Lexus LS Air Bag Sensor May Fail to Detect Front Passenger
Toyota is recalling certain 2018–2021 Lexus LS and LS Hybrid vehicles with the Executive Package because the front passenger seat occupant sensor may fail to detect a passenger, 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 structural vehicle defect affecting crash safety (air bag deployment) with risk of harm to occupants, but no injuries or deaths have been reported in the source text. The defect involves failure of a critical safety system in a high-risk scenario (crash events), warranting a High rating.
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. The front passenger seat may have been assembled with internal parts that interfere with each other, causing the Occupant Classification System (OCS) sensor to incorrectly detect whether a passenger is seated.
Because of this defect, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, which governs occupant crash protection. Incorrect detection of an occupant may result in improper air bag deployment during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Dealers will inspect and repair the front passenger seat free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 7, 2024. Owners may contact Toyota customer service at 1-800-331-4331 or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or visit www.nhtsa.gov.
The recalled product
- Product
- 2018 LEXUS LS
- Brand
- LEXUS
- Manufacturer
- Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing
- Hazard
- air-bag-failure
- occupant-detection-failure
- 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.
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