2002 Lexus LS430 problems
Owners have filed 39 complaints with NHTSA about the 2002 Lexus LS430. Body & structure is the most reported problem area, at 26% of complaints. Next are latches & locks (15%) and brakes (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 39 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 26% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 12 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 19 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 55,000 miles 32 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%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 5 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 3 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 11 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 32 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 55,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 12 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 19 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 99% 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 2002 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 5 model years of the Lexus LS430 with enough data (11 complaints in that window).
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.
I am 76 years old. I passed out and hit a pole dead center at about 30 miles an hour.the air bags never came on and I bought a 2002 lexus ls 430 for safety.I understand that lexus is having problems with their air bag system. Please help.
My daughter was driving my 2002 lexus 430 ls when she had a seizure. During the seizure her foot hit the gas pedal and she proceeded through several residential areas before crashing into a tree. The airbag was not deployed causing 2 leg and foot fractures. Insurance adjuster agreed that the airbag should have deployed. The car was totaled. The local lexus dealer had completed an annual service on the car within the last 12 months.
Dt*: the contact stated while applying brake pressure at 2 MPH in a driveway, the engine revved at a high rate, and the vehicle lurched forward into the garage without warning. There were no injuries sustained. There was minor damage sustained to the front of vehicle. The police were not alerted. The dealer and manufacturer were notified.
I had opened the trunk on my lexus ls-430 (2002) for my 11 yrs old son to take his sports gears out of the trunk. He was leaning down inside the trunk when suddenly the trunk lid came crashing down striking on his hips, it was good it did" hurt his back. The injury resulted in tremendous pain .after the incident I inspected the trunk and found their was no resistance while going up and down with the trunk and found that the hydraulic trunk struts necessary for the safe operation of the trunk had both failed.