2008 Lexus Is 250 Problems and Recalls (123 Complaints)

The most-reported problem on the 2008 Lexus Is 250 is Airbags (27% of 123 owner reports). There are 5 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Airbags — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 123 complaints · 5 recalls

What problems show up on the 2008 Lexus Is 250?

33 of 123 filings named Airbags (27% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.

Second is Body / frame (25 reports).

There are 5 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Fuel system and Airbags. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.

The 2007 has 209 reports on file; this year has 123. A smaller lifetime total is not a clean bill of health. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.

What to check before you buy a 2008 Lexus Is 250

A useful visit to this page takes five minutes. YearTell does not score years and cannot see the vehicle in front of you.

  1. Look up the VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov. This year has 5 campaigns on file below.
  2. Airbags. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed.
  3. Body / frame. Look for rust, collision repair and body gaps that do not match a clean truck.
  4. Engine. Have a shop check for oil consumption, coolant leaks, rough idle and unusual engine noise.
  5. Skim a few owner reports below for Airbags. Look for the same symptom repeating.
  6. Take that list to a mechanic. Do not turn the complaint total into a score.

What owners reported

System named most often: Airbags 33 complaints · 26.8% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
  • Crashes 6
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 1
  • Deaths 0
All Lexus Is 250 years →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Which systems owners named

Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.

Which systems owners named Airbags (AIR BAGS) appears in 33 of 123 owner complaints (26.8%) in this vehicle snapshot. Airbags (AIR BAGS): 33 complaints, 26.8% of reports Airbags (AIR BAGS) 33 · 26.8% Body / frame (STRUCTURE): 25 complaints, 20.3% of reports Body / frame (STRUCTURE) 1 fire reports 25 · 20.3% Engine (ENGINE): 10 complaints, 8.1% of reports Engine (ENGINE) 10 · 8.1% Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL): 10 complaints, 8.1% of reports Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) 6 crash reports 10 · 8.1% Glass / wipers / cameras (VISIBILITY): 8 complaints, 6.5% of reports Glass / wipers / cameras (VISIBILITY) 8 · 6.5% Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM): 6 complaints, 4.9% of reports Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 6 · 4.9% Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM): 4 complaints, 3.3% of reports Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 4 · 3.3% Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES): 3 complaints, 2.4% of reports Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 3 · 2.4% Steering (STEERING): 3 complaints, 2.4% of reports Steering (STEERING) 3 · 2.4% Unclassified NHTSA leftover: 31 complaints, 25.2% of reports Unclassified NHTSA leftover 1 crash reports 1 fire reports 31 · 25.2% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
Airbags (AIR BAGS) 33 26.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Body / frame (STRUCTURE) 25 20.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
Engine (ENGINE) 10 8.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL) 10 8.1% 6 crashes · 0 fires
Glass / wipers / cameras (VISIBILITY) 8 6.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 6 4.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 4 3.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 3 2.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Steering (STEERING) 3 2.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Unclassified NHTSA leftover 31 25.2% 1 crashes · 1 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

When reports and recalls showed up

When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.

When reports and recalls showed up Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jul 2009; the first recall shown was reported in Jan 2013. 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2010-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2010-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2014-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2015-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2016-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2016-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2017-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2017-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2018-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2018-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 2009 Sep 2021 Recall campaign 13V030000 ◆ Recall campaign 13V030000 Recall campaign 14V647000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V647000 Recall campaign 16V340000 ◆ Recall campaign 16V340000 Recall campaign 17V006000 ◆ Recall campaign 17V006000 Recall campaign 19V741000 ◆ Recall campaign 19V741000 Investigation EA21002 ● Investigation EA21002
  • Campaign 16V340000 was reported 678 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 17V006000 was reported 909 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 19V741000 was reported 1,920 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 8
2010-Q2 Owner reports 3
2010-Q3 Owner reports 2
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q3 Owner reports 3
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 2
2014-Q2 Owner reports 3
2014-Q3 Owner reports 13
2014-Q4 Owner reports 2
2015-Q1 Owner reports 7
2015-Q2 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 2
2015-Q4 Owner reports 4
2016-Q1 Owner reports 6
2016-Q2 Owner reports 2
2016-Q3 Owner reports 6
2016-Q4 Owner reports 10
2017-Q1 Owner reports 14
2017-Q2 Owner reports 4
2017-Q3 Owner reports 2
2017-Q4 Owner reports 2
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 3
2018-Q3 Owner reports 5
2018-Q4 Owner reports 3
2019-Q1 Owner reports 4
2019-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 13V030000
Recall campaign 1 14V647000
Recall campaign 1 16V340000
Recall campaign 1 17V006000
Recall campaign 1 19V741000
Defect investigation 1 EA21002
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-09-06 Open source record

Safety Recalls (5)

Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.

