AI DamageLexus SC400: problems, complaints, bulletins
Summary for the Lexus SC400 across 12 model years: 63 owner complaints and 0 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.
Model years
What fails most often
- 1 Electrical system 22% of all complaints
- 2 Vehicle speed control 16% of all complaints
- 3 Exterior lighting 14% of all complaints
- 4 Service brakes 13% of all complaints
- 5 Tires 10% of all complaints
- 6 Engine and cooling 8% of all complaints
- 7 Air bags 6% of all complaints
- 8 Powertrain 6% of all complaints
- Electrical system: 14 complaints (22% of all).
- Vehicle speed control: 10 complaints (16% of all), 4 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Exterior lighting: 9 complaints (14% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Service brakes: 8 complaints (13% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Tires: 6 complaints (10% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 63 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 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Tires | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Air bags | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Equipment | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Steering | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Visibility | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Latches, locks, linkages | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
Tl* the contact owned a 1993 lexus sc400. While driving at a low rate of speed, the contact depressed the brake pedal and crashed into a wall. The air bags deployed, which severely burned the contact's chin, lips, and neck. The air bag also burned parts of the contact's chest and torso area.
Tl contact owns a 1998 lexus sc400. The contact started the vehicle, shifted it into reverse and crashed. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop where they have not diagnosed the failure. The vehicle was not repaired.
The transmission failed to drop down to neutral and/or the idle could not drop down to less than 1000 rpm. I realize it is an older vehicle and computer chips could fail due to age but I wonder if this could be a design flaw of the fail safe accelerator assembly.
Tl* - the contact stated that the 1992 lexus sc400, accelerated rapidly to about 50 mph while in the driveway. She stated that while backing into a driveway at about 2 mph the vehicle accelerated. This was early morning of 01/31/06, the weather and driveway conditions were dry.
The air bags did not deploy. The consumer and passenger was not injured. Please fill in additional information. .
Lower control arm ball joint separated while vehicle was moving at approx 30mph, rusulting in loss of vehicle control. Major damage to fender weld, wheel and tire. No person were injured due to low speed and no traffic.
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.
- Exterior lighting. Headlamps, leveling, sensors and mounts after a frontal hit.
- 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.