Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2006 Lexus IS owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Hello ,I am in Seattle Washington. I'm emailing about my Lexus IS250 2006. A few months ago I took my car to the dealership to get the passenger airbag recall done. Immediately after getting that recall fixed. My airbag light on my vehicle came on. We did not think anything of it, we thought it would come off over time. Time has gone by the light has not gone off. So today we took our vehicle to Lexus of Bellevue. They told us that there was an issue with the driver side airbag harness. Something about tension on it or it Deteriorating. The dealership is now saying that my car is not safe. That none of the safety features airbags or seatbelts will work due to this light being on. They will not be covered because there is no recalls for this harness. I have done much research online this is a common well known issue with Lexus. Now my car is a paperweight. …
My 2006 Lexus IS350 is subject to NHTSA Recall number 16V340, for passenger airbag replacement. According to the diections on the NHTSA website shown in the following link: [redacted] The dash pad needs to be removed to access the airbag and perform the repair. Ive contacted my 3 local Lexus dealers and was told in various ways that they do not remove the dash to accomplish the repair but instead just remove the glove compartment and associated parts to access the airbag. I wanted the dash replaced (it was cracked) when the old dash was removed to do this recall repair. SInce the dealers do not actually remove the dash, I was told this was not possible. One dealer told me that for an extra $350, the service dept. would do the repair according to the above linked instructions. I have notified Lyndss Tor at [email] as well as Toyota Quality Compliance [email] and recieved no reply. …
My dashboard is melting due to a manufacturing defect. The glare from my dashboard makes driving difficult as the glare can blind you. The chemical smell from the melting is horrible. I have placed a dash cover on which has helped but if I am in an accident this dash cover will impede the correct deployment of my airbag on the passenger side. Also the inside door panels are melting and are becoming a "putty" like substance. Everything sticks to it. Including my clothes. While driving I have had to jerk my arm from the rest on the door trim to remove it. This can cause my vehicle to possibly swerve off the road or into oncoming traffic. Warranty Enhancement Program - ZLD and CUSTOMER SUPPORT PROGRAM ZLZ were the remedies for this issue. But these have expired. The Manufacturer will not honor this or consider this a safety / hazardous issue and correct it now. …
A known problem in this year of lexus is250. The knee bag wiring harness was constructed too short (lexus has a tsb regarding this, # L-SB-0007-19). The airbag warning light will often come on and stay on. When the light is on the airbag system is inoperable. Having an inoperable airbag system is a great safety concern. A mechanic at a local shop used the scan tool and identified the airbag code as related to the wiring harness for the knee air bag. This should be a recall since it is a known problem and it renders the vehicle unsafe due to inoperable air bags. If this isn't an unsafe problem justifying a recall I dont know what is. Thank you.
There is a common issue with these makes and models with the drivers side knee air bag having issues with connecting which cause the SRS light go on the dashboard. I called Lexus corporate office and local dealer and they said there was a recall but it expired in 2020. From the research i did, this was a small window and there shouldn't have been an expiration on the recall for something that is a safety hazard. Because of this, they are charging thousands for this issue that has affected hundreds of thousands of vehicles.
My dash has cracked and melted due to a manufacturing defect. The Lexus dealers who I have contacted to perform the safety recall for the defective airbags will not replace the cracked dash at the same time. Having the passenger airbag deploy through a cracked dash is an apparent safety issue. Please investigate this
Many people have have issues with the SRS warning light coming on and not going off. This issue seems to stem from harness connection issues that Lexus is aware of and have acknowledged. This needs to be fixed asap!
I got an accident, try to save deer and fox but brake didn't work properly and dis-balanced the car and my car roll over few time and hit from front and back but no airbag deployed, and stability control didn't work.
The vehicle had the front airbags replaced under a national recall. After having the recall done, I received, by usps mail, a "customer support program notification - zlj" sent to me from the manufacturer describing an extended warranty, as issues have occurred with the new drivers side knee airbag inflator triggering the SRS light to come on after the work was done based on faulty crimping. This vehicle IS a second vehicle and does not get driven very often. In June of 2020, I noticed the airbag light coming on intermittently when first starting the car. I remembered the notice and called the dealer. I was told on June 15th that the harness would need to be replaced and the warranty ended on June 12th, 2020. They are refusing to repair the new harness that was installed under recall. I was quoted $2700 out of pocket for the repair. …
The SRS airbag light randomly comes on at variable times. After running the analysis with a Bosch obd1200, it appears that the drivers side knee squib circuit IS showing an open fault. When the seat IS moved back, the wiring harness fails. Its believed that the factory installation of the wiring harness IS too short, causing strain on the harness connector. This causes a fault on the airbag module and renders the drivers side knee airbag inoperable. This should be considered a safety concern and a recall should fix this issue.
Related recalls
Air bags
On certain vehicles, due to improper assembly of the air bag inflator, which is used in the side air bag, the curtain shield air bag, and the knee air bag assembly, some inflators were produced with an insufficient amount of the heating agents necessary for proper air bag deployment.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the specific SRS air bag. The recall began on April 6, 2006. Owners May contact Toyota at 1-888-270-9371, Scion at 1-866-548-1851, or Lexus at 1-800-255-3987.
Airbag complaints in other IS years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2006 Lexus IS?
NHTSA has 26 complaints about the air bags of the 2006 Lexus IS, 18% of the model year's 143 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2006 Lexus IS airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 06V-096 (air bags, Apr 3, 2006). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2006 Lexus IS airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 108,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.