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Lexus GS: Technical Service Bulletins and Recalls

Staying up to date with the recalls and service bulletins for your Lexus GS will ensure your safety and peace of mind.

By Alan Tast - December 15, 2014

This article applies to the Lexus GS (2005-2013).

Recalls and bulletins don’t mean your vehicle is unsafe. These useful warnings are actually designed to promote safety by keeping you informed. Here’s a look at some of the popular recalls and bulletins for your Lexus GS that you should be aware of.

Difference Between Recalls and Service Bulletins

Service bulletins are advisories generated by auto manufacturers to alert dealers about problems with a vehicle line. Service bulletins may be related to a safety issue, but they can also cover non-safety items like cosmetic defects, service procedures or notice of changes, or improvements made during production. Recalls are notices that a vehicle needs to be brought back to the dealer to correct a safety issue. Items of a non-safety nature usually are not reported to registered owners, while recall notifications are mandated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in order to protect the safety and welfare of the public.

Recalls

YearRecall
2006-2010 Fuel leak
2006-2007 Accelerator pedal sticks

Recalls are initiated by manufacturers and/or the NHTSA to address problems that are directly related to safety, such as the need to replace defective ignition switches or check the tightness of a particular fastener in the steering system. When a recall is announced, letters to currently registered owners go out within 60 days of the announcement to notify them with instructions on how to get the vehicle serviced. For those who are looking at or have bought a used vehicle and are not sure if it has been taken care of, NHTSA and manufacturers maintain databases going back to a minimum of 15 years so that the public can view what recalls have been issued. Owners can also go to this website and type in a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), which is located at the lower left (driver's side) corner of the windshield, the driver's door jamb, as well as on the vehicle registration and insurance card. Doing this will allow you to find out if the car was not repaired as part of a safety recall, direct you to manufacturers' databases, and enable you to learn more information about the recall in question.

Pro Tip

If a vehicle has a safety recall item issued by NHTSA that has not been addressed, the manufacturer is obligated to make the repair at no charge to the owner. Non-safety items are subject to the manufacturer's warranty and service policies, typically related to time and/or mileage threshold. That means you need to be aware of what the terms of warranties are for your vehicle.

Service Bulletin Summaries

NHTSA keeps a listing of service bulletin summaries (not complete factory bulletins) from manufactures on their website; go towards the bottom of the page and click on the link to search by Vehicles, which will take you to a new window and prompt you to provide year, manufacturer and model information. If you don't provide model information, hitting the "GO" button will pull up another new window with a summary for the model year of all models and a tabulation of the number of recalls, investigations, complaints and service bulletins in the NHTSA database.

Technical Service Information Bulletins

YearTSIB
2013 Airbags
2013 Seatbelts
2006 Speed control system
2006 Brakes/hydraulic service
2006 Engine/cooling service
2006 Electrical system service
2005 Equipment adaptive service
2005 Electrical system service
2005 Power train service

Service bulletins for Lexus are officially known as Technical Service Information Bulletins (TSIBs), but most people call them TSBs. TSIBs typically state what the problem is, what models are affected, warranty coverage information, ways to determine if the vehicle has the problem, and provide instructions on how to correct the problem. TSIBs can cover items that are not related to vehicle safety, such as a buzzing or rattling sound coming from the dash that numerous owners have complained about, as well as those that may be part of a recall campaign, like replacing a defective air bag sensor.

Common Questions

Do you have to own the vehicle to run a NHTSA VIN check?

No. There is no proof of ownership required to run a recall check.

Will it help a person to take the recall notice and/or TSIB to the dealer to help point out a problem?

It could, but the dealer has access to the same information.

What if I find my problem was covered by a TSIB under warranty but the time/mileage period has expired?

Ask to speak with the service manager: maintain your cool, keep calm, and play whatever cards you can (customer goodwill, loyalty, reporting of how you were treated by word-of-mouth, social media, etc.) to encourage the best possible outcome.

If I find my car was not taken care of for a recall, what should I do?

Print out the NHTSA's reports, notices, and everything you can find about the recall, including a printout from the VIN search, to your local or the selling dealer. Ask them to confirm it hasn't been repaired and, if it hasn't, request that it be taken care of. You may want to call Lexus' area service manager ahead of time to explain what you've discovered to see if they can assist their dealer in getting it taken care of.

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