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
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Electrical System1
010

What owners reported

Newest filings
Electrical SystemFire
Filed Jan 22, 200980,000 milesCA

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.

1 of 1 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2007
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20251200Routine
20240200Routine
20231200Routine
20215100Routine
20200100Routine
20191100Routine
201814200Routine
20165000Routine
20152000Routine
20143000Routine
20135000Routine
20125000Routine
20119000Routine
20108000Routine
200913000Routine
200843110Routine
200745100Routine
200617100Routine
20055200Routine
20048200Routine
20031100Routine
20027200Routine
20013200Routine
20001200Routine
19993100Routine
19982100Routine
1997 — this page1010Routine
19961000Routine
19952000Routine
19944000Routine

Compare every LS 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.