2012 Lexus IS: problems, recalls and reliability
5 recalls and 37 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is air bags (50% of complaints); the 2013 model year looks more trouble-free.
Data updated weekly · 3 new complaints in the last 90 days · 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 37 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The dashboard is sticky/melting causing it to be extremely shiny. It is available for inspection upon request. Due to the shininess of the dashboard, it causes a glare on the windshield during the daytime. This glare causes difficulty with being able to safely see through the windshield.”Owner report · Structure · Sep 2023
“The contact owns a 2012 Lexus IS250. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the brake inadvertently activated without the brake pedal being depressed. The vehicle also experienced unintended acceleration without the accelerator pedal being depressed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The contact indicated that the failure occurred after the cell phone was hacked and was concern the vehicle security was also compromised and hacked. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 137,000.”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Jul 2022
“I own a Lexus 2012 IS250 and currently active duty member stationed at Aviano Air Base, Italy. I was not notified that my vehicle is overdue on a safety recall until today when I am trying to ship the vehicle back to the US. What further actions can I do to get the recall done? Can I get the vehicle waivered to get the recall accomplished when it reaches the US?”Owner report · Air Bags · Feb 2022
Show 7 more owner reports
“Vehicle in motion going 80mph on highway when suddenly jolted and vehicle did not respond to accelerator and check engine/battery lights all came on and slowed to a stop. Restarting engine did not work as it sputtered and went back to idle immediately. Fuel tank was 1/4 full, not due for oil change for another 4000 miles, tire pressure was fixed a day prior to incident, and no other problems with the vehicle. Car towed to toyota dealership where they tested and said fuel pump malfunction. Toyota and lexus already have 2 million cars with fuel pump recall, however my specific model is not included yet.”Owner report · Fuel/Propulsion System · Nov 2020
“Lexus is250 has a melting dashboard and it's really hard to drive when the sun is out ... It glares out your vision when driving ...I was researching and saw some people got a recall for the melting dashboard since it's really unsafe to drive it with the dashboard starting to melt .. In the picture I added you can see how my dashboard is shiny because its melting and sticky too”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Mar 2020
“I was rear ended by a car at a high rate of speed and pushed into the car in front of me. None of my air bags deployed.”Owner report · Air Bags · Oct 2019
“Takatabrantakata recall my vehicle was rear ended at 34 to 50 miles an hour. The vehicle behind me impacted me so hard that it pushed me into the vehicle in front of me and in turn she hit the vehicle in front of her. There was damaged to the front and side panels of my car as well. The air bags failed to deploy. I sustained and suffered injuries. This occurred on a busy city street while at a traffic light.”Owner report · Air Bags · Jul 2019
“Door locks not working properly. Both front door actuators need to be replaced which we were told is a very common problem with this model. This has been unsafe for our teenage driver having to crawl through back doors to unlock her vehicle especially at night.”Owner report · Electrical System · May 2019
“The top convertible motor got broken about two years after I bought it so I went back to the dealership and luckily it was under warranty so they replace it but now the one they put on that time now it's broken again and they want to charge me to get fixed.”Owner report · Electrical System · Mar 2019
“My 2012 lexus is250 has sticky dashboard and door panels. The dash is wet with a sticky like substance which also causes a glare and stains anything that touches the surface. The door panels are peeling horribly and extremely soft to touch. Bumping your finger on the door panel leaves fragments of the door panel under your nails. Also any part of the dash as well. This dramatically drops the appearance of the interior and is a must fix. I don't understand why they only did the recall on 06-08. It was like such when I bought the care in 2018 with 59k mileage.”Owner report · Structure · Nov 2018
When filing, owners marked a crash in 7 of these complaints and injuries in 3 - 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 2007-2011 Lexus GS350 and GS450h, 2006-2013 Lexus IS350 and 2010-2014 Lexus IS350C vehicles, equipped with 3.5L V6 2GR-FSE gasoline engines. The diaphragms in the fuel pulsation dampers may harden over time and develop cracks, possibly causing a fuel leak.
Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel delivery pipe with a new pipe that has improved pulsation dampers, free of charge. The recall began August 23, 2018. Owners may contact Lexus customer service at 1-800-255-3987. Toyota's number for this recall is JLF.
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Toyota 4Runner, 2014-2015 Scion xB, Lexus IS350C, IS250C, 2014 Toyota Sienna, Lexus IS-F, and 2014-2017 Lexus GX460 vehicles sold, or ever registered in the states of 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." Toyota is also recalling certain 2011-2013 Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Lexus IS250, IS350, 2011-2016 4Runner, 2011-2015 Scion xB, Lexus IS350C, IS250C, 2011-2014 Toyota Sienna, Lexus IS-F, 2011-2017 Lexus GX460, and 2011-2012 Lexus ES350 vehicles ever registered in the states of 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." Toyota is also recalling certain 2010-2013 Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Lexus IS350, 2010-2016 4Runner, 2010-2013 Lexus IS250, 2010-2015 Scion xB, Lexus IS350C, IS250C, 2010-2017 Lexus GX460, 2010-2014 Lexus IS-F, and 2010-2012 Lexus ES350 vehicles ever registered in the states of 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 or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment (such as after a vehicle crash necessitating replacement of the original air bags), that 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 passenger air bag inflator, or replace the air bag assembly. The recall began February 15, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331. Toyota's numbers for this recall are "Zone A" Toyota: G0P, Lexus: GLG; "Zone B" Toyota: G0R, Lexus GLH; "Zone C" Toyota: H0A, and Lexus: HLA.
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.
Specifications
Factory options offered for the 2012 model year, decoded from the NHTSA vPIC database. Individual vehicles have one of each.
How other years compare
Check your exact IS 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 2012 Lexus IS reliable?
NHTSA has 37 owner complaints and 5 recall campaigns on record for the 2012 Lexus IS. The most complained-about area is air bags (50% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2012 Lexus IS problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 40,000 miles or less.
Does the 2012 Lexus IS have open recalls?
5 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module. 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.