Home · 2011 Lexus IS 250 · Complaints

What 49 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Lexus IS 250

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (49)Crash / fire / injury (5)Airbags (33)Brakes (3)Engine (3)Speed control (3)Steering (3)Body & structure (2)Transmission & drivetrain (2)Visibility & wipers (2)Electrical system (1)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (1)

1 of 49 complaints match · Electrical system · clear filters

Jan 14, 2018Electrical systemCrash

I WAS DRIVING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC (STOP AND GO); I WAS FULLY STOPPED WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE - I EASED OFF THE BRAKE TO SLOWLY ROLL FORWARD - ABSOLUTELY DID NOT PLACE MY FOOT ON OR ANYWHERE NEAR THE GAS PEDAL - AS I EASED OFF BRAKE, I FELT A STRONG "SURGE" FROM THE FRONT OF THE CAR- THE CAR ACCELERATED AND I SLAMMED IN TO A TRUCK THAT WAS DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME- I LOOKED AT THE DASHBOARD AS THIS WAS HAPPENING AND THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT AND THE "TRACTION" LIGHT WERE BOTH ON - I TRIED TO BRAKE BUT THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS HARD - I WAS STOPPED DUE TO THE IMPACT OF HITTING THE TRUCK-- I AM ATTACHING THE EDR REPORT AS RETRIEVED BY A COMPANY LEXUS CONTRACTS WITH

NHTSA ODI 11062688

Working with the data? Download all 49 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 26, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Lexus IS 250 verdict →