TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 LEXUS LS. WHEN THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO START THE VEHICLE, IT WOULD NOT START AND A CLICKING SOUND WAS HEARD. SHE ATTEMPTED TO START THE VEHICLE A THIRD TIME AND WAS SUCCESSFUL. SHE DROVE THE VEHICLE TO HER DESTINATION AND WHEN SHE PARKED THE VEHICLE, THE ENGINE WOULD NOT TURN OFF. THE CONTACT SMELLED A BURNING ODOR COMING FROM THE ENGINE. FIVE MINUTES LATER, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF. SHE INSPECTED THE VEHICLE UNDER THE HOOD AND NOTICED BURNT WIRES. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP AND THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THERE WAS AN ELECTRICAL SHORT CIRCUIT WITH THE STARTER MOTOR, WHICH CAUSED THE UNDER HOOD FIRE. THE MANUFACTURER AND DEALER STATED THAT HER VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN ANY RECALLS; THEREFORE, THEY WERE NOT LIABLE FOR THE REPAIRS. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 80,000.
1997 Lexus LS
Routine
Owners filed 1 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the electrical system. No safety recall has been issued.
What fails
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsElectrical SystemFire
Filed Jan 22, 200980,000 milesCA
1 of 1 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Across model years
Worst on record: 2007| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Deaths | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2024 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2023 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2021 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2020 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2019 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2018 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2016 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2013 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2012 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2011 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2010 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2009 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2008 | 43 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 2007 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2006 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2005 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2004 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2003 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2002 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2001 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2000 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1999 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1998 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1997 — this page | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1995 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1994 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
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.