RoadVitals

2008 Lexus IS 250 Driver assistance Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the driver-assistance system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Driver assistance reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
13
Latest Nov 23, 2020
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
10%
of 125 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
6
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
1

What this page shows

Reports naming forward-collision avoidance, lane keeping, back-over prevention, cruise control and related electronic driver-assistance systems. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2008 Lexus IS 250 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 13 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming driver-assistance

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Driver assistancePowertrain (other)
Filed Nov 23, 2020

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 LEXUS IS250. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS AND ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE, THE VEHICLE HESITATED PRIOR TO RESPONDING. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS MOST EVIDENT AFTER STOPPING AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT AND THEN ATTEMPTING TO DRIVE FROM BEING STATIONARY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO BE DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. NEITHER THE DEALER NOR THE MANUFACTURER WERE MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 40,000.

NHTSA ID
11375912
Incident
Nov 30, 2019
Mileage
40,000 mi
Driver assistanceElectricalEngine+3 more
Filed Jan 26, 2017

"TAKATA RECALL" THE SECOND DAY I BOUGHT MY CAR IT HAS BEEN GIVING ME PROBLEMS. I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE MY ENGINE/MOTOR NOT LONG AFTER I PURCHASED MY CAR. I'M STILL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS WITH MY CAR AND NEW MOTOR. IT RUNS HOT AND I HAVE BROUGHT IT TO 6 DIFFERENT MECHANIC AS WELL AS TO THE LEXUS DEALERSHIP MULTIPLE TIMES AND I HAVE HAD TO PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR A LOT OF THINGS. I ALSO WENT ON LEXUS.COM AND FOUND OUT THAT MY CAR IS A LEMON BUY BACK AND WAS NEVER TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP I BOUGHT IT FROM OR THE LEXUS DEALERSHIP IN BATON ROUGE LOUISIANA THAT IT WAS A LEMON. I HAD TO FUND OUT ON MY OWN. IT VERY WRONG THAT I BOUGHT A CAR AND NOT TOLD MY ANYONE HOW THE CAR IS A LEMON. *TR

NHTSA ID
10947812
Incident
Sep 1, 2014
Driver assistanceEngine
Filed Sep 5, 2013

SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 I EXPERIENCED MY FIRST MISFIRE ISSUE WITH MY 2008 LEXUS IS 250. AS I ACCELERATED TO APPROX 65 MPH TO ENTIRE A BUSY HIGHWAY ON RAMP, I LOST ALL ACCELERATION IN MY VEHICLE. AS THIS HAPPENED, I HAD THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT FLASHING, MY CHECK VSC INDICATOR DISPLAYING, AND MY TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT ILLUMINATING. I CALLED LEXUS, THEY ADVISED THAT THE CAR NEEDED BE TOWED IN AND THE BEGAN TO RUN THE CODES THAT WERE TRIPPED. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT I HAD EXTREME CARBON BUILD UP IN THE ENGINE, WHICH WAS CAUSING MY ENGINE TO MISFIRE. THEY DID THE "CLEANING REPAIR" WHICH INVOLVED TAKING THE ENGINE APART, AND SENDING A BUNCH OF PARTS TO A MACHINE SHOP WHERE THEY CLEANED THE HEADS & PISTONS. IN TOTAL, I WAS WITHOUT MY CAR FOR OVER A MONTH! FAST FORWARD TO SEPTEMBER 3, 2013. I NOW HAVE 73,000 MILES ON MY CAR, AND THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN THIS EVENING AS I WAS ACCELERATING TO APPROX 40 MPH. THIS TIME I WAS ON A BUSY 5 LANE ROAD, AND LOST ALL ACCELERATION AND HAD TO ESSENTIALLY "COAST" ACROSS 5 LANES OF RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC TO GET TO SAFETY ON THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. I IMMEDIATELY CALLED LEXUS, AND ONCE AGAIN THEY ADVISED ME THAT MY CAR NEEDED TO BE TOWED IN. TODAY MY SERVICE ADVISOR CONTACTED ME TO INFORM ME THAT ONCE AGAIN I HAVE CARBON BUILD UP IN MY ENGINE AND THAT IT IS MISFIRING. UNFORTUNATELY NOW, MY CAR IS BEYOND THE 70,000 MILE DRIVE TRAIN WARRANTY. HE IS WORKING WITH CORPORATE TO SEE WHAT MY NEXT STEPS ARE, BUT I REFUSE TO PAY FOR THESE REPAIRS, AND I DO NOT FEEL THAT I SHOULD HAVE TO SINCE IT IS ESSENTIALLY A REPEAT MALFUNCTION OF AN EXISTING ISSUE! IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED THAT MY IS HAS BEEN INTO THE DEALERSHIP 3X FOR ENGINE NOISE/ROUGH START UP SINCE I HAD THE REPAIRS COMPLETED LAST YEAR. EVERY TIME, I WAS TOLD THAT THEY LOGGED THE ISSUE, BUT WERE UNABLE TO REPLICATE IT. *JB

