Which one, and which years, drew fewer problems per car sold
The short answer
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Lexus ES drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 61 per 100,000 against 129 for the Toyota Avalon, or 53% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2016 and 2019 for the ES and 2016 and 2017 for the Avalon.
Toyota Avalon
By age group
| Model years | ES | Avalon | Fewer problems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Older (2012 to 2015) | 91 | 157 | ES |
| Middle (2016 to 2018) | 39 | 56 | ES |
| Newer (2019 to 2022) | 35 | 152 | ES |
Owner complaints per 100,000 cars sold, pooled across the years in each group. Lower is better. A model counts as ahead only when it is at least 10% lower.
Year by year
| Year | ES | Avalon |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 207 | 102 |
| 2013 | 87 | 225 |
| 2014 | 58 | 170 |
| 2015 | 34 | 90 |
| 2016 | 48 | 52 |
| 2017 | 45 | 43 |
| 2018 | 21 | 74 |
| 2019 | 66 | 259 |
| 2020 | 14 | 60 |
| 2021 | 15 | 139 |
| 2022 | 38 | 65 |
| 2023 | Too new | n/a |
| 2024 | Too new | n/a |
Complaints per 100,000 sold for each model year. Green is a good year for that model, amber average, red a year to watch out for.
Questions
Is the ES or Avalon more reliable?
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Lexus ES drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 61 per 100,000 against 129 for the Toyota Avalon, or 53% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2016 and 2019 for the ES and 2016 and 2017 for the Avalon.
Which ES and Avalon years should I avoid?
For the ES: 2012. For the Avalon: none stand out.