Takata recall. My car had the airbag recall but it seems like during the recall they didn't replace the airbag wiring harness, causing the airbag dash light.
2008 Lexus IS 250 airbags problems
38 complaints (30% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 95,000.
- owner complaints
- 38
- of this car's complaints
- 30%
- typical mileage
- 95,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 3
Which part fails
Owners did not name a specific part.
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Lexus IS 250 airbags problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2008 Lexus IS 250 airbags
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2010-2016 4Runner, 2003-2006 Tundra, 2003-2013 Corolla, 2009-2010 Corolla Matrix, 2004-2005 RAV4, 2002-2007 Sequoia, 2011-2013 Sienna, 2008-2012 Scion xB, 2008-2009 Lexus IS-F, 2007-2012 Yaris and Lexus ES350, 2010-2017 Lexus GX460, 2002-2010 Lexus SC430, 2006-2012 Lexus IS250 and IS350 and 2010-2015 Lexus IS250C and IS350C vehicles. These vehicles had their driver or passenger frontal air bag inflators previously replaced under a prior recall using inflators of the same design. The inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Toyota will notify owners. Depending on the vehicle model, dealers will replace the front driver inflator, front passenger airbag inflator, the airbag assembly, or the front passenger airbag sub-assembly and inflator. The recall began November 20, 2019. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1‑888‑270‑9371 or Lexus customer service at 1‑800‑255‑3987. Toyota's numbers for this recall are J0A, J0B, and J0C. Lexus' numbers for this recall are JLI, JLJ, and JLK.
Recall number 19V741000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain 2012 Toyota 4Runner, Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Sienna, Yaris, Scion xB, Lexus ES350, GX460, IS-F, IS250, IS350, IS250C, IS350C, and Lexus LFA vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Toyota is recalling certain 2009 Toyota Corolla, Corolla Matrix, Yaris, Yaris HB, Scion xB, Pontiac Vibe, Lexus, ES350, IS250, IS350, and IS-F vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" or "Zone B" above, Toyota is recalling certain 2006-2008 Lexus IS250 and IS350, 2007-2008 Lexus ES350, Toyota Yaris, Yaris HB, and 2008 Lexus IS-F and Scion xB vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the passenger frontal air bag, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Toyota will notify the Toyota, Scion and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the model, dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator or the air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began on February 1, 2017. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1‑800‑331‑4331, or Pontiac customer service at 1‑800‑762‑2737. Toyota's numbers for final remedy for this campaign are G0P (Toyota Zone A), G0R (Toyota Zone B), H0A (Toyota Zone C), GLG (Lexus Zone A), GLH (Lexus Zone B) and HLA (Lexus Zone C).
Recall number 17V006000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal: passenger side: inflator module
- What is wrong
- Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (Toyota) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Scion xB and Lexus IS F, 2009-2011 Toyota Corolla and Corolla Matrix, 2006-2011 Toyota Yaris, Lexus IS250 and Lexus IS350, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner, Lexus IS250C, Lexus IS350C and Lexus GX460, 2011 Sienna, 2007-2011 Lexus ES350, and 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands, or "Zone A." Additionally, unless included in "Zone A" above, Toyota is recalling certain model year 2008 Scion xB and Lexus IS F, 2007-2008 Toyota Yaris, 2006-2008 Lexus IS250 and Lexus IS350 and 2007-2008 Lexus ES350 vehicles, originally sold, or ever registered, in Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, or "Zone B." Vehicles of these model years and models that were not originally sold or ever registered in either Zones A or B are not subject to this safety recall. These vehicles are equipped with certain air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, and used as original equipment or replacement equipment. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front air bags, these inflators may rupture due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to absolute humidity and temperature cycling.
- Risk
- An inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
- Remedy
- Toyota will notify the Toyota and Lexus owners. General Motors will contact the Pontiac owners. Depending on the model, dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflator or the air bag assembly, free of charge. The recall began on December 6, 2016. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1‑800‑331‑4331. Toyota's numbers for interim notification for this campaign are G1P (Toyota Zone A), G1R (Toyota Zone B), G2G (Lexus Zone A), and G2H (Lexus Zone B). Toyota's numbers for final remedy for this campaign are G0P (Toyota Zone A), G0R (Toyota Zone B), GLG (Lexus Zone A), and GLH (Lexus Zone B).
Recall number 16V340000 · Recall details
Related investigations
Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been no reported field ruptures in any non-recalled desiccated PSAN inflators.It is understood that desiccants fully saturate at some threshold, at which point any additional moisture will not be captured. This means the degradation process observed in non-desiccated inflators using propellant 2004 may also occur in non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004, assuming additional moisture enters the inflator and high temperature cycling occurs. Based on available information, desiccant saturation can occur within the first five years in the worst environments, and the time required for full saturation is affected by multiple factors. While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004.Three entities -- Takata (now known as TK Global), the Independent Testing Coalition, and Exponent -- have been studying the long-term behavior of Takata desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004L (as well as 2004) in the presence of moisture and temperature cycling. The research efforts, which include development of predictive modeling techniques and field sample analysis, are ongoing. To date, none of the researchers have identified field evidence showing that propellant 2004L is undergoing a degradation process that leads to aggressive deployment and potential rupture. However, the time in service of such inflators remains short compared to that of the inflators using propellant 2004. Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L.The Office of Defects Investigation is opening this investigation to examine whether a safety defect related to propellant degradation exists in non-recalled desiccated PSAN frontal inflators manufactured by Takata. This investigation will require extensive information on Takata production processes and surveys of inflators in the field. Lists of recall actions that may have used desiccated PSAN inflators as remedy parts, as well as the makes and models originally manufactured with them, is available with the downloadable version of this document (see -- note this information is subject to change/revision as the investigation proceeds). This investigation does not supersede EA15-001, which remains open.
