I HAVE A '94 LEXUS LS400 ON WHICH THE INSTRUMENT PANEL DISPLAY DOES NOT FUNCTION AT LOW TEMPERATURES. IT WILL TAKE UP TO AN HOUR OF DRIVING BEFORE THE INSTUMENT PANEL LIGHTS UP AND THE GAGES BECOME VISIBLE. ONE HAS TO NOTE THAT THIS IS A NEON-LIT INSTRUMENT PANEL WHICH WILL BE TOTALLY DARK DAY OR NIGHT WHEN THE LIGHTING DOES NOT WORK. THE USER WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEE ANY WARNING LIGHTS, VEHICLE SPEED AND FUEL LEVEL. THIS IS A SYSTEMIC PROBLEM WITH "90 TO '94 MODEL YEARS AND POSSIBLY LATER ONES ALSO ( I PERSONALLY KNOW OF AT LEAST 10 CASES). LEXUS IS QUOTING $1,200 TO $1,600 TO REPAIR THIS DEFECT. BASED ON THE PRICE TAG, MANY PEOPLE WILL BE RELUCTANT TO HAVE IT REPAIRED AND CONSEQUENTLY THERE WILL BE MOTORISTS ON THE ROAD WHO WILL NOT KNOW WHAT SPEED THEY ARE GOING OR WHETHER THEY WILL RUN OUT OF GAS. I BELIVE THAT THIS IS A SAFETY DEFECT THAT SHOULD BE CORRECTED BY THE MANUFACTURER THROUGH A RECALL.
1994 Lexus LS400 complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 1994 record →
WHEN STARTING VEHICLE AND ENGINE IS COLD, THE DASH GAUGES DO NOT OPERATE. AFTER VEHICLE ENGINE HAS WARMED, THE DASH GAUGES START TO FLICKER AND EVENTUALLY COME ON. WITHOUT THE DASH GAUGES, YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW FAST GOING, IF CRUISE IS ENGAGED, HOW MUCH GAS, THE TEMPERATURE OF ENGINE, ETC. TOOK TO DEALER AND THE PART THAT NEEDS REPLACING IS A METER ASSEMBLY CIRCUIT BOARD (PART # 83247-5A050-RP). AFTER RESEARCH, I FOUND THAT THE -RP OF THE PART NUMBER MEANS THE CIRCUIT BOARD HAS TO BE PROGRAMMED WITH MY CURRENT MILEAGE. FURTHER INVESTIGATION SHOWS THAT WHEN THE DASH IN NOT OPERATING, MY MILEAGE IS NOT BEING REGISTERED. I THINK IT IS POOR DESIGN TO STORE ODOMETER READING IN FLASH MEMORY (I HAVE VERIFIED THIS BY RECORDING ODOMETER READING WHEN DASH WAS OPERABLE. DROVE ABOUT 15 TO 20 MILES, WHEN DASH NOT OPERABLE, AND VERIFIED THAT THE ODOMETER HAD NOT REGISTERED THE MILEAGE). I HAVE GONE TO MANY LEXUS RELATED SITES (CLUBS, BULLETIN BOARDS, MESSAGE BOARDS) AND FOUND THIS TO BE QUITE PREVALENT.
