2025 Lexus LS

My 2025 Lexus LS500, with only 500 miles, has two serious defects in the front passenger seat, creating a safety hazard. The massage function is non-functional, grayed out in the infotainment system, and the seat belt fails to tighten or retract, leaving significant slack when buckled. Issues appeared during normal city driving (dry conditions, <10 mph, no accidents or modifications). The seat belt, when pulled and buckled, remains loose with several inches of slack, failing to secure an occupant. This was tested 5+ times, stationary and moving. The massage feature (part of the 28-way adjustable seat package) is grayed out, indicating a system fault, likely in the seat’s control module or air bladders. No warning lights (e.g., SRS) are on, and no diagnostic codes are retrieved yet. The loose belt poses a severe risk in a collision, as it cannot restrain the occupant, increasing chances of ejection or injury (e.g., head/neck trauma). A dealer visit is planned under warranty, but this manufacturing defect in a new vehicle is alarming. Vehicle was bought new from Lexus of Glendale, Glendale, CA. Photos of the grayed-out controls and slack belt are available. This may affect other 2025 LS500s and warrants investigation to prevent injuries or fatalities.

NHTSA ID

11688763

Incident

Sep 21, 2025

Some 2005 – 2026 Lexus vehicles that have undergone water intrusion may exhibit a condition in which a musty odor is present. Follow the procedures in this bulletin to remediate the odor and address this condition. The purpose of this Service Bulletin is to provide general guidelines and procedures for odor remediation. This Service Bulletin provides a guide on how to prepare and treat the interior of the vehicle for odor remediation. Refer to the applicable model and model year Repair Manuals and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) website for the most up-to-date safety and precautionary guidelines. This Service Bulletin is to provide a general overview and direction for the odor remediation process.

Some customers may experience operational difficulties with some telematics features which they cannot resolve on their own. These resources, in conjunction with the Repair Manual, are for dealership personnel to assist those customers with user issues, user errors, and compatibility issues with other vehicle systems and external applications encountered while operating telematics features.

The air conditioning dye injection tool kit has been developed to aid in identifying the location of air conditioning refrigerant leaks. The procedures outlined in this Service Bulletin aid in locating, inspecting, and repairing refrigerant leaks.

To assist with the early detection and early resolution of audio related concerns you may be asked to recover MMR data from the head unit. The following steps are instructions on how to retrieve the data from the system and are only to be used when requested by FTS and/or FPE.

To assist with the early detection and early resolution of audio related concerns you may be asked to recover MMR data from the head unit. The following steps are instructions on how to retrieve the data from the system and are only to be used when requested by FTS and/or FPE.

Flash reprogramming allows the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) software to be updated without replacing the ECU. Flash calibration updates for specific vehicle models/ECUs are released as field-fix procedures described in individual Service Bulletins. This bulletin details the Global Techstream+ (GTS+) ECU flash reprogramming procedures and outlines use of the Technical Information System (TIS) and the Calibration Update Wizard+ (CUW+). To ensure the correct ECU software is installed, ECUs will require a Security Signature before the ECU will initialize the flash reprogramming sequence. This bulletin also details the process for acquiring a Security Signature from TIS during the GTS+ ECU flash reprogramming process.