2008 Lexus IS 250: problems, recalls and reliability
5 recalls and 125 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is air bags (32% of complaints); the 2009 and 2010 model years look more trouble-free.
Data updated weekly · latest recall Oct 2019
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 125 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“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.”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Nov 2019
“Takata recall. My car had the airbag recall but it seems like during the recall they didn't replace the airbag wiring harness, causing the airbag dash light.”Owner report · Air Bags · Mar 2019
“I have bought this car 3 weeks ago and it was 75k mile and originally had 151k miles according to the report off the lexus website.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Mar 2019
Show 7 more owner reports
“Dash airbag light randomly turned on. Car was parked. As soon as car was turned on the light lit up. Light was not on day before. Took to local lexus dealership and had code scanned. Dealership informed me that my car needs a new dash harness and repair would cost +$3,000 plus tax for part and labor which is half of what the car costs. Also told me that when the light is on none of my airbags will deploy in the event of a collision which makes me worried to drive the car, especially this time of year. Looked up the issue online and saw it is a common issue with these cars, but there is no type of recall for the issue which is unusual for something that is common and puts lives at risk.”Owner report · Air Bags · Dec 2018
“The dashboard and side panels are melting and very sticky. Had to buy a cover for dashboard to prevent the shiny part from hitting the windshield.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Apr 2018
“The "vsc" warning light has been coming on and staying on since november 2017. I have read that many lexus is 250 cars are having the same issue. The car seems to be driving fine for now but there has to be a reason for the warning light. If so many other cars have this issue, I'm wondering if it's a manufacture error?? The warning lights comes on as soon as the engine starts and it does not go out.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Nov 2017
“Tl* the contact owns a 2008 lexus is 250. The contact stated that the door panel and dashboard started to melt, crack, and become sticky. The dealer (lexus of tampa bay, 5852 n dale mabry hwy., tampa, fl 33614) stated that the vehicle was included in an unknown recall; however, they stopped doing repairs in november of 2017. The manufacturer was also contacted and did not assist. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 93,800.”Owner report · Structure · Aug 2017
“A latent defect in the dashboard and side door panels melt or degrade upon prolonged exposure resulting in a sticky, reflective goo that reduces visibility. The increased glare has become a safety issue. Lexus has refused my claim and will not repair my vehicle.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · May 2017
“Strong gas smell inside car.driving idiling at a stand stilland while car is then turned off after running also another problem related or not but showing up at the same time was a bad odor not the smell of gas but the smell of rotten eggs is present after the car excellerates the smell is strong and pungent inside vehicle also”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · May 2017
“Tl* the contact owns a 2008 lexus is 250. Within less than two days of owning the vehicle, there was a failure with the radiator cap and catastrophic engine failure. The temperature gauge fluctuated highly. The dealer replaced the radiator cap and provided no solution for the engine failure. The vehicle was excluded from NHTSA campaign numbers: 10v309000 (engine and engine cooling) and 09v020000 (engine and engine cooling). An independent mechanic replaced the engine assembly due to the failure. The manufacturer was aware that they issued two recalls, but they provided no solution to repair the vehicle. The approximate failure mileage was 74,000.”Owner report · Engine · May 2017
When filing, owners marked a crash in 6 of these complaints and injuries in 1 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 5 campaigns
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2010-2016 4Runner, 2003-2006 Tundra, 2003-2013 Corolla, 2009-2010 Corolla Matrix, 2004-2005 RAV4, 2002-2007 Sequoia, 2011-2013 Sienna, 2008-2012 Scion xB, 2008-2009 Lexus IS-F, 2007-2012 Yaris and Lexus ES350, 2010-2017 Lexus GX460, 2002-2010 Lexus SC430, 2006-2012 Lexus IS250 and IS350 and 2010-2015 Lexus IS250C and IS350C vehicles. These vehicles had their driver or passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front driver inflator, front passenger airbag inflator, the airbag assembly, or the front passenger airbag sub-assembly and inflator. The recall began November 20, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-888-270-9371 or Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are J0A, J0B, and J0C. Lexus' numbers for this recall are JLI, JLJ, and JLK.
