Used 2019 Lexus ES 350 Consumer Reviews
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Great Ride - Stereo and Technology Unusable!
Chris H., 03/15/2019
2019 Lexus ES 350 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
56 of 59 people found this review helpful
Still one of the quietist and smoothest riding cars out there. However, Lexus's idea of technology is a joke and virtually unusable. I've heard better car stereos in cars that cost a third of the ES350. Lexus should be ashamed of themselves for putting a stereo so flawed that you don't even want to listen to it. My last ES350 (2016) had a stereo that wasn't great, but I could at least center the music in the car. This new model (2019), I have the fade and balance all the way to the back left of the car and I can still only hear the music coming from the front windshield. And, "no", there is nothing wrong with it. This is the way they built it. I can only imagine the audio genius that put this stereo in the car only listens to talk radio. Between the weak tech and the awful stereo system, this may be my breaking point with Lexus moving forward.
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Beware of Stereo (even the upgraded one)
VeryUnhappyCustomer, 12/27/2018
2019 Lexus ES 350 Luxury 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
162 of 174 people found this review helpful
We purchased this car without having had an opportunity to listen to the stereo (long story). Unfortunately, even with the upgraded stereo it is absolutely un-listenable at low or normal conversational volume levels. There is no sound coming from the back speakers - everything sounds like it is coming from the center dash speaker only. Now you may be thinking: "you need to adjust the fader and balance". No go. Even adjusting the fader all the way to the back and the right, the sounds will still sound to the driver like it is coming directly from the front center speaker and is terribly disorienting. There are multiple threads online of people with similar problems. It isn't clear to me if this is a hit and miss issue on these cars, or if it impacts them all. But what is clear, is that our Lexus dealer was unwilling to do anything about it, despite having come back with the car within the first few business hours of driving it off the lot. Here is just one of the several forums where people are discussing the issue: https://lexusenthusiast.com/forums/threads/issues-with-2019-lexus-es-350-stock-audio-system.4819/
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2019 Lexus ES 350 for sale near you
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- F SPORT SedanMSRP: $26,267In-stock online
- F SPORT SedanMSRP: $26,998In-stock online
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Listen to THIS
Rich, 05/02/2019
2019 Lexus ES 350 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
54 of 57 people found this review helpful
I own a 2017 es 350 and I love the car. The radio in this vehicle has completely changed the driving experience for me. It is outstanding. My lady friend recently test drove the new 2019 es 350. The car is beautiful...however the radio is horrible. Cheap...insulting junk. A deal breaker for me. They raised the price of the car but that wasn't enough, they took away the sound system. I had every intention when my 2017 came off lease to get another es 350 but unless these cheap corporate greedy mongers elevate that radio to what I had in my 2017 I won't consider it. I hope the idiots that made this decision saved a buck on the cheap radio and realize they lost thousands from me. Greedy jerks.
