2000 Lexus GS400

Routine

Owners filed 8 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the vehicle speed control › linkages. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Vehicle Speed Control › Linkages1
000
Vehicle Speed Control › Accelerator Pedal1
000
Tires › Tread/Belt1
000
Tires1
000
Suspension1
000
Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Pedals and Linkages1
000
Electrical System1
000
Air Bags › Frontal1
101

What owners reported

Newest filings
Electrical System
Filed Jul 5, 2010100,834 milesPR

WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY MY CAR SUDDENLY STOP WITH NO APPARENT REASON AT ALL. I TRIED TO ACCELERATE BUT IT DID NOT RESPONDED, EVENTHOUGH THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING PERFECTLY. EVERYTHING WAS WORKING BUT THE ACCELERATOR. WHEN TAKEN TO THE LEXUS DEALER THEY TOLD ME THE PROBLEM WAS WITH THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE. THEY TOLD ME IT WILL COST ME AROUND $3,000.00 TO REPLACE IT. IS THIS NORMAL FOR THIS CAR TO HAPPEN OR IS IT NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR?. WE DID NOT HAVE AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE IT WAS EARLY IN THE MORNING BUT IT COULD BE WORSE DURING HEAVY TRAFFIC HOURS. *TR

Air Bags › FrontalCrash1 injured
Filed Jul 24, 2009103,000 milesCA

ON JULY 2 ,2009, MY WIFE STRUCK ANOTHER CAR BROADSIDE WITH OUR 2000 LEXUS GS400. THE POINT OF IMPACT ON THE LEXUS WAS WITH THE LEFT FRONT PORTION (HEADLIGHT AREA) OF THE FRONT. SHE WAS TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, AND DID NOT HAVE TIME TO BRAKE. THE IMPACT, AND SEATBELT, CAUSE A MODERATE SIZED BRUISE ON HER LEFT BREAST AREA. LEXUS INDICATES THEIR AIRBAGS DEPLOY ON FRONTAL OR "NEAR FRONTAL" COLLISIONS AT 8 TO 14 MPH. YET, IN THIS CASE, WHAT I THINK IS A "NEAR FRONTAL" COLLISION, THE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. I CONTACTED LEXUS, BUT THEY CONTEND IT WAS NOT A "FRONTAL" COLLISION, AND THEREFORE THE BAG DID NOT NEED TO DEPLOY. THEN WHY DO THEY INDICATE THAT IN "NEAR FRONTAL" COLLISIONS THE AIRBAG WILL DEPLOY? I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT THE SPEED AND POINT OF IMPACT SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED THE AIRBAG, AND YET IT DIDN'T. I HAVE PHOTOS OF THE LEXUS SHOULD YOU WISH TO SEE THEM. *TR

Vehicle Speed Control › Accelerator Pedal
Filed Apr 12, 200430,900 milesNV

I WAS TRAVELING WITH MY FATHER, MING SUEN ON I-95 SOUTH BOUND NEAR I-15 INTER-CHANGE IN MY 2000 LEXUS GS400(30900 MILES). THE ACCELERATOR GOT STUCKED(NOT BY CARPET OR FLOOR MAT) MECHNICALLY, AND MY CAR DOWNSHIFTED ITSELF AND WENT INTO FULL POWER ACCELERATION AT THE ENGINE SPEED OF OVER 5000 RPM. I TRIED TO BRAKE WITH FULL FORCE, BUT FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE, AND THE CAR WAS GOING AT 85MPH AND GAINING SPEED! THE WHOLE INCIDENT LAST FOR ABOUT 3-5 MINUTES, AND I DIALED "911" AND TRIED TO ASK FOR HELP. BEFORE THE CALL WAS CONNECTED, I MAGICALLY REGAIN CONTROL OF MY LEXUS. THE ACCELERATOR DIS-ENGAGED AND THE ENGINE SPEED RETURNED TO NORMAL. I FELT THE BRAKE WAS LOSING POWER AND BECAME VERY WEAK. I GOT OUT AT THE NEAREST EXIT AND PULLED INTO A GAS STATION. AS I GOT OUT MY CAR, I COULD SMELL THE BRAKES WERE BURNING, AND THE FRONT RIGHT BRAKE WAS FRIED. MY FATHER AND I WAS VERY LUCKY, BECAUSE IT WAS LATE AT NIGHT AND TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT ON THE FREEWAY. OTHER WISE, TRAVELING AT 85 MPH WITH FULL BRAKE AND NO CONTROL OF MY VEHICLE, WOULD DEFINATELY CAUSE SOME SERIOUS INJURY OR EVEN DEATH! MY LEXUS IS CURRENTLY LOCATED AT THE LOCAL FLECHER JONES LEXUS, AND I AWAIT THE DEALERSHIP TO INPECT AND FOUND OUT THE PROBLEM. I WOULD HOPE THERE IS SOMETHING THIS ORGANIZTION COULD DO TO PREVENT SIMILAR INCIDENT TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE ON ANY OTHER LEXUS OWNERS.*AK

