2.2

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
72,815 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #14

Jan 052018

IS 250

  • miles
Rattle noise on start up from engine as if car has no oil

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #13

Jun 022019

IS 250

  • 152,000 miles
Takata recall. I bought my car only two years ago after my first Lexus lasted me upwards of 350,000 miles. Keeping this in mind I found my 2007 IS250. I was aware after buying the car (but 2 days outside of my dealership warranty *fishy*) about the passenger air bag recall. The dashboard situation Is harsh. There Is a very chemical smell coming from my dashboard, it feels and peels off like the foam under it. It gets ripped and torn to shreds from very little friction. I have read that some people became very congested and ill from this smell. It Is very pungent. Now for my engine, this Is a big one. As I was driving, my car starts to make a loud but hallow clunking noise. For a long time I thought it was my brakes, so when I got them changed it went away, for a little. Now today as I was driving my car (which Is an automatic) completely stalled in head on traffic. Lucky me, ive driven many manual cars so I knew what to do. When I turned my car back on, it held idle at 4000 RPM. While going 20 mph it holds at 5-6000 RPM. As well as my miles per gallon/tank drop dramatically. While the car Is in idle in my driveway, it shakes like a freezing baby throwing a temper tantrum.

- Peoria, AZ, USA

problem #12

Mar 012019

IS 250

  • 160,000 miles
The transmission slips on reverse. It does not traverse unless I driven 30 minutes and going 40 amd higher, the rpms start at 4K then 5K amd keeps getting higher. The engines wants to stall from time to time. The suspension is hard, even after changing the shocks

- Coral Springs, FL, USA

problem #11

Oct 262017

IS 250

  • 71,110 miles
I work for Toyota/Lexus manu plant in ky. My vehicle started throwing a misfire code (P0304) and check engine light came on. My car was diagnosed by Lexus dealer as having carbon build up in engine (temporary repair will cost $600 to clean engine. Permanent repair that will eventually have to happen $15,000). Lexus did offer a csp on this issue and extended warranty on this issue but you could not go to the dealer and have it diagnosed until the check engine light came. The check engine light did not come on until it was out of warranty. After many phone calls and continuous complaining Lexus would not stand behind their product. I finally had to file a complaint thru the warranty dept at the manu plant. Lexus finally called me back and said they would pay the $600 to clean the engine, she did tell me that the only reason they were even talking to me was because I work at the plant. I had the engine cleaned Oct 2017. The dealer told me that this carbon build up will return and I will eventually need an engine replacement.

- Frankfort, KY, USA

problem #10

Sep 082017

IS 250

  • miles
Camshaft gear gone bad at only 85,000 and Lexus is aware of and does nothing to do a recall. This is a 3000,00 fix.

- Albertville, AL, USA

problem #9

May 192017

IS 250

  • 30,000 miles
Lexus IS250 crank loud noise sounds like the car is going to explode. Lexus is aware of a camshaft gear problem and has recalled same or similar parts in other Lexus model vehicles due to safety issues. They also have an updated part available to remedy this problem but refuse a recall in this model

- Maple Grove, MN, USA

problem #8

Mar 202016

IS 250

  • 130,000 miles
Vsc light, check engine light, traction control light all came on at the same time. PO303 cylinder 3 misfire detected. Have saw online many people complaining of the same problem. Engine is shaky during idle or shaky when its cold. Previous owned a 2009 Lexus IS250 and had the same problem. Heard of some people saying Lexus dealers took cars in and had problem fixed as recall. Not finding any recalls for my car. My mechanic says its a good running car, but something doesn't feel right.

- Bridgeport, OH, USA

problem #7

Oct 092015

IS 250

  • 77,800 miles
This vehicle went into the Lexus dealership for a recall on the fuel system. After receiving it back from the dealership, the vehicle shuts off completely without notice. The vehicle has been back to the dealership for repairs and each time it is returns, within a week the vehicle shuts down. As of October, the dealership has received almost $8000 for repairs. This vehicle is becoming a death trap. It would shut down after stopping at a stop light or stop sign, but the last two times, it has shut off while driving. Once on the interstate. We are asking that something be done immediately, this car is unsafe to drive and the dealership continues to find other issues to make money, but has failed to repair the issue caused by the recall repair. Lexus headquarters has been notified. The Maryland attorney general has been requested to intervene and assist us with this issue. Your help would truly be appreciated.

- Parkville, MD, USA

problem #6

Nov 102014

IS 250

  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 Lexus Is 250. While driving 55 mph, the engine stalled and failed to restart. The failure recurred once and the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the engine failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 50,000.

