2006 Lexus GS Problems: 5 Known Issues

On the 2006 Lexus GS, the 2006 Lexus GS is included in NHTSA recall campaign 06V096000, which covers an improperly assembled air bag inflator used in the side air bag, the curtain shield air bag and the knee air bag assembly. Affected inflators were built with an insufficient amount of the heating agents necessary for proper air bag deployment. Should the SRS system activate during a crash, the expansion force of the gas may be insufficient to properly inflate that air bag, which increases the risk of injury to the occupant in the involved seating position. On a car with as many air bags as the GS, this affects only the specific assembly that received a suspect inflator — the remaining restraints are unaffected. There is no owner-detectable sign of the condition. NHTSA's 133-unit count is the campaign total across all Toyota, Scion and Lexus vehicles covered, not a GS figure.

On the 2006-2011 Lexus GS, s190 GS models fitted with the electronically controlled brake (ECB) system - the GS 430, GS 450h and GS 460 - use a brake actuator assembly containing an electric pump motor that maintains accumulator pressure. The pump motor's commutator wears, and once worn the motor can stop in a position from which it will not restart, which is why the failure presents as sudden and total rather than gradual. Owners report a clunking or clicking through the pedal, a buzzing/whining/groaning from the engine bay that continues even after the car is shut off (the pump cycling repeatedly), and a full cluster of ABS, BRAKE, VSC and traction control lights. Note the generation and drivetrain discipline here: the GS 350 uses a conventional vacuum-boosted system and is not affected - this is specific to the ECB-equipped V8 and hybrid cars. Lexus ran a Warranty Enhancement Program (ZLG) covering internal malfunctions of the brake actuator on certain 2006-2007 GS 430, 2007-2011 GS 450h and 2008-2011 GS 460, but the coverage cutoff has passed, so out-of-warranty owners pay.

On the 2006-2007 Lexus GS, early S190 cars (2006-2007 GS) were built with aluminum fuel delivery pipes. Ethanol-blended gasoline with low moisture content attacks the internal surface of the aluminum rail. The corrosion progresses until it eats a pinhole through the pipe wall, at which point gasoline leaks under pressure - a fire risk. Before the pinhole forms, corrosion products can plug the injectors, causing a rough idle and/or illuminating the engine warning lamp. Toyota recalled roughly 214,570 vehicles across 2006-2008 Lexus IS, 2006-2007 GS and 2007-2008 LS. This is a generation-specific hardware issue on the first two model years of the S190 body only; later S190 cars got revised rails, and the separate 18V432 pulsation-damper campaign is a different defect on the same family of parts.

On the 2006-2011 Lexus GS, owners of 2006-2011 GS models report the dashboard top going sticky and shiny, sometimes cracking or peeling, and some notice a chemical smell in warm weather. A shiny dash can reflect onto the windshield and cause glare. Lexus acknowledged the same condition on other models from this era (ES 350, GX 470, IS 250/350, LS 460, RX 330/350/400h) and attributed it to heat or humidity. The GS is not on the list of models in Lexus's dashboard warranty bulletin. Even so, NHTSA's bulletin index files Lexus dashboard bulletins under the 2008 GS 350.

On the 2006-2011, 2013-2020 Lexus GS, the 2GR family V6 - including the 2GR-FSE fitted to the S190 GS 350 / GS 450h and the 2013-2015 L10 GS 350, the 2GR-FKS in 2016-on GS 350s and the 2GR-FXE in the L10 GS 450h - seals its front timing chain cover and cam housings with FIPG (formed-in-place gasket) sealant rather than a solid gasket. Over years of heat cycling the sealant hardens, shrinks and loses adhesion, and engine oil weeps from the timing cover seam and the cam housing joints. ClubLexus describes this as the one major problem of the 2GR V6 and calls it a question of when, not if. The cruel part is the repair geometry: on the longitudinal rear-drive GS there is not enough clearance to pull the timing cover with the engine in the car, so the front subframe with engine and transmission has to come down - a 20+ hour job. Many owners live with a slow weep for years and top off oil instead. This is distinct from the simple valve-cover gasket weep on the older S160 cars.