There are 3 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2003 Lexus ISin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
MY CAR HAS 51000 MILES ON IT AND I'M TOLD MY ALTERNATOR SHOULD BE REPLACED. I TOOK MY CAR FOR ONE THINGS AND THE DEALERSHIP FOUND 4 DIFFERENT ISSUES WHICH 2 OF THE ISSUES I AM AWARE OF. GRANT YOU ALL THE PARTS IN MY CAR ARE THE ORIGINAL PARTS. I SERVICE MY CAR ACCORDING TO LEXUS 25,000 - 75,000 MILES SERVICES. HOW CAN I WELL KEPT AND SELDOM DRIVE VEHICLES HAVE AN ALTERNATOR ISSUE? ON FEBRUARY 7, 2003, THERE WAS COMPLAINTS OF THE (BULLETIN#:T10001308) CD BECOMING JAMMED IN CD CHANGER. IMPROVEMENTS WERE MADE TO THE IS 300 CD CHANGER MECHANISM BUT I WASN'T NOTIFIED. I TOOK MY CAR TO WESTSIDE LEXUS REGARDING AN ONGOING DASHBOARD MELTING SITUATION AND CD PLAYER ISSUE. LEXUS FINALLY AGREED TO REPLACED DASHBOARD AFTER 3 YEARS AND I AM GRATEFUL BUT THE CD CHANGER JAMS NOW. IF I HAVEN'T DONE MY RESEARCH I WOULDN'T KNOW THERE WAS INITIAL COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE CD CHANGER. OVER THE MONTH-TO-MONTH WEIRD CD SOUND OF TUMBLING THEN PLAYING IT PROGRESSIVELY GOTTEN WORSE. MY 5- DISC CD PLAYER WILL NOT PLAY CDS AT ALL AND SOUND IS CD TUMBLING AROUND IN THE PLAYER. WESTSIDE LEXUS STATED I NEEDED TO REPLACE THE CD PLAYER AT $500.00 AND I SHOULD NOT HAVE THE ISSUE AT ALL. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AS SOON AS THE ISSUE WAS ADDRESSED. I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY $500.00 FOR A 2003 ISSUE. *TR
Brand new owner - first owner at time of lease/finance terms and conditions. Car accelerated numerous times during ownership that caused harm to both my young son and I life, placed us in harms way and accident occurred in California due to faulty emissions, acceleration out of control, and braking problems. This Lexus was dangerous, unreliable, caused mental and emotional issue coupled with anxiety. Lexus was negligent in handling numerous issues and concerns reported to dealership and has done nothing to compensate me for their multibillion dollar settlement to date. I need compensation of torment, poor performance, lemon laws associated and punitive damages, hereto. What are next steps? Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Brand new owner - first owner; Car accelerated numerous times during ownership that caused harm to both my young son and I life. This IS250 Lexus was dangerous, unreliable, caused mental and emotional issues. Lexus was negligent in handling numerous issues and concerns related and has done nothing to compensate me for to date relating to multi-billion dollar law suits.
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026