NHTSA ID
10542028
Incident
Sep 3, 2013
Mileage
73,000 mi
Driver assistanceEngine
Filed Nov 28, 2012

AS I WAS ATTEMPTING TO ACCELERATE, THE VSC LIGHT AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, THE CAR LOST POWER, WOULD NOT ACCELERATE, AND THE ENGINE STARTED MISFIRING. *TR

NHTSA ID
10486290
Incident
Nov 4, 2012
Mileage
65,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Dec 27, 2010
1 injury reported

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 LEXUS IS250. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25-30 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED. THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED BUT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. THE CONTACT WAS UNSURE OF WHEN OR HOW THE VEHICLE STOPPED BUT THE SHE ENDED UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. THE CONTACT HAD BLACKED OUT AND HIT HER HEAD. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER BUT HAD NOT BEEN INSPECTED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 42,000.

NHTSA ID
10372469
Incident
Dec 22, 2010
Mileage
42,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Jun 3, 2010
Crash reported

2008 LEXUS IS250. CONSUMER STATES WHEN SHE TURNED INTO A PARKING SPACE, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY JUMPED OVER THE CONCRETE BARRIER AND STOPPED WITHIN INCHES OF HITTING A BRICK WALL.

NHTSA ID
10334840
Incident
Jan 1, 1901
Driver assistance
Filed May 3, 2010

I WAS DRIVING MY 2008 IS250 AT ABOUT 40 MPH ON A TWO LANE ROADWAY WHEN I FELT THE CAR ACCELERATE SUDDENLY. I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE GAS PEDAL BUT IT CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE TO 85 MPH. I IMMEDIATELY HIT THE BRAKE BUT THE VEHICLE DID NOT STOP OR EVEN SLOW DOWN. I HAD PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL AS FAR AS IT WOULD GO BUT THE VEHICLE DID NOT RESPOND. THE THIRD TIME I PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN BUT WOULD NOT STOP. THE SPEED SLOWLY DECREASED TO ABOUT 20 MPH BUT STILL DID NOT STOP. LUCKILY THERE WAS LITTLE TRAFFIC VOLUME BUT I WAS APPROACHING AN INTERSECTION. THE CAR WAS SLOWING DOWN BUT NOT STOPPING. FINALLY IT CAME TO A CRAWL JUST AS THE TRAFFIC LIGHT TURNED GREEN. I LET GO OF THE BRAKE AND THE CAR THRUSTED FORWARD. I PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL YET AGAIN AND THE VEHICLE FINALLY CAME TO A STOP. I CALLED LEXUS DEALERSHIP TO REPORT THE PROBLEM. THEY TOWED THE CAR TO THEIR SERVICE CENTER. NOONE ASKED FOR SPECIFIC DETAILS OF THE INCIDENT. IT DIDN'T SEEM THAT THIS TYPE OF COMPLAINANT WAS ANYTHING NEW TO THEM. *TR

NHTSA ID
10328699
Incident
May 2, 2010
Mileage
22,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Apr 12, 2010
Crash reported

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 LEXUS IS250. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 2 MPH INTO A PARKING SPACE. THE VEHICLE SURGED OVER A SIDEWALK AND CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND THEN TRANSPORTED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER TO BE REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 15,000.

NHTSA ID
10325098
Incident
Apr 11, 2010
Mileage
15,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Mar 5, 2010
Crash reported

I LIKE TO REPORT AN INCIDENT OF A POSSIBLE MANUFACTURE MALFUNCTION ON MY 2008 LEXUS IS250. THE INCIDENT HAPPENED ON 4/29/2010. I WAS FIRST STOPPED FOR RED LIGHT IN THE NEUTRAL GEAR. AS I WAS READY TO MOVE FORWARD ON GREEN LIGHT, I SWITCHED THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION TO "DRIVE," HOWEVER THE CAR JUST ACCELERATED UNCONTROLLABLE FORWARD. I IMMEDIATELY STEPPED THE BRAKE PEDAL REPEATEDLY (~3 TIMES), BUT THE BRAKE DIDN'T WORK UNTIL MY CAR HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. AFTER COLLIDING WITH THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME, MY LEXUS ENGINE SHUT DOWN BY ITSELF. I TOOK MY CAR TO MAGNUSSEN'S LEXUS DEALERSHIP IN FREMONT, CA, BUT THEY COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM. IN LIGHT OF SO MANY PROBLEMS REPORTED BY OTHER DRIVERS AGAINST TOYOTA AND LEXUS, I STARTED TO THINK MY INCIDENT IS NOT AN ISOLATED CASE AND MAY BE SIGNIFICANT FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION. I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE AN OFFICIAL REPORT TO THE INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED TO ME AND ASK YOU TO ADDRESS THE POSSIBLE SAFETY ISSUE. BEST REGARDS *TR

