There are 1 stored owner reports matching the engine leading-label group for the 2002 Lexus SC in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 1 of 1 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)MY SC430 HAS HAD A STRONG SULFUR SMELL FROM THE EXHAUST SYSTEM (AFTER MEDIUM TO HEAVY ACCELERATION) SINCE IT WAS NEW. WHEN I FIRST MENTIONED IT TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT THEY TOLD ME I NEEDED TO PUT A FEW THOUSAND MILES ON IT AND IT SHOULD GO AWAY. I GAVE IT SEVERAL THOUSAND MILES AND IT DIDN'T HELP. THEY THEN CHECKED IT OUT AND TOLD ME THEY COULDN'T FIND A PROBLEM AND REFERRED ME TO A SERVICE BULLETIN THAT SAID I SHOULD TRY A DIFFERENT BRAND OF FUEL. I TRIED EVERY BRAND OF FUEL SOLD IN MY AREA (CHEVRON, UNION 76, SHELL, MOBILE, TEXACO, ARCO, ASTRO, ETC.) AND NONE OF THEM MADE ANY DIFFERENCE. MY DEALERSHIP THEN RAN EXTENSIVE TESTS ON MY VEHICLE AND SAID IT WAS PERFORMING NORMALLY. I'M EMBARRASSED TO HAVE ANYONE RIDE IN MY CAR. I REQUESTED LEXUS BUY IT BACK AT KELLY BLUE BOOK PRICE AND THEY SAID BECAUSE IT WAS OPERATING NORMALLY THEY WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING FOR ME. THEY SHOULD TELL POTENTIAL BUYERS THAT THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO DRIVE WITH THE TOP DOWN UNLESS THEY DON'T PLAN TO ACCELLERATE TO FREEWAY SPEED OR PASS ANYONE.*AK
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.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.