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2002 Lexus LS430

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2002 Lexus LS430 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 23.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

24 reports with mileage · 6 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Structure. Review the 10 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Latches/locks/linkages. Review the 6 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Vehicle Speed Control. Review the 4 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

8 crash reports1 fire reports13 injury reports

Unknown Or Other complaints

2 reports
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55,000 miles · Jun 11, 2008
Unknown Or OtherCrash

DEAR SIR: I BOUGHT MY LEXUS LS 430 BRAND NEW IN 2002, AND I LOVE IT VERY MUCH EXCEPT FOR ONE THING: THE BRAKING SYSTEM. WHEN I PRESS THE BRAKE, MY LS430 SKIDS (FORWARD), AND DO NOT STOP IN A SAFE DISTANCE. I THOUGHT IT WAS MY DRIVING SKILLS. BUT I DECIDED TO VISIT THE LEXUS DEALER. THE LEXUS DEALER, AFTER DRIVING THE CAR, T…

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DEAR SIR: I BOUGHT MY LEXUS LS 430 BRAND NEW IN 2002, AND I LOVE IT VERY MUCH EXCEPT FOR ONE THING: THE BRAKING SYSTEM. WHEN I PRESS THE BRAKE, MY LS430 SKIDS (FORWARD), AND DO NOT STOP IN A SAFE DISTANCE. I THOUGHT IT WAS MY DRIVING SKILLS. BUT I DECIDED TO VISIT THE LEXUS DEALER. THE LEXUS DEALER, AFTER DRIVING THE CAR, TOLD ME IT IS NORMAL FOR THE ABS SYSTEM TO DO THAT, AND I SHOULD NOT PRESS THE BRAKE HARD. WELL, I LEFT THE DEALER, AND A FEW METERS AWAY I WAS DRIVING AROUND 20-25 ML/H WHEN THE CAR AHEAD OF ME STOPPED, I PRESSED THE BRAKE, BUT MY CAR - AS USUAL- SKIDDED FORWARD AND HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME CAUSING VERY SERIOUS DAMAGE TO MY CAR. I TOOK THE CAR TO LEXUS WORKSHOP, WHICH CHARGED THE INSURANCE COMPANY $ 9000. I CONTACTED THE SAUDI ARABIAN STANDARDS ORGANIZATION (WWW.SASO.ORG.SA) AND TOLD THEM ABOUT THE BARKING SYSTEM FAILURE IN THIS ACCIDENT. THEY SENT TECHNICIANS AND TESTED THE CAR AT LEXUS WORKSHOP, AND FOUND AN ABNORMAL FORWARD SKIDDING WHEN PRESSING THE BRAKE AT LOW SPEED, AND WROTE ME A REPORT OF THEIR FINDINGS. FOR YOUR INFORMATION THIS IS THE SAME ORGANIZATION WHO DISCOVERED THE TECHNICAL FAILURE IN THE FIRESTONE TIRES FITTED ON THE FORD EXPLORER FEW YEARS AGO, WHICH RESULTED IN A VERY COSTLY RECALL TO FORD CORP. I WROTE THE SAUDI LEXUS AUTHORIZED LEXUS DEALER ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, BUT NO ANSWER RECEIVED. I CANNOT TAKE ON THIS POWERFUL LEXUS DEALER ALONE. I DO NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN FIND TO EXPOSE THIS DANGEROUS BRAKING FAILURE IN THE LEXUS LS430. I HAVE MANY FRIENDS WHO OWN THE SAME LEXUS MODEL AND HAVE THE SAME COMPLAINT. PLEASE ADVICE ME HOW CAN I STAND UP TO THIS POWERFUL DEALER AND THE MIGHTY TOYOTA/LEXUS COMPANY. I AM WORRIED AND SCARED TO DEATH THAT I MIGHT BE IN A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION WHEN I NEED THE BRAKING SYSTEM OF MY LS 430 THAT WILL FAIL ME AS IT DID TODAY AND MANY TIMES BEFORE. TO BE HONEST WITH YOU: I WILL DEFINITELY SELL MY LEXUS L 430 IF THE BRAKE SYSTEM IS NOT FIXED. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10230739

51,555 miles · May 13, 2008
Service Brakes, HydraulicUnknown Or OtherCrash

DEAR SIR: I BOUGHT MY LEXUS LS 430 BRAND NEW IN 2002, AND I LOVE IT VERY MUCH EXCEPT FOR ONE THING: THE BRAKE SYSTEM. WHEN I PRESS THE BRAKE, MY LS430 SKIDS (FORWARD), AND DOES NOT STOP IN TIME. I THOUGHT IT WAS MY OLD MAN'S DRIVING HABITS. BUT I DECIDED TO VISIT THE LEXUS DEALER. THE LEXUS DEALER, AFTER DRIVING THE CAR, TO…

Read full complaint

DEAR SIR: I BOUGHT MY LEXUS LS 430 BRAND NEW IN 2002, AND I LOVE IT VERY MUCH EXCEPT FOR ONE THING: THE BRAKE SYSTEM. WHEN I PRESS THE BRAKE, MY LS430 SKIDS (FORWARD), AND DOES NOT STOP IN TIME. I THOUGHT IT WAS MY OLD MAN'S DRIVING HABITS. BUT I DECIDED TO VISIT THE LEXUS DEALER. THE LEXUS DEALER, AFTER DRIVING THE CAR, TOLD ME IT IS NORMAL FOR THE ABS SYSTEM TO DO THAT, AND I SHOULD NOT PRESS THE BRAKE HARD. WELL, I LEFT THE DEALER, AND A FEW METERS AWAY I WAS DRIVING AROUND 20-25 ML/H WHEN THE CAR AHEAD OF ME STOPPED, I PRESSED THE BRAKE, BUT MY CAR - AS USUAL- SKID AND HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME CAUSING VERY SERIOUS DAMAGE TO MY CAR ($9000). MY QUESTION: DOES THIS ACCIDENT PROVE THAT THE LEXUS LS 430 ABS BRAKE SYSTEM IS FLAWED SUCH THAT IT SKIDS WHEN YOU MOST NEED IT EVEN AT VERY SLOW SPEED? AND HOW CAN I AVOID SUCH A DANGEROUS SITUATIONS IN THE FUTURE ? I ASKED TWO OF MY FRIENDS WHO HAVE LEXUS LS430, AND THEY TOTALLY CONFIRMED MY COMPLAINT. I AM WORRIED AND SCARED TO DEATH THAT I MIGHT BE IN A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION WHEN I NEED THE BRAKING SYSTEM OF MY LS 430 THAT WILL FAIL ME AS IT DID TODAY AND MANY TIMES BEFORE. TO BE HONEST WITH YOU: I WILL DEFINITELY SELL MY LEXUS L 430 IF YOUR TECHNICIANS CAN NOT FIX THE SKIDDING PROBLEM. BEST REGARDS *TR

NHTSA ODI #10227588

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.