Buyer Research

2022 Lexus ES — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $28,000–$38,000. This is one of the more reliable vehicles in its class — here's what to watch for anyway.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 15 Lexus ES years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

Fourteen complaints and no recall campaigns on the 2022 ES — a thin record that tells you how few owners filed, not how the car holds up. Worth saying plainly: the low-pressure fuel pump failures that dominate our page on the 2019 ES belong to earlier builds of this generation, and nothing in the 2022 record repeats them. What the 2022 record does hold is almost entirely driver-assistance: the Pre-Collision System braking hard for hazards that were not there, radar cruise not reacting to a stopped car ahead, and a blind-spot and rear cross-traffic system that went dead overnight. Those are software and sensor faults rather than engine-out money, and most are fixable — but they are also the systems a buyer is least likely to test. So test them. Otherwise this is the quiet, well-built ES it looks like, and the mechanical side of the record is close to silent.

What we checked

Checked against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 14 owner complaints for the 2022 Lexus ES, and no recall campaigns.

That is too small a record to read a pattern from, so we are not going to pretend otherwise — with numbers this low one owner moves the percentage by a lot. What has been filed is grouped under the driver-assist and automatic braking systems (3), lane departure (2), the brakes (2). Treat those as things to look at, not as the vehicle's known weaknesses. A thin file usually means few of these were sold or few owners filed. It is not evidence the vehicle is trouble-free, and the issues below are our own research rather than a reading of this record.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2022 Lexus ES

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

Pre-Collision System brakes hard for nothing — and radar cruise sometimes ignores a stopped carMedium

The largest cluster is the forward-collision system, and it fails in both directions. One owner had the car stop dead on the highway on the second day of ownership, forcing a swerve onto the gravel shoulder, and again several times after; switching the pre-collision setting off ended it. Another reports radar cruise approaching stationary traffic at a light from 300 yards out without slowing. A third complaint is a crash where the driver's foot slipped off the accelerator. The radar sits behind the grille badge and the camera at the top of the windshield, and either can be thrown off by a bumper repair, a badge replacement, or a windshield swap that skipped calibration. Ask whether the car has had front-end or glass work, and use adaptive cruise on a quiet road for a few miles before you buy.

Repair cost (estimate): $300–$1,200 for a camera and radar recalibration at a Lexus dealer

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the driver-assist and automatic braking systems (3).

Blind-spot monitor and rear cross-traffic alert can stop working altogetherMedium

One owner found the blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic systems completely dead within three weeks of buying the car — every related warning light lit one night, then went dark by morning with the features simply gone. The second complaint in this cluster is lane-keeping assist not holding its line. Those sensors are radar modules mounted inside the rear bumper, so they are the first casualty of a rear-end knock or a bumper respray, and a used car will not tell you it has had either. Sit in the driver's seat before the test drive, check both mirror indicators light during the start-up self-test, then have someone walk past the rear corners while you are in reverse and watch for the alert.

Repair cost (estimate): $700–$1,500 per blind-spot radar module, plus calibration

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under lane departure (2).

ABS actuator pump running while the car sits parkedMedium

One owner reports the ABS actuator pump buzzing and whirring continuously with the car parked and nobody touching the pedal — the sign of a unit cycling to hold pressure it keeps losing. Left alone that ends with the ABS and stability systems dropping out, and on a Lexus the actuator assembly is not a cheap part. The other brake complaint here is the same highway stop described under the collision system. This is easy to check and easy to miss: with the engine off and the doors shut, stand at the front wheel arch for thirty seconds and listen for a motor running when nothing should be.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,500–$3,000 for an ABS actuator assembly at a dealer

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under the brakes (2).

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Any unrequested hard braking during the test drive with the road clear ahead
✗Blind-spot mirror indicators that stay dark through the start-up self-test
✗A pump or motor audible at the front of the car while it sits parked and off
✗Evidence of front bumper, grille badge or windshield replacement with no calibration record
✗Adaptive cruise that closes on stopped traffic without lifting

Good Signs

✓Adaptive cruise slowing smoothly for a stopped car over several miles of testing
✓Blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alerts both firing on a walk-past test
✓Lexus dealer service history with a documented radar and camera calibration
✓Original windshield with the Lexus marking intact
✓Quiet engine bay and wheel arches with the ignition off