The 2006 Lexus IS 250 has 5 recalls, the most serious being a defective passenger-side frontal airbag inflator that can rupture and send metal fragments into the cabin, causing serious injury or death.
The airbag inflator issue spans multiple filings that all describe the same underlying defect: prolonged exposure to heat and humidity degrades the propellant inside the passenger airbag inflator, causing it to explode with far more force than intended or to rupture entirely, turning the inflator housing into shrapnel directed at anyone sitting in the front passenger seat or nearby. Prior repair attempts under earlier campaigns did not fully resolve the issue for all affected vehicles, which is why multiple filings exist. One recall applies specifically to vehicles originally sold or registered in high-humidity regions such as Florida, Hawaii, Texas, and several other Gulf Coast and tropical areas, where the environmental conditions accelerate the propellant degradation most severely.
Separate from the airbag concern, certain all-wheel-drive models have a recall covering the accelerator pedal. The pedal linkage can catch on a plastic pad embedded in the carpet and stick in a partially depressed position, preventing it from returning to idle on its own. If this happens while driving, the engine continues to push the vehicle forward without the driver intending it, raising the risk of a crash with no warning before it occurs.
