2008 Lexus IS 250 problems and owner complaints

I WAS PULLING INTO A PARKING SPACE WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE, ALMOST TO A COMPLETE STOP WHEN THE CAR SUDDENLY ACCELERATED & I WENT UP OVER A CURB & HIT A TRANSFORMER. THE DISTANCE WAS ONLY ABOUT 8 FEET. I DO NOT KNOW HOW FAST I WAS GOING PROBABLY ABOUT 15 - 30 MPH. I MOVED THE TRANSFORMER ABOUT 3 FEET. (THE TRANSFORMER WEIGHED ABOUT 1/2 - 1 TON)9I I DO NOT KNOW HOW THE CAR ACCELERATED. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 12,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10282360 at NHTSA ↗

I WAS DRIVING MY WIFE'S LEXUS 2008 IS 250 OUT OF A PARKING LOT WHEN APPLYING MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE THE CAR ACCELERATED. I NOW SLAMMED MY FOOT ON THE BRAKES AND THE CAR CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE. THE ONLY THING THAT STOPPED MY CAR WAS THE CAR IN FRONT OF IT WITH VERY LITTLE DAMAGE. IF THE CAR WAS NOT IN FRONT OF ME I WAS ACCELERATING FASTER INTO ON COMING TRAFFIC. MY FLOOR MAT IS NOT ON THE FLOOR AS AFTER THE SAN DIEGO INCIDENT THAT WAS TOYOTA'S REASONING. WE WERE TOLD ROUGHLY A MONTH AND HALF AGO TO TAKE THE MAT OUT, WHICH I DID RIGHT AWAY. THEY C…

Owner-reported narrative. 9,800 miles reported. Look up ODI 10291091 at NHTSA ↗

AIR BAG SRS LIGHT CAME ON. ON TAKING TO DEALERSHIP, THEY SAID THIS: "DTC B1861 - DRIVER'S SIDE KNEE SIDE SQUIB. RECOMMEND REPLACE INSTRUMENT PANEL WIRE HARNESS.". THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH 2006-2008 IS 250/350 MODELS WHERE WIRING ON THE HARNESS CAN GO SHORT AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE FROM LEXUS CORPORATE WITH THE FOLLOWING SERVICE BULLETIN: L-SB-0167-08. THE SERVICE BULLETIN IDENTIFIES THE FACTORY INSTALLED HARNESS AS THE ISSUE AND RECOMMENDS REPLACING IT. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND CONSUMERS SHOULD NOT HAVE NO…

Owner-reported narrative. 60,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10670713 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 LEXUS IS 250. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE WIRING HARNESS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 66,000.

Owner-reported narrative. 66,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10672251 at NHTSA ↗

I LIKE TO REPORT AN INCIDENT OF A POSSIBLE MANUFACTURE MALFUNCTION ON MY 2008 LEXUS IS250. THE INCIDENT HAPPENED ON 4/29/2010. I WAS FIRST STOPPED FOR RED LIGHT IN THE NEUTRAL GEAR. AS I WAS READY TO MOVE FORWARD ON GREEN LIGHT, I SWITCHED THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION TO "DRIVE," HOWEVER THE CAR JUST ACCELERATED UNCONTROLLABLE FORWARD. I IMMEDIATELY STEPPED THE BRAKE PEDAL REPEATEDLY (~3 TIMES), BUT THE BRAKE DIDN'T WORK UNTIL MY CAR HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. AFTER COLLIDING WITH THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME, MY LEXUS ENGINE SHUT DOWN BY ITSELF. I TO…

Owner-reported narrative. 17,954 miles reported. Look up ODI 10316955 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 LEXUS IS 250. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ENGINE WOULD NOT IDLE AND ALL THE WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE MADE ABNORMAL NOISES WHEN SHIFTED INTO GEAR. PRIOR TO THIS FAILURE, THE VEHICLE WAS REMEDIED PER NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 14V647000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE) AND 13V030000(VISIBILITY/WIPER). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC OR DEALER TO BE DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 115,000.

Owner-reported narrative. 115,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10884204 at NHTSA ↗

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 LEXUS IS250. HE STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH AND CHANGING LANES TO MAKE A RIGHT TURN, THE STEERING WHEEL PULLED TO THE LEFT WHICH MADE IT DIFFICULT TO CONTROL IT AND DRIVE IN ANY OTHER DIRECTION. HE THEN TURNED THE STEERING TO THE RIGHT AND ONCE AGAIN IT FAILED TO RESPOND. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. NO REPAIRS WERE MADE TO THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 25. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 35000. UPDATED 05/06…

Owner-reported narrative. 25 miles reported. Look up ODI 10313675 at NHTSA ↗

8/31/10 LEXUS 2008 IS 250 WITH 14K MILES, TRYING TO STOP, BRAKES (ABS) PULSED VERY HARD THUMP-THUMP-THUMP, DRY PAVEMENT 30MPH STRAIGHT ROAD. NEXT INTERSECTION APPLIED BRAKES AT 20MPH STEERING PULLED RIGHT THEN LEFT AS BRAKES WERE APPLIED. VERY SCARY-CALLED DEALER - GOT #ROADSIDE TOW TRUCK - IN TO SERVICE DEPT. DEALER RAN COMPUTER DIAGNOSTICS & TEST DROVE, NO PROBLEMS, DID A NYS SAFETY INSPECTION SINCE IT WOULD EXPIRE SOON. NO PROBLEMS DETECTED , SENT VEHICLE HOME. DRIVING HOME 10 MILES FROM DEALER - SAME PULLING RIGHT/LEFT WHEN BRAKES…

Owner-reported narrative. 14,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10353451 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 LEXUS IS 250. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT EXPERIENCING ANY FAILURE BEFORE BEING TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR A MANUFACTURER RECALL REGARDING THE ENGINE MISFIRING. THE DEALER HAD THE VEHICLE FOR LONGER THAN A WEEK. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN BY THE CONTACT AFTER THE REPAIRS, IT OVERHEATED AND STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED BACK TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE RECALL REMEDY DID NOT REPAIR THE CONDITION. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER WAS UNKNOWN. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE M…

Owner-reported narrative. 95,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10845708 at NHTSA ↗

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-reported narrative. 90,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 11182688 at NHTSA ↗