2 GS, 2 RX and now my '21 ES300hUL. Maybe I am just lucky, but this new ES, made in Kentucky, is the most solid, most rattle-free, most comfortable, has the most features, best paint job, best ride, (and many more superlatives), of any of my previous Lexus. The only thumbs down for me is the touch-pad infotainment system. I can't say that every ES made in Kentucky is made as well as every ES made in Japan, but what I can say is don't be nervous about buying an ES built locally.

 

I guess it mostly comes down to faith and reputation. When you plunk your money down for a major investment like a car you have faith that the dealership you're sitting in will deliver a beautiful new car without issues. Your visit to this dealership was, I'm guessing, partly based on the reputation of the manufacturer - Lexus. No one wants to buy a pig in a poke - or be stuck with one... Lexus has an outstanding reputation and builds very dependable cars. This is irrefutable. However as it's been stated previously - over and over - there will always be a klunker come out among the many excellent copies. This will occur with cars from Japan, Alabama, Ohio, Tennessee, South Carolina, Munich, Ingolstadt (Audi), Seoul, and yes, Kentucky...You just have to cross your fingers and hope the klunker isn't yours...

 

That is a small price to pay to prop up a Porsche image.

 

While I understand your dissatisfaction with your 2019 ES, it's no reason to criticize me because my opinion differs with yours. I have had many Lexus built in Japan as well as in North America. In MY (not your) experience, the Japanese vehicles were not built better than the ones built in Canada or the US. That's not a universal statement of fact, just my own experience. I don't think you would be able to say, with statistics, that all Japanese built ES's are made better than all those built in Kentucky. What I CAN assume, is because 2019 was the first year of the redesigned ES, there were teething problems that needed attention, or maybe your ES is the "outlier".

 

Its all about playing the odds...which make and models have the least number of clunkers per thousand.


And here you are talking about it. Hush money only goes so far in protecting reputations!

 

But I didn't get any of the $10k...

 

What you are doing is rejecting the points made by others who disagree with your view, and, then, you are using the same logic that you rejected when others used it to come to your opposing conclusion.

When others say that their US-built Lexus vehicles are as good as or better than the Japan-built Lexus cars that they have had, you talk about "outliers" and reject the views of others because of their limited sample size. Yet, you don't seem to consider that the cars that you have had may have been "outliers" and that your conclusions have been formed with limited sample size experience.

You are critical of others because they "can't be sure" whether US-built Lexus cars are as good as or better than Japan-built Lexus cars. Yet, you seem to be okay thinking that Japan-built cars are better even though you "can't be sure", either.

You are okay with coming to a conclusion that your current US-built Lexus car is not built as well as the Japan-built car that you had 5 years ago. Yet, you are unwilling to accept the fact that others believe that their current US-built cars are built better than the Japan-built cars that they had 5 years ago.

I suspect that (probably with people on both sides of the issue) there is a large amount of confirmation bias in play.

 

Regarding your experience with the 21 ES, you may have to wait for almost a year for some problems to show. Mine was near perfect for several months after the purchase and then I now hate driving my car... rattles on rough roads every 10 seconds at the infortainment screen and strange wind noise at highway speeds. Non of these issues showed up until a year later. But I hope they have improved the built quality of the current MY in KY.

Lexus may be reliable but these issues Im experiencing make me want to get rid of it after only a few years.

 

When and if my '21 ES gets as bad as some of you say your ES is, I will gladly trade it for something else rather than keep it and continue to gripe about it. For now I will enjoy its quality, rattle free, quiet, economical, fun to drive ownership. By the way, I previously owned 2 current model Accords, 5thaccord. Both also quality rattle-free vehicles. You must have lousy luck.

 

5thaccord, please exit this thread. No need for the rude personal comments here on our community.

Certainly we don't ask everyone to agree, but we do ask folks to disagree politely and respectfully.

 

wow this thread turned toxic fast. That is a shame.

 

I've had my 2020 ES350 UL for almost a year and its perfectly quiet with no rattles or noises at all. In fact people who ride with me comment about how quite it is. Besides a dead battery once (From Lack of driving) the car has been absolutely perfect as it should be for being new. Honestly if you are this concerned about quality of this car then maybe you should buy a Bentley or RR. Please tell me another car for this price range that far surpasses the build quality or reliability of this car?

 

Earlier in this this thread someone talked about $10000 hush money. I had to lol! A Lexus Service Manager offered me a full tank of gas and free car wash if I would not mention a recent service visit in the upcoming Customer Quality Survey. I had my brand new LS400 there for 3-4 issues. Much to the Service Manager’s surprise, I inspected the work and discovered missing parts and incomplete reassembly on every single item. He said that kind of sloppy work would NEVER happen in his Service Department. He basically called me a liar. The next day he called me at work to apologize. He walked into the work area first thing in the morning and found the missing parts on the shop floor. I told him his bribe offer was more offensive than the sloppy work. I toasted him on the survey.

 

Really, thank the Lord, and the moderator for pulling posts back in line. I despise when a poster hunts for the answer they want to hear, and can't resist demeaning the other contributors who make the counter-point. But doesn't that resound in almost everything, nowadays?

I have a 27 month old F Sport, and can't wait to get it on Alligator Alley this week, for a run up in the three digit mph.

 

That's a great stretch to open up the FSport. I have driven it many times from my place in Sanibel to Miami where I had worked for roughly 18 months.