Vehicle Data Hub

2012 Lexus IS 250 problems

NHTSA has received 27 complaints about the 2012 Lexus IS 250, and 37% of them involve air bags. After that come electrical system (15%) and brakes (11%).

At a glance

Complaints
27 filed with NHTSA
Most reported
Air bags 37% of complaints
Crashes and fires
10 and 0
Injuries and deaths
4 and 0
Typical mileage
23,000 miles 19 complaints with mileage

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

Where the complaints are

Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.

  • Air bags 37%
  • Electrical system 15%
  • Brakes 11%
  • Cruise control 11%
  • Body & structure 11%
  • Engine 7%
  • Drivetrain & axles 4%
  • Seat belts 4%

When problems show up

Complaints by mileage, 2012 Lexus IS 250 Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 23,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 7 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 3 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 2 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 3 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 1 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 0 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 3 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 0 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 0 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 23,000 miles
Based on 19 complaints that include mileage. 63% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles7
20k to 40k miles3
40k to 60k miles2
60k to 80k miles3
80k to 100k miles1
100k to 120k miles0
120k to 140k miles3
140k to 160k miles0
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles0
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Among the 19 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 23,000 miles.

Safety-related details: 10 complaints mention a crash; 4 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 96% of model years in our database.

Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2012 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Lexus IS 250 with enough data (16 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.

What owners wrote

A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 lexus is 250. While driving approximately 2 MPH, another vehicle ran the traffic light and crashed into the front end of the contact's vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed. A police report was filed. Injuries were sustained and medical attention was required. The damage to the vehicle had not been determined. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 48,000.

Reported at 48,000 miles, December 2016 CrashInjury

Takatabrantakata recall my vehicle was rear ended at 34 to 50 miles an hour. The vehicle behind me impacted me so hard that it pushed me into the vehicle in front of me and in turn she hit the vehicle in front of her. There was damaged to the front and side panels of my car as well. The air bags failed to deploy. I sustained and suffered injuries. This occurred on a busy city street while at a traffic light.

Reported at 1 miles, July 2019 CrashInjury

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.

Reported at 70,000 miles, August 2018 Crash

This is the third lexus I have had that the automatic door locks don't work. All 4 actuators are bad after I even had one replaced. I have had this happen I all three lexus' that I have owned. I have talked to lexus about this and the service people say that they see more than they should go. Bad boy. Lexus/toyota does not think it's a problem. This becomes a safety hazard locking the doors manually and having to open one door with a key and reach around and open the others as needed.

Reported at 15,000 miles, June 2016

Other model years of the IS 250

Best and worst years for the Lexus IS 250