INSTRUMENT CLUSTERING LIGHTING. THE INSTRUMENT WAS DESIGNED IN A WAY IN WHICH IT NEEDED TO BE LIGHTED DAY OR NIGHT. THE INSTRUMENT LIGHTS IN THE CONSUMER VEHICLE STARTED TO MALFUNCTION ABOUT A YEAR AGO. THEY WOULD NOT COME IN COLD WEATHER UNTIL THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN DRIVEN FOR AT LEAST 10 MINUTES. THE DEALER INFORMED THE CONSUMER IT WAS A COMMON PROBLEM AND IT WOULD COST $1000.00 TO FIX IT. THE DEALER STATED IF THE CONSUMER DID NOT GET IT FIXED, EVENTUALLY THE LIGHTS WOULD GO OUT PERMANENTLY. *JB
WHEN STARTING VEHICLE AND ENGINE, AND THE ENGINE IS COLD, CONSUMER STATES THE HEADLIGHTS DO NOT OPERATE. AFTER VEHICLE ENGINE HAS WARMED CONSUMER STATES THE HEADLIGHTS START TO FLICKER. CAUSE IS UNKNOWN. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. PH
CONSUMER NOTICE AFTER STARTING VEHICLE ALL INDICATION LIGHT WOULD NOT LIGHT DUE TO COLD WEATHER. DEALER AND MANUFACTURE HAS BEEN NOTIFIED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. TS *DT
WHEN THE WEATHER WAS COLD DASH LIGHT WOULD NOT WORK PROPERLY. CONSUMER STATED AFTER VEHICLE WARMED UP, DAH LIGHT WOULD START TO FLICKER. TS THIS WOULD ALSO CAUSE THE DASH LIGHTS TO GO OUT COMPLETELY AND THE ODOMETER TO MALFUNCTION . METER ASSEMBLY CIRCUIT BOARD HAD TO BE REPLACED. *TT *JB. *AK
FAILED LIGHTING SYSTEM MAKES INSTRUMENTS IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE DAY OR NIGHT. A COMMON LEXUS PROBLEM AND A SAFETY CONCERN. DEALERS QUOTED OVER $1000 TO REPAIR. DT
THE INSTRUMENT PANEL COMPUTER APPARENTLY GOES BAD AND REQUIRES ABOUT 10 MINUTES OF TIME AND IT WILL START WORKING AGAIN. THE DEALER TELLS ME THAT THIS IS A COMMON OCCURANCE ON THIS MODEL. THEY RECOMMEND REPLACING THE COMPUTER AT CUSTOMERS COST. I THINK THIS IS A DEFECTIVE PART THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED. DT
CONSUMER STATES THAT THE WHEEL RIMS SPLIT, LETTING THE AIR OUT, CAUSING THE TIRE TO GO FLAT, WITHOUT WARNING OR CAUSE. THIS IS A SILVER ANNIVERSARY RIM. MR
WHEN IT'S COLD OUTSIDE VEHICLE HAS NO DASH BOARD LIGHTS, MAKING DRIVER UNABLE TO READ SIGNAL. HE WOULDNT KNOW FAST HE IS GOING OR HOW MUCH GAS THEY HAVE LEFT, ETC,. *AK
INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTS GO OUT. CAN'T SEE ANY GUAGES ON DASH. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER, AND DEALER INDICATED THERE WAS A PROBLEM. *AK
DASHBOARD LIGHTS ARE OUT. DEALER WAS NOTIFIED. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
CHROME DELAMINATED FROM ALLOY WHEEL, SAFETY ISSUE IN THAT TIRE DEFLATES. CASUAL CONVERSATION WITH TIRE STORE INTICATED THAT CHROME DELAMINATION IS NOT UNIQUE TO THIS AUTOMOBILE, BUT HAD BEEN SEEN BY TIRE STORE BEFORE.*AK
CONSUMER WENT TO A TIRE SHOP AND TECHNICIAN INFORMED HIM THAT CHROME PLATING OF TIRE WAS CAUSING CHROME TO PEEL OFF/ BREAK SEAL, AND AIR STARTED TO LEAK FROM WHEEL. DEALERSHIP WAS AWARE OF PROBLEM.*AK
DASHBOARD LIGHTS DO NOT LIGHT UP, DRIVER CANNOT READ ANY GAUGES ON DASHBOARD, CAUSING POOR VISIBILITY. *AK
NO DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAG IN AN ACCIDENT.
INDICATOR LEVER STICKS IN NEUTRAL WHEN SHIFTING FROM PARK TO DRIVE. NO RESPONSE FROM ABS. *AK
SHIFTED GEAR SELECTOR, IT STICKS IN NEUTRAL POSTION. *AK
Reading these
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 1994 Lexus LS400 → · Every LS400 year → · How the figures are calculated →