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unhappy buyer
Future Buyers beware!, 03/10/2019
2019 Lexus ES 350 Luxury 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
256 of 277 people found this review helpful
I was one of the first to buy the new 2019 Lexus ES 350 with the 10 speaker premium sound system. Like many others the ES 350 and other models always had a decent sound system so I concentrated on the rest of the car. During delivery I said the sound system does not sound right, it was very late at night so we went home with the car with the sales manager saying bring it back if you need help and we'll make it right. That statement was so far off but I don't think they even knew or could fathom that Lexus would have such a crappy sounding no surround surround system that just has no fade capability at all! We already have a hybrid car so this would be used for comfortable trips etc... so it sat for a couple weeks in the garage unused due to bad weather so it took this long for me to be able to pull it out of the garage and really discover what a really crappy sound system this was. I tried everything and even took it to work and let everyone else play with the adjustments. It still sucked! I took it back to the dealer and started getting the same run around everyone else is and has been getting, they don't have a fix and all the remaining 2019 Lexus ES 350's on the lot sound as crappy so they say it must be normal. A TSB was submitted and they said they have heard this problem before. Since this was totally unacceptable to me paying this kink of money for a no surround surround system I contacted the customer satisfaction department and said I wanted Lexus to buy this car back. That went to Corporate where some moron could only say it is performing to specifications. I asked him to take the time, get in one and tell me he would be happy but he just kept reading off of his 3 X 5 card what he was probably only allowed to say, it is performing to specifications, what do you want me to do. I asked again for Lexus to buy back the car which took another 3 weeks to get what was required for the package. I submitted it immediately but it sat over two weeks due to XMas and New Years. Now from Headquarters I was told 4 to 6 weeks to get and answer. 6 weeks came by and nothing with many e-mails and voice mails from me starting at the 4 week period from the time they received the buy back package, I started getting next week maybe again and again. I has now been 9 weeks when I called in and said this has gone on long enough when I was told the case was closed. Never one bit of communication from Lexus, only someone who sits at a desk deciding that the $50k I spent on what I planned to have for a retirement car was a waste to me and the worst experience from a car purchase ever. I have had other Lexus models, my family has had several. All with great sounding audio systems . I traded in a 2016 IS 200T that I would kill to get back! Lexus has sacrificed one of their most popular models and so far stood behind this crappy system. Lexus customer satisfaction moto has been completely thrown out the window. My entire experience with this model has been horrible. I dislike it so much it sits in the garage unused and I have yet to get the official response in the mail of how Lexus refused to buy this back. I have had it since the 4th on November 2018, it only has 1600 miles. Yes I am that disgusted. The only satisfaction I get is knowing that I posted reviews on most major car review sites and see the numbers of people who read it and I'm sure didn't buy one. These were all probably first time Lexus buyers. The rest of us who have been Lexus loyal and counted on their quality and customer satisfaction policy have been severely cheated. I can only hope that more people read all existing reviews and not buy this model and deal with the frustration everyone else has had to deal with.
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Worst stereo I have ever owned in a car.
NY Rick, 03/16/2019
updated 03/25/2021
2019 Lexus ES 350 Luxury 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)
85 of 91 people found this review helpful
As others have noted, there is no way to adjust the rear speakers to provide decent sound. The fade option is a joke. You essentially get the sound from the front speakers - just like I did on my 1960 Plymouth. Never dawned on me to "test drive" the speakers. Had I done so, I would never have bought this car. It would have been a deal breaker. I should also mention that the touchpad on the info system is a disaster waiting to happen. It is impossible to use the damned thing without taking your eyes off the road for far too long a period. I hope Lexus has adequate insurance so that when owners start causing accidents due to not paying attention to the road, it can pay off the inevitable claims. I am surprised that the US government allows this car to be sold with that system. Otherwise, the 2019 model is a huge improvement over my 2014 model. Quieter, more comfortable, sportier to drive, faster and just plain better in every way, other than the 2 major concerns I have mentioned. When I reported the radio issue to Lexus the week after I bought it, I was told that the system was designed to work exactly as mine does. How Lexus thought this was the way to go is a puzzlement. Update after owning car for 14 months - nothing has changed my initial evaluation. Car handles exactly like a Lexus would be expected to perform. Very quite, Very comfortable, but unexciting. However my issues with the sound from the entertainment system and the dangerously distracting touch pad not only remain, but have become even more infuriating the longer I drive this car. I detest (is that a strong enough word for you?) the speakers. I listen to music whenever I am in the car and the awful sound is a daily reminder how much I hate this car. I was seriously considering dumping it and taking a loss, but in light of the financial collapse due to Covid, that is no longer an option. And I continue to hope that others who own this model do as I do and simply stop using the built in distraction device called the touchpad, because I fear that someone in a similar model is going to cross a double line and kill my family. Most states have laws against “distracted driving”, but no one seems to address the fact that looking down to use the touchpad is not much different from texting while driving,
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