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Lexus · NHTSA safety record

2010 Lexus IS

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 40 safety complaints about the 2010 Lexus IS with the US government. Of those, 7 describe a crash, 3 people were injured and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering vehicle speed control.

The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 16 complaints, 40% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 67,000 miles, the median across the 13 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers February 2010 to August 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

40 complaints on file

40

Complaints

7

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

3

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
AIR BAGS 16 · 40%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 6 · 15%
POWER TRAIN 5 · 13%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 5 · 13%
ENGINE 4 · 10%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 · 8%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 · 5%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 5%
STEERING 2 · 5%
TIRES 2 · 5%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 2 · 5%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 · 3%
0 8 15

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 40.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2016 at 7.

8 6 4 2
10 12 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2010 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA has not crash tested the 2010 Lexus IS. Its New Car Assessment Program tests a selection of each year's vehicles and does not reach motorcycles, heavy trucks, motorhomes or most low-volume models, so an absence here says nothing about how the vehicle would perform. It is not a low score.

What owners have reported about this vehicle is below, and it is a different question: a crash test measures what happens to the people inside in a controlled impact, while a complaint records what broke during ordinary use.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL

09V388000 · October 5, 2009

The defect
TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004-2010 PASSENGER VEHICLES. THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL CAN GET STUCK IN THE WIDE OPEN POSITION DUE TO ITS BEING TRAPPED BY AN UNSECURED OR INCOMPATIBLE DRIVER'S FLOOR MAT.
The risk
A STUCK OPEN ACCELERATOR PEDAL MAY RESULT IN VERY HIGH VEHICLE SPEEDS AND MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO STOP THE VEHICLE, WHICH COULD CAUSE A CRASH, SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.
The remedy
TOYOTA FILED AN AMENDED DEFECT REPORT ON NOVEMBER 25, 2009, STATING THAT DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND, ON CERTAIN VEHICLES, ALTER THE SHAPE OF THE FLOOR SURFACE UNDER THE PEDAL. THESE CHANGES ADDRESS THE RISK OF PEDAL ENTRAPMENT DUE TO INTERFERENCE WITH THE FLOOR MAT. REDESIGNED ACCELERATOR PEDALS WILL BECOME AVAILABLE BEGINNING IN APRIL 2010 AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE ANY MODIFIED PEDAL WITH THE NEW PEDAL IF DESIRED. ALSO, DEALERS WILL REPLACE ANY GENUINE TOYOTA OR LEXUS ALL-WEATHER FLOOR MATS WITH REDESIGNED ALL-WEATHER MATS, OR REPURCHASE THE PREVIOUS MATS FROM OWNERS WHO DO NOT WANT THE NEW ONES. ADDITIONALLY, SOFTWARE MODIFICATIONS WILL BE INSTALLED ON CAMRY, AVALON AND LEXUS ES 350, IS 350 AND IS 250 MODELS THAT WILL ENSURE THAT THE BRAKE OVERRIDES THE ACCELERATOR IN THE EVENT BOTH BRAKE AND ACCELERATOR PEDALS ARE APPLIED. TOYOTA WILL BEGIN MAILING LETTERS TO OWNERS ON DECEMBER 31, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331, LEXUS AT 1-800-255-3987.

TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. · up to 4,445,056 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

1 injured · crash · towed · 130,000 miles

THE CAR WAS STOPPED ABOUT TO BE PUT INTO PARK AND THEN IT REVVED UP ON IT'S OWN AND THE BRAKES WERE PRESSED BUT THE CAR SPED UP UNTIL IT CRASHED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. *TR

NHTSA complaint 11327577. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

I had a head on collision with a light pole and the airbags did not deploy. The vehicle was inspected by aProgressive insurance claims adjuster and they claimed the vehicle a total loss. They kept the vehicle. There were no warning lights or anything. The vehicle had been taken into a North Park Lexus dealership after a defective airbag recall to be serviced in 2018.

NHTSA complaint 11690692. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

1 injured

My vehicle's dashboard was melting. I thought it was some kind of condensation. When trying to wope it, sticky gook came off on my papertowel explosing the bottom level.of the dashboard. I went through all the levels all.the way to Corporate Lexus legal in TX as the fumes were making me sick. I am a senior citizens who was not planning on buying another vehicle as I drive very little. After 4 months with no help from Lexus having symptoms of anxiety, confusion, headache and extreme fatigue, I pushed myself to go drive to dealership which was s lot further than I was comfortable driving thr car in that condition. I told them I did not want another Toyota or Lexus so Itraded it in for a

NHTSA complaint 11736656, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash · towed · 66,000 miles

SUDDEN ACCELERATION WHEN TRYING TO STOP

NHTSA complaint 11310338. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES
255 /40 R18 99Y XL BSW Continental CONTROLCONTACT SPORT SRS+ Tire date: 2125 DOT 1CN0FBF5W Tire pressure rear set at 38 psi checked a week prior. Tire pressure Sensor light was not on at time of incident. Purchased 7 months ago, Jan 16 2026, 3335 miles on the tire when the incident happened. Driving on a country road at 60 mph, i hear flopping coming from the rear. The tire separated from the sidewall on the inner side and folded outward extending pass the fender. Managed to pull to side and replace with spare. No one was called for assistance.

NHTSA complaint 11758891. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

102,000 miles

The contact owns a 2010 Lexus IS. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle stalled, the vehicle independently accelerated while the accelerator pedal was not depressed, and all of the doors locked independently and were inoperative. No warning lights were illuminated. The failure occurred on several different occasions. The contact did research and was made aware of an unknown NHTSA Campaign Number however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to get a diagnosis however, the dealer stated that the failure was not duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer to get a diagnosis however, the failure

NHTSA complaint 11736579, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Developed a fuel leak at the tank that has previously been exactly described as a recall on the exact year make and model of this vehicle however, when entering my VIN it does not show my VIN number as being affected. I feel there has been a mistake on the Vin number range. However, Lexus refuses to handle the issue under the recall since the VIN number does not trigger as such.

NHTSA complaint 11705266. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY/WIPER
I have a stick dashboard and it’s impairing my vision to see out of front windshield. Lexus did have a recall, but it expired. However, I’m still in danger while driving because of glare.

NHTSA complaint 11695432. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other 2010 Lexus models

ES350 137 RX350 94 RX 77 HS 250 Hybrid 76 HS 70 ES 41 IS 250 40 GX460 31

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Lexus on this site — 91 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst