AI DamageLexus LS400: problems, complaints, bulletins
Summary for the Lexus LS400 across 12 model years: 338 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.
Model years
What fails most often
- 1 Electrical system 38% of all complaints
- 2 Vehicle speed control 14% of all complaints
- 3 Seat belts 7% of all complaints
- 4 Service brakes 7% of all complaints
- 5 Air bags 6% of all complaints
- 6 Tires 6% of all complaints
- 7 Powertrain 5% of all complaints
- 8 Structure 4% of all complaints
- Electrical system: 128 complaints (38% of all).
- Vehicle speed control: 47 complaints (14% of all), 22 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Seat belts: 25 complaints (7% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Service brakes: 22 complaints (7% of all), 8 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Air bags: 19 complaints (6% of all), 14 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 338 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical system | 128 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 47 | 22 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 25 | 1 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 22 | 8 | 0 |
| Air bags | 19 | 14 | 0 |
| Tires | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 18 | 3 | 0 |
| Structure | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| Visibility | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 8 | 1 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
There was a lot of white grey dust coming out of the explosion that we thought the car was on fire. The vehicle was traveling straight on a city street at 30 mph when another car pulled out in front of it. We slammed on the brakes but unfortunately hit the car that had pulled out from a stop sign right in front of us.
In addition, there was an abnormal noise heard near the engine compartment and front end of the vehicle as the vehicle surged at an extremely high rate of speed. The failure was reported to the insurance company and the manufacturer. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a collision center.
Per lexus technical service bulletin eg002-97, which doesn't appear on the nhtsa website but which can be found online by clicking on the link from post #77 at this web page: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/15699-9596-ls400-low-idle-engine-dies-and-jerking-thre/page-6 my '96 ls400 has the same…
Tl* the contact owns a 2000 lexus ls400. The contact stated that while slowly pulling into a parking lot, the vehicle suddenly accelerated abnormally. The vehicle crashed into a wall and the air bags deployed. The vehicle was destroyed. The dealer was notified and advised that they would investigate the failure.
The driver frontal air bag didn't deploy. The vehicle was towed to a towing yard. The manufacturer will be contacted. The failure and current mileages were 168,000.
While driving my 1997 lexus ls400 in ca on the 605 fwy, west toward 210 fwy, all systems on the car locked (steering wheel, brakes, gas pedal) as I was changing lanes. I had no control of the car and after spinning several times ran into the center divider.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
What to check before buying
- Electrical system. Scan all modules, test the battery and alternator, inspect connectors near the impact zone.
- Vehicle speed control. Accelerator pedal, cruise control, throttle codes.
- Seat belts. Belt pretensioners after airbag deployment, SRS codes.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
Other models of this make
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.