EA21002
What 2008 Lexus IS 250 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
As inspected by lexus dealership in woodland hills ca, my car has airbag light on/off intermittently. Error code b1861 was found that is tied to knee airbag on the driver side. There is a problem with the squib circuit in the instrument cluster I believe. Car has around 99k miles but this safety concern is serious. This airbag is something that never gets used unless you're in an accident. I've never been in one. It is just bad workmanship on lexus to install such a wiring harness and squib circuit that'll go bad before 100,000 miles. As a customer this is not something that is visible to me nor something I would attempt to touch. It is hidden behind the instrument cluster and dashboard. Dealership quoted $3000+ to fix something that wasn't caused due to customer negligence. It is just bad workmanship from lexus. There is a great risk involved with driving lexus is250's considering this light could turn on anytime and if one gets into an accident, then airbag would not deploy resulting in a possible casualty or serious injuries. This should be a recall on all lexus affected by this. Customer shouldn't be responsible for these workmanship problems.
Dash airbag light randomly turned on. Car was parked. As soon as car was turned on the light lit up. Light was not on day before. Took to local lexus dealership and had code scanned. Dealership informed me that my car needs a new dash harness and repair would cost +$3,000 plus tax for part and labor which is half of what the car costs. Also told me that when the light is on none of my airbags will deploy in the event of a collision which makes me worried to drive the car, especially this time of year. Looked up the issue online and saw it is a common issue with these cars, but there is no type of recall for the issue which is unusual for something that is common and puts lives at risk.
2008 lexus is 250. Consumer writes in regard to airbag recall and airbag light remaining on. *as
Takata airbag. Passenger airbag trouble light comes on dash intermittently when stationary and while in motion on street/highway. When I recently had the takata airbag recall done, the dealership quoted me $2,100 to replace the wiring harness. I researched on-line and found this to be universally occurring problem with lexus is250 models and others 2006 and later. The defective part is the connector from the wiring harness coming loose at the plug into the airbag. Since this a universal safety issue and related to a defective part (rather than a mechanical part subject to wear/tear) shouldn't this be a recall? See following link for more details, but it is pretty common lore in lexus circles that is happening at low miles as well as high miles. Not sure why consumers are paying for this flaw when out of warranty. Https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-2nd-gen-2006-2013/542134-airbag-light-on-with-resolution-tsb.html
Wiring harness that is too short.
After having the car I started getting the feel as if the car wanted to cut off each time I came to a stop. There was vibration with in the motor as it seemed. I contacted the dealership and they advise there was a issue with my model with the motor system with the vibration. They fixed the issue so I thought but as of today there is still vibrations at time when I come to a complete stop. Later on I received a recall on the dashboard and door panels. I later received another recall for my airbags, now my airbag light keeps coming on and I'm having to take the car back and forth to the dealership. These items has happen on number of occasions
I purchased my lexus in nov. 2012 for approx. $18000 cash from a private person. By early 2013, the SRS airbag warning light stayed to come on, stay on for 1-2 days, then goes off. Then, few months later, it came on and stayed on. So, I took it to a lexus dealer to check it. They immediately informed me that the cause was a defective SRS wire harness, as per the fault code b1861, which lexus was well aware of and had issued tsp, and the fix was to replace the SRS wire harness with an upgraded replacement which would cost me $3500-$4000. Not being aware of this issue before I purchased my lexus, I decided to research the problem to learn more before contacting lexus customer satisfaction center, as advised by the dealer. However, lexus customer satisfaction center, as well as lexus corporate office, refused to take responsibility and carry the entire cost, even so they acknowledged the defect. Therefore, I'm left with a car with nonfunctional airbag system; it would cost me as much as 50% of the market value of the car; it could not be resold; and, it would not pass the dmv inspection. According to all lexus dealers who inspected the problem, this SRS wire harness is located under the dashboard and can not be damaged except due to an accident where damage reaches the dashboard area. Therefore, it's lexus responsibility to carry the cost of upgrading the defected wire harness. Moreover, they have informed that it's unsafe to drive the car in its current condition because the airbag system may not function properly in an accident. However, due to the high cost of fixing this problem, I am, like many other lexus owners, left with no choice but to drive it the way it it and pray I won't get in any accident.
Harness - failure of the airbag harness causing the SRS light to stay on. This is a major safety issue and very costly $3,00.00+. It also appears to be widespread affecting various manufacture years including my 2008 model is250. I believe this warrants a review.
When I turn on my car the SRS light cames on and has stayed on. This disables all safety features. Lexus has a tsb l-sb-0167-08 admitting the faulty design of the wiring harness. Since my car has 82000 miles when the light came on lexus says I'm out of the 70000 mile warranty. They want $2500 to fix their flawed design wiring harness. My family and my safety areon the line here and this needs to be addressed.
Questions about the 2008 Lexus IS 250 airbags
Does the 2008 Lexus IS 250 have airbags problems?
Owners have filed 38 complaints about the airbags of the 2008 Lexus IS 250, 30% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2008 Lexus IS 250 airbags problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 95,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Lexus IS 250 airbags?
Yes, 3 recalls: 19V741000, 17V006000, 16V340000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Lexus IS 250 have bad airbags?
The Lexus IS 250 model years with the most airbags complaints are 2007 (52 complaints), 2006 (46 complaints) and 2008 (38 complaints).
Other 2008 Lexus IS 250 problems
Body 29Engine 15Acceleration 12Visibility 10Electrical 8Fuel system 8Transmission 5Brakes 4Steering 4Wheels 2Driver assistance 1Seat belts 1Suspension 1Tires 1
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