2003 Lexus LS430 problems
Owners have filed 25 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Lexus LS430. Body & structure is the most reported problem area, at 32% of complaints. Next are air bags (12%) and cruise control (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 25 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 32% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 11 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 45,000 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%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 2 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 6 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 4 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 2 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 19 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 45,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 11 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 98% 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 2003 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 5 model years of the Lexus LS430 with enough data (12 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 was involved in a collision. The front of my car my made full contact with the rear of the car in front of me. I was traveling at least 25 MPH if not more before impact. The impact resulted in $10,000 in damage to the front of the lexus and it was declared a total loss. The lexus was damaged from headlight to headlight and the airbag(s) did not deploy. The hood also sustained damage as well as the radiator, yet the airbag(s) did not deploy.
Failure of rear trunk struts causing trunk to come down sharply on back of my head causing pain and bruising. The same happened to my wife on two other occasions. Approximate dates given below as form does not conform to several dates.
Consumer states 4 1/2 year old child unlocked the seat belt while getting out. The seat belt had tighten around the child's neck, and the consumer had to cut the seat belt to get the child out as it cut off his breathing. There was no release button which could allow him to escape once the belt tightened. *scc
Dt: the contact stated the cruise control switch engaged and the vehicle stalled. Although, the vehicle stalled the engine was easily restarted. The vehicle exhibited no further stalling problems until the cruise control was engaged. Afterwards, the vehicle stalled as previously stated. After restarting the engine the contact continued driving and did not engage the cruise control. The vehicle has not been seen by a dealer.
I was driving east on highway 156 on 2/26 approaching a traffic signal that was red where I intended to make a right turn. I applied the brakes and was traveling 10 to 15 MPH when the car spontaneously accelerated at very high speed. I shifted into park and turned off the ignition while braking as hard as I could. The car continued approximately 1/2 mile when everything shut down. I couldn't even activate the emergency flashers. [xxx]