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 Lexus LS vehicles manufactured May 9, 2006, to July 20, 2010, 2006-2011 Lexus GS vehicles manufactured January 6, 2005, to September 10, 2010, and 2006-2011 Lexus IS vehicles manufactured August 30, 2005, to September 10, 2010. Due to anti-corrosion plating remnants, fuel may leak from where the fuel pressure sensor is attached to the fuel delivery pipe.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will clean and reseal the fuel pressure sensor mounting area, free of charge. The recall began March 3, 2015. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331.
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Scion xB and Lexus IS F, 2009-2011 Toyota Corolla and Corolla Matrix, 2006-2011 Toyota Yaris, Lexus IS250 and Lexus IS350, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, Lexus IS250C, Lexus IS350C and Lexus GX460, 2011 Sienna, 2007-2011 Lexus ES350, and 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 Scion xB and Lexus IS F, 2007-2008 Toyota Yaris, 2006-2008 Lexus IS250 and Lexus IS350 and 2007-2008 Lexus ES350 vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Vehicles of these model years and models that were not originally sold or ever registered in either Zones A or B are not subject to this safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Toyota will notify the Toyota and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the model, dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator or the air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began on December 6, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for interim notification for this campaign are G1P (Toyota Zone A), G1R (Toyota Zone B), G2G (Lexus Zone A), and G2H (Lexus Zone B). Toyota's numbers for final remedy for this campaign are G0P (Toyota Zone A), G0R (Toyota Zone B), GLG (Lexus Zone A), and GLH (Lexus Zone B).
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2012 Toyota 4Runner, Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sienna, Yaris, Scion xB, Lexus ES350, GX460, IS-F, IS250, IS350, IS250C, IS350C, and Lexus LFA vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Toyota is recalling certain 2009 Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Yaris, Yaris HB, Scion xB, Pontiac Vibe, Lexus, ES350, IS250, IS350, and IS-F vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Toyota is recalling certain 2006-2008 Lexus IS250 and IS350, 2007-2008 Lexus ES350, Toyota Yaris, Yaris HB, and 2008 Lexus IS-F and Scion xB vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
Remedy: Toyota will notify the Toyota, Scion and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the model, dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator or the air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began on February 1, 2017. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331, or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. Toyota's numbers for final remedy for this campaign are G0P (Toyota Zone A), G0R (Toyota Zone B), H0A (Toyota Zone C), GLG (Lexus Zone A), GLH (Lexus Zone B) and HLA (Lexus Zone C).
Toyota is recalling certain model year 2006-2012 Lexus IS250 and IS350 vehicles manufactured August 23, 2005, through October 5, 2011; 2010-2012 Lexus IS250C and IS350C vehicles manufactured April 10, 2009, through October 6, 2011; and 2008-2011 Lexus IS-F vehicles manufactured December 14, 2007, through July 10, 2011. The nuts that fasten the wiper arms may be insufficiently torqued such that if the wiper arms are restricted by an external load, such as a buildup of heavy snow, one or both of the wipers may become inoperative.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and Lexus dealers will install new wiper arm nuts, free of charge. An interim letter was mailed to owners on April 4, 2013. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
How other years compare
Counts are not adjusted for time on the road here - see all IS 250 years ranked fairly for the age-adjusted comparison.
Check your exact IS 250 by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2008 Lexus IS 250 reliable?
NHTSA has 125 owner complaints and 5 recall campaigns on record for the 2008 Lexus IS 250. The most complained-about area is air bags (32% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2008 Lexus IS 250 problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 68,092 miles or less.
Does the 2008 Lexus IS 250 have open recalls?
5 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning air bags. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.