- Norwalk, CT, USA

problem #5

Sep 212009

IS 250 6-cyl

  • 51,190 miles
I had issues when the car starts-up. It make a loud noise every morning going to work and also the A/C makes noises when its on. Took it to Lexus and they told me that they can not duplicate the noise and also say that they found some type of garage in the air filter. The noise Is still there, its a loud thump as if metal to metal impact. Like a steel hammer hitting another steel hammer.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #4

Sep 202012

IS 250

  • 45,000 miles
At start up, the car rattles. After several complaints to the dealer several other "fixes" have been done. One fix was to replace the piston rings under recall. I have now started to record all car starts with a camera. In doing so I was able to get the rattle on video. Upon showing this to my service advisor and his superior, they said it had something to do with the cam. Several times before I was told, oh it is no big deal. A cam issue is a very big deal, and now I am being told that the vvt is causing the cam and cam sprocket to shake. This shaking not only creates the rattle noise on start up but is a warning that the sprocket is falling apart. I have 67,000 miles on my car and it is a 2007, therefore pushing me closer and closer to being out of warranty. The dealer stated it is $2500 fix. These cars are all lemons. More of them have the same identical problems, than those that don't have problems. I believe research should be done on the is as a whole, especially the motors as they are prone to many, many defects. I should not have to pay for poor engineering and poor quality/faulty parts. This should be the dealer, corporate, and the manufacturers responsibility. If I could I would sell the car back to the dealer. I purchased this car used June 2012 and within a few weeks I had problems with it, should have been a tell tale sign.

- Tonawanda , NY, USA

problem #3

Feb 112014

IS 250 6-cyl

  • 91,000 miles
Check engine, vsc, traction lights comes on as vehicle comes to a stop with a rough idle, and at times exhibits a temporary loss of power intermittently, while the vehicle is mobile/rolling. Lexus sent out a tsib letter to us owners for similar symptoms with possible diagnostic trouble codes(dtc): P0300-P0306. Further, according to Lexus Corp. "the check engine light may illuminate for reasons of unrelated condition." Lexus corporation suspects the cause of problem is carbon deposit accumulation in the intake valves and a replacement of piston ring set and or pistons may be indicated. If this is what's occurring inside the engine and is inherent to IS250 models only, then it would seem to a reasonable person there is a design and potential safety flaw in these vehicle models. Also, because of this design flaw, my vehicle is now having catalytic failure and a what sounds like a rattle during a cold crank start of the vehicle. However, when a vehicle is taken to a dealer, the Lexus dealers are quick to dismiss the problem by the claims that the symptoms are not replicable enough for them to verify the problem. The temporary loss of power may one day cause the driver to have a serious accident should the steering wheel lockup or should the problem happen during hill ascends, which may cause the vehicle to roll back into traffic or off the main road. Why is Lexus corporation not making this issue a safety recall, and rather, just treating it as a concern nature. I would beseech the traffic safety board to please look into this matter as to avoid any injury or worse, a loss of innocent life. This is my first Lexus vehicle and it has become a very disappointing experience.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #2

Aug 012011

IS 250 6-cyl

  • 101,306 miles
The engine upon cold start up makes a rattling noise and is very loud. Lexus in September recalled the Lexus is 350 for the same reason and they said the car was unsafe to drive. However, I called Lexus customer satisfaction and they diagnosed it as the same issue at my dealership, but would not correct the problem. Also, back in March the vehicle smelt like raw gasoline, so I took it to the dealer and it was leaking gas in the engine compartment. The dealer told me due to the gas vapor, which is extremely flammable that the car could have exploded. However, Lexus would not cover this safety issue under warranty either. This vehicle has been a death trap from day one. It has also been recalled for the faulty gas pedal, brakes working improperly, other fuel line issues other than I mentioned, and even the windshield wipers.

- Athens, TN, USA

problem #1

Dec 262012

IS 250

  • 60,000 miles
Upon starting the car the car shook and got a vsc and engine check light. Called the dealer right away and they said they would have to charge 100 to see what happened. Come to find. Out after the fact there was a voluntary notice put out by Lexus on this issue which they have extended warranties for. This has already happened twice to me while driving and both times Lexus will not fix it under warranty claiming it does not happen when they take it in. They will not fix the problem unless it occurs while their testing even though the notification indicating the issue is coming up. They have also claimed it is safe to drive although it does not seem safe to have a car randomly stall at any point of time. My research has shown that this is a common problem for consumers with this car. It is also understood that the fix would require a considerable amount of time to fix by Lexus ( they would need to keep the car for a month). The cost associated with this is likely why they are hesitant to fix.

- Fairfax, VA, USA