In short, these campaigns were filed about Fuel system and Airbags.

  1. Recall campaign 13V030000

    Safety recall 13V030000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    Inoperative wipers could reduce driver visibility and increase the risk of a vehicle crash.
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Recall campaign 14V647000

    Fuel system

    Report date
    Component:
    Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM)
    Consequence:
    A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Recall campaign 16V340000

    Airbags

    Report date
    Component:
    Airbags (AIR BAGS)
    Consequence:
    An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
    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).
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Recall campaign 17V006000

    Airbags

    Report date
    Component:
    Airbags (AIR BAGS)
    Consequence:
    An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
    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).
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  5. Recall campaign 19V741000

    Airbags

    Report date
    Component:
    Airbags (AIR BAGS)
    Consequence:
    An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

What owners actually wrote

Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-09-07
Safety incident filters
Showing 10 of 123 complaints · page 1 of 5
2020-11-23Cruise / speed control (VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL)
NHTSA ODI 11375912
CrashFireInjuryDeath
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.
2019-06-10Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 11218921
CrashFireInjuryDeath
ENGINE CONSUMES ABOUT A QUART OF OIL EVERY THOUSAND MILES. TAIL PIPES FULL OF CARBON. SOMETIMES RUNS ROUGH
2019-04-16Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11196727
CrashFireInjuryDeath
DOOR PANELS ARE MELTING. LEXUS CORPORATE WILL NOT FIX THE ISSUE OF ALL DOOR PANELS MELTING INSIDE THE CAR. LEXUS DID HOWEVER FIX THE DASHBOARD BUT DOES NOT WANT TO FIX THE DOOR PANELS. DOOR PANELS FEEL LIKE PLAY DOUGH STICKY AND ITS SHAPE IS BEING DESTROYED GRADUALLY AS BEING USED DAILY.
2019-03-21Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM)
NHTSA ODI 11190629
CrashFireInjuryDeath
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.
2019-03-17Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11187370
CrashFireInjuryDeath
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.
2019-02-27Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11182688
CrashFireInjuryDeath
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
2019-01-25Airbags (AIR BAGS)
NHTSA ODI 11172116
CrashFireInjuryDeath
AS INSPECTED BY LEXUS DEALERSHIP IN WOODLAND HILLS CA, MY CAR HAS AIRBAG LIGHT ON/OFF INTERMITTENTLY. ERROR CODE B1861 WAS FOUND THAT IS TIED TO KNEE AIRBAG ON THE DRIVER SIDE. THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE SQUIB CIRCUIT IN THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER I BELIEVE. CAR HAS AROUND 99K MILES BUT THIS SAFETY CONCERN IS SERIOUS. THIS AIRBAG IS SOMETHING THAT NEVER GETS USED UNLESS YOU'RE IN AN ACCIDENT. I'VE NEVER BEEN IN ONE. IT IS JUST BAD WORKMANSHIP ON LEXUS TO INSTALL SUCH A WIRING HARNESS AND SQUIB CIRCUIT THAT'LL GO BAD BEFORE 100,000 MILES. AS A CUSTOMER THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS VISIBLE TO ME NOR SOMETHING I WOULD ATTEMPT TO TOUCH. IT IS HIDDEN BEHIND THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER AND DASHBOARD. DEALERSHIP QUOTED $3000+ TO FIX SOMETHING THAT WASN'T CAUSED DUE TO CUSTOMER NEGLIGENCE. IT IS JUST BAD WORKMANSHIP FROM LEXUS. THERE IS A GREAT RISK INVOLVED WITH DRIVING LEXUS IS250'S CONSIDERING THIS LIGHT COULD TURN ON ANYTIME AND IF ONE GETS INTO AN ACCIDENT, THEN AIRBAG WOULD NOT DEPLOY RESULTING IN A POSSIBLE CASUALTY OR SERIOUS INJURIES. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ON ALL LEXUS AFFECTED BY THIS. CUSTOMER SHOULDN'T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE WORKMANSHIP PROBLEMS.
2018-12-29Airbags (AIR BAGS)
NHTSA ODI 11163957
CrashFireInjuryDeath
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.
2018-11-19Body / frame (STRUCTURE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11152516
CrashFireInjuryDeath
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.
2018-10-09Airbags (AIR BAGS)
NHTSA ODI 11138731
CrashFireInjuryDeath
2008 LEXUS IS 250. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO AIRBAG RECALL AND AIRBAG LIGHT REMAINING ON. *AS *JS

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems on the 2008 Lexus Is 250?

Owners named Airbags most often — 33 of 123 reports (27%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.

Are there recalls for the 2008 Lexus Is 250?

NHTSA lists 5 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Fuel system and Airbags. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.

What should I inspect before buying a 2008 Lexus Is 250?

Look up the VIN for open recalls. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.

Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?

No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources