2009 Lexus IS 350: complaints, problems and recalls

THE FRONT BRAKES DEVELOPED AN EXTREMELY LOUD METAL ON METAL SOUND WITH DECREASED BRAKING PERFORMANCE. I BROUGHT MY VEHICLE TO LEXUS WHO CONFIRMED THAT THERE IS A KNOWN PROBLEM AND THAT THEY HAVE A TSB ON THE PROBLEM. THE SOLUTION REQUIRES REPLACING THE ROTORS, BRAKE PADS AN FINS. THE NEW PARTS HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY REDESIGNED TO FIX THE DESIGN FLAWS. UNFORTUNATELY, LEXUS WANTS TO CHARGE $600 TO REPAIR THE KNOWN SAFETY PROBLEM, DESPITE THE VEHICLE HAVING ONLY 20,000 MILES. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 20,200 miles reported. Look up ODI 10543413 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 LEXUS IS 350. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, THE OIL ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED CONTINUOUSLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THE FAILURE WAS UNDETERMINED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN ON A SECOND OCCASION TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE CARBON BUILD UP WAS CAUSING EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION AND THE DIRECT FUEL EJECTION TECHNOLOGY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS UNKNOWN.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10785628 at NHTSA ↗

DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, ENGINE EXPELLED SMOKE AD STALLED TO STOP, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, STARTED IT UP WENT UP TO THE LIGHT STOPPED, PULLED THROUGH AND TURNED BACK AROUND, CAME BACK THREW LIGHT HEADING TOWARD MECHANICS, STALLED OUT AGAIN WITH A COUPLE OF PUFFS OF SMOKE BEHIND IT, CALLED MECHANIC, HE ASKED TO DRIVE IT IN, WOULDN,T START, SO HAD TOW TRUCK TOW A FEW MILES TO MECHANIC. AFTER MECHANIC CHECKED IT, I WAS TOLD ENGINE BLEW AD BOTH LEXUS PHONE NUMBERS TOLD ME IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AT 94,,000 MILES

Owner-reported narrative. 94,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 11187164 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2013-01-30 (January 30, 2013)

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.

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.

Reported: 2013-09-04 (September 4, 2013)

Toyota is recalling certain model year 2007-2011 Lexus GS350 vehicles manufactured June 19, 2006, through July 12, 2011; and model year 2006-2011 Lexus IS350 vehicles manufactured May 27, 2005, through July 13, 2011; and model year 2010-2011 Lexus IS350c vehicles manufactured November 25, 2009, through July 19, 2011. These vehicles, equipped with the 2GR-FSE engine, use bolts to secure the housing and sprocket of the Variable-Valve Timing (VVT) system gear assembly. These bolts could become loose due to abnormal impacts generated within the gear assembly immediately after a cold start-up.

Consequence: The loose bolts could cause the VVT gear housing and sprocket to separate and result in the engine stopping while the vehicle is being driven, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Toyota will notify owners, and Lexus dealers will replace the VVT unit free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota at 1-800-331-4331.

Reported: 2014-10-15 (October 15, 2014)

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.

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.

Reported: 2016-05-23 (May 23, 2016)

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.

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).

Reported: 2017-01-09 (January 9, 2017)

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.

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).

Reported: 2018-01-09 (January 9, 2018)

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2013 Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sienna, 4Runner, Lexus IS250, IS350, IS250C, IS350C, IS-F, and GX460 vehicles sold, ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP (Saipan), and the U.S. VI or "Zone A." Toyota is also recalling certain 2010 Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Yaris, 4Runner, Lexus IS250, IS350, IS250C, IS350C, ES350, IS-F, GX460, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles sold, ever registered, in the states of AZ, AR, DE, DC, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, VA, and WV or "Zone B." Toyota is also recalling certain 2009 Scion xB, Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Yaris, Lexus IS250, IS350, ES350, IS-F, and Pontiac Vibe vehicles ever registered in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." 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 explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.

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 the Toyota, Scion and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator, or replace the air bag assembly. The recall began on January 29, 2018. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331, or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. 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.

Reported: 2018-06-26 (June 26, 2018)

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.

Consequence: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.

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.

Reported: 2019-10-17 (October 17, 2019)

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.

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.