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Pedals and Linkages
Filed Sep 19, 2001VA

WHEN APPLYING BRAKES CONSUMER HIT ACCELERATOR AT THE SAME TIME. THERE IS NOT ENOUGH DISTANCE BETWEEN BRAKE PEDAL AND ACCELERATOR. CONTACTED MANUFACTURER, AND GAVE A REPORT, MANUFACTURER WILL SEND IT TO ENGINEER. *AK

Tires
Filed Mar 8, 2001CA

THE TIRE HAD AN UNDISCLOSED DEFECT THAT CAUSED A SPLIT ON THE INSIDE OF THE LEFT FRONT TIRE, THE DEALER SAID THIS OCCURED BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS MISALIGNED THE CONSUMER BELIEVES THE TIRES ARE DEFECTIVE BECAUSE ALL FOUR TIRES SHOW SIMILAR INSIDE WEAR (BRIDGESTONE PROTENZA RE 030 235/45Z417). NLM

Tires › Tread/Belt
Filed Mar 1, 2001CA

BRIDGESTONE POTENZA RE 030 TIRE (P235/45R17) WAS FLAT AND CONSUMER COULD SEE A LONG SPLIT ON THE INSIDE OF THE TIRE ALSO EXPOSING THE STEEL BELTS, THE LEXUS SERVICE MANAGER AND BRIDGESTONE DEALER STATE THAT ALL 4 TIRES SHOW SIGNS OF SIMILAR INSIDE TIRE WEAR, CONSUMER IS REQUESTING THAT THE TIRES BE REPLACED AND ALSO STATED THAT THERE WAS SOME VIBRATION IN THE LEFT FRONT TIRE. *SLC

Vehicle Speed Control › Linkages
Filed Oct 11, 2000CA

WAS DRIVING VEHICLE & STARTED TO PRESS DOWN ON BRAKES AND VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP & MECHANIC COULD NOT LOCATE CAUSE OF ACCELERATION. 2ND TIME PROBLEM, NOT DUPLICATED AFTER IT HAPPENED PRIOR TO TAKING TO DEALERSHIP. HAD HAPPENED 6 DIFFERENT TIMES SINCE THEN & PROBLEM WAS GETTING WORSE. MECHANIC DID NOT KNOW CAUSE OF ACCELERATION.*AK

Suspension
Filed Oct 4, 2000CA

CAR STARTED TO PULL TO RIGHT 3 DAYS FROM PURCHASE, WAS TOLD WHEN CALLED IN ITS OK COME IN WHEN YOU COME FOR 5,000 MILES SERVICE. HAVE GONE 4 TIMES FOR REPAIR WAS NOT DONE. CAR STILL PULLING TO RIGHT. AT 4TH ATTEMPT WAS TOLD TO LEAVE THE CAR THERE BUT NEEDED THE CAR, SO I MADE FIFTH ATTEMPT TO HAVE IT REPAIRED AND AS OF TODAY 10/3/2000 WAS TOLD BY LONGO LEXUS WANTS TO MAKE ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO FIX THE PROBLEM. I AM JUST EXHAUSED DEALING WITH LONGO AND LEXUS IN REGARDS TO THIS MATTER. NEED ASSISTANCE HOW CAN I FILE A COMPLAIN WITH LEMON LAW. PLEASE SOMEONE CALL ME. I AM OUT OF OPTIONS AND LEXUS DOES NOT CARE IF THEY LOSE A CUSTOMER.

8 of 8 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1998
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
2000 — this page8000Routine
199917000Routine
199831100Routine
19941000Routine

Compare every GS400 year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.