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What 36 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 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 (36)Crash / fire / injury (7)Airbags (21)Body & structure (5)Brakes (5)Electrical system (5)Speed control (5)Engine (3)Fuel system (2)Visibility & wipers (2)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (1)Lights (1)

2 of 36 complaints match · Brakes · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Aug 27, 2018Electrical systemBrakesEngineCrash

UNINTENDED ACCELERATION WHILE INCHING INTO PARKING SPACE AT VERY SLOW RATE OF SPEED. ENGINE RACED UNEXPECTEDLY AND CAR JUMPED CURB WITH ALL 4 TIRES, ACROSS A SMALL MEDIAN, AND DOWN ANOTHER CURB WITH 3 TIRES, STRIKING A PARKED CAR, WHICH STOPPED FORWARD MOTION.

NHTSA ODI 11122773

Jul 14, 2015AirbagsSpeed controlBrakesCrash

MY LEXUS 2012 IS 250 ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN, BRAKES DID NOT ENGAGE AFTER DEPRESSING THEM X2, AND THEN I CRASHED INTO A TRUCK. AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. REPORTED TO LEXUS WHO ASSUMED NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR INCIDENT. THIRD PARTY INSPECTED CAR AND DOWNLOADED BLACK BOX. REPORT FROM LEXUS STATED THAT CAR WAS DRIVE ABLE AND NO ISSUES WERE FOUND. CAR INCURRED $18,000 IN DAMAGES AND WAS NOT DRIVABLE AT THE TIME OF INSPECTION. WITNESSES AT COLLISION SHOP WILL VALIDATE SUCH. WHEN SPEAKING TO REPRESENTATIVES AT LEXUS TO REPORT INCIDENT I WAS TOLD BY 2 REPS ON 2 OCCASIONS THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO OTHER VEHICLES THAT WERE THE SAME MAKE AND MODEL. DISTURBING

NHTSA ODI 10734027

Working with the data? Download all 36 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 2012 Lexus IS 250 verdict →