NHTSA ID
10316955
Incident
Apr 29, 2009
Mileage
17,954 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Feb 2, 2010
Crash reported

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 LEXUS IS250. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH INTO HER GARAGE THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INTO THE REFRIGERATOR DOOR AND THE GARAGE WALL AFTER SHE APPLIED THE BRAKES. THE DEALER ADVISED HER TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE COLLISION SHOP TO BE REPAIRED BUT THE DEALER NEVER CHECKED THE VEHICLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED; HOWEVER, THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE BUT DIDN'T INDICATE WHAT COMPONENT IT WAS RELATED TO. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 7,000.

NHTSA ID
10303783
Incident
Nov 5, 2007
Mileage
7,000 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Jan 15, 2010

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 LEXUS IS-250 WHICH WAS PURCHASED IN OCTOBER 2008. HE STATED WHILE TRAVELING AT SPEEDS OF LESS THAN 25 MPH ON A TWO-LANE STREET, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED UNCONTROLLABLY. HE ATTEMPTED TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL; HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE. HE THEN UTILIZED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE YET THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO FORCE THE GEAR SHIFT SELECTOR INTO THE PARK POSITION AND SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF. WHEN THE VEHICLE CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP, HE NOTICED THAT THE DRIVER'S SIDE FLOOR MATS WERE STUCK UNDER THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. THE LOCAL DEALER ADVISED HIM TO REMOVE ONE OF THE FLOOR MATS FROM THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO RECALLS ON HIS SPECIFIC VEHICLE TO DATE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE UNDER 9,900.

NHTSA ID
10299923
Incident
Jan 1, 2010
Mileage
9,900 mi
Driver assistanceOther / unspecified
Filed Nov 5, 2009
Crash reported

I WAS DRIVING MY WIFE'S LEXUS 2008 IS 250 OUT OF A PARKING LOT WHEN APPLYING MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE THE CAR ACCELERATED. I NOW SLAMMED MY FOOT ON THE BRAKES AND THE CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE. THE ONLY THING THAT STOPPED MY CAR WAS THE CAR IN FRONT OF IT WITH VERY LITTLE DAMAGE. IF THE CAR WAS NOT IN FRONT OF ME I WAS ACCELERATING FASTER INTO ON COMING TRAFFIC. MY FLOOR MAT IS NOT ON THE FLOOR AS AFTER THE SAN DIEGO INCIDENT THAT WAS TOYOTA'S REASONING. WE WERE TOLD ROUGHLY A MONTH AND HALF AGO TO TAKE THE MAT OUT, WHICH I DID RIGHT AWAY. THEY CAN DENY IT ALL THEY WANT THIS CAR WAS ACCELERATING AND GETTING FASTER WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKE. THE POLICEMAN AT THE SCENE INSTRUCTED US TO NOT DRIVE THIS VEHICLE AND TO GET A LOANER WHICH WE DID. THE CAR WAS PICKED UP AND SENT TO LEXUS IN FREEHOLD. FIRST WE WERE TOLD NOTHING IS WRONG AND THEY TEST DROVE IT AND SUCH. THEY WERE KEEPING IT FOR 3 DAYS NOW THEY ARE TELLING US THEY ARE KEEPING IT FOR 3 WEEKS. THERE ARE REPORTS ALL OVER THE WEB ON THIS WITH OVER 2000 COMPLAINTS. IT IS OBVIOUS THERE IS A MAJOR DEFECT IN THEIR COMPUTER SYSTEM. THEY REALLY NEED TO STOP COVERING THIS UP AS 16 PEOPLE HAVE DIED. FYI, THIS HAS HAPPENED TO PEOPLE IN LEXUS LOANERS AND LOANERS DO NOT HAVE FLOOR MATS. AGAIN, LUCKILY THE CAR WAS ONLY 15 FEET IN FRONT OF ME WHAT IF IT WAS 100 FT! *TR

NHTSA ID
10291091
Incident
Oct 31, 2009
Mileage
9,800 mi
Driver assistance
Filed Aug 31, 2009
Crash reported

I WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE, ALMOST TO A COMPLETE STOP WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED & I WENT UP OVER A CURB & HIT A TRANSFORMER. THE DISTANCE WAS ONLY ABOUT 8 FEET. I DO NOT KNOW HOW FAST I WAS GOING PROBABLY ABOUT 15 - 30 MPH. I MOVED THE TRANSFORMER ABOUT 3 FEET. (THE TRANSFORMER WEIGHED ABOUT 1/2 - 1 TON)9I I DO NOT KNOW HOW THE CAR ACCELERATED. *TR

NHTSA ID
10282360
Incident
Aug 7, 2009
Mileage
12,000 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

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Data on this page last refreshed .