The Recall Desk
HighNHTSA·24V275000·Announced 2025-05-04

2018-2021 Lexus LS Passenger Seat Sensor Defect Air Bag Safety Recall

Toyota is recalling 2018-2021 Lexus LS500 sedans with the Executive Package due to a front passenger seat assembly defect that can prevent the occupant sensor from detecting passengers, risking improper air bag deployment in a crash.

What this means for you

Real risk of harm even if no illness or injury has been reported yet. Stop using the product and follow the agency's guidance.

Our severity reasoning: This is a risk-of-harm product—a defect in a safety-critical system (air bag occupant detection) that could cause improper deployment and injury during a crash. No injuries have been reported to date, placing it at the high end of the scale per the rubric for untriggered risk-of-harm products.

Plain-English summary

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing is recalling certain 2018-2021 Lexus LS500 and 2018-2020 Lexus LS500 Hybrid vehicles equipped with the Executive Package. Approximately 509 vehicles are affected. Owner notification letters were mailed June 7, 2024.

The front passenger seat may have been assembled with internal parts that interfere with each other. This interference can cause the Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensor to incorrectly detect whether an occupant is present in the front passenger seat. These vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, which requires proper occupant crash protection.

Incorrect detection of an occupant may result in improper air bag deployment during a crash, increasing the risk of injury to vehicle occupants.

Owners should contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331 to schedule a repair. Dealers will inspect and repair the front passenger seat at no charge. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 for more information.

The recalled product

Product
2018 LEXUS LS
Brand
LEXUS
Manufacturer
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing
Category
Vehicle — Passenger Sedan
Hazard
  • occupant-detection-failure
  • improper-airbag-deployment
  • crash-safety-defect
Affected units
509

Is your product affected?

Check your packaging against the codes below. If any of them match, the product is part of this recall.

Model numbers (2)

  • LS
  • LS HYBRID

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

Related recalls

Same brand · LEXUS

Same category