1998 Lexus GS300

No clear pattern

25.3% of complaints about the 1998 Lexus GS300 arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 1998 vehicle, but with only 75 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is speed control (23 complaints), typically at 5.4 yr or about 112,000 miles.

Complaints: 75
Median age at failure: 6.9 yr
Median mileage: 135,000 n=28
Crash / fire / tow: 16% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

98V080000 1998-04-17

Electronic stability control:automatic (asc)

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. DUE TO A MANUFACTURING DEFECT OF THE YAW RATE SENSOR FOR THE VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL (VSC), THE VSC CAN OPERATE IMPROPERLY IF THE SENSOR IS AFFECTED BY CERTAIN ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, SUCH AS FROM A CELLULAR PHONE.

SHOULD THIS OCCUR, THE BRAKE MAY OPERATE UNEXPECTEDLY, AFFECTING STEERING AND SPEED CONTROL, INCREASING THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.

In owners’ own words

Speed control mileage not reported 7 mo in service

AT 45 MPH VEHICLE ACCELERATES WITHOUT CONTROL, HAVE TO SHIFT TO NEUTRAL, AND TURN IGNITION OFF. FROM A STOP THE CAR WILL SUDDENLY ACCELERATES WITHOUT DRIVERS CONTROL. FRONT END SHAKES AT 45 MPH AND ABOVE, HAS CRUISE CONTROL.

Speed control mileage not reported 1.4 yr in service

WHILE DRIVING THROTTLE WAS STUCK, CAUSING VEHICLE TO ACCELERATE UNEXPECTEDLY IN WHICH THE OCCUPANT HAD TO PRESS HARD ON THE BRAKES IN ORDER TO SLOW DOWN THE VEHICLE. CONSUMER TURNED OFF VEHICLE IN ORDER TO STOP,THE VEHICLE WAS RESTARTED AND IT WAS IDLING AT HIGH RPM. TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE AGAIN AND RESTARTED AND THE VEHICLE WAS AT NORMAL RPM. VEHICLE HAS BEEN TO DEALER, HOWEVER DEALER UNABLE TO DETERMINE PROBLEM. *AK *SB

Speed control mileage not reported 1.4 yr in service

AT ABOUT 3:45 PM, I LEFT MY OFFICE IN ROSSLYN TO GET TO A DENTIST APPOINTMENT. I WAS HEADING WEST ON ROUTE 50 IN THE RIGHT LANE, THEN MOVED TO THE CENTER LANE AND FLOORED THE ACCELERATOR TO PASS A SLOW MOVING VEHICLE THAT WAS IN THE RIGHT LANE. AS I PULLED BACK INTO THE RIGHT LANE, THE CAR CONTINUED ACCELERATING. I HOOKED MY TOE UNDER THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL TO SEE IF IT WAS STUCK IN A DOWN POSITION. IT WAS NOT. *AK

Other GS300 model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

1998 Lexus GS300

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other GS300 model years

How to read this