Buyer Research

2024 Lexus IS — Should You Buy One?

Typical asking price: $33,000–$52,000. This is one of the more reliable vehicles in its class — here's what to watch for anyway.

Deciding between model years? Compare the 15 Lexus IS years we've written up →

Kestrel Take

One complaint. That is the entire public record for the 2024 IS — a single filing about a side window that shattered at 65 mph, and no recall campaigns at all. We will not dress that up as a clean bill of health, because it is not one: one complaint means almost nobody wrote to NHTSA about this car, and that is a fact about the filings, not about the engineering. What we can say is that this is the fourth year of a lightly-updated version of a platform Lexus has been building since 2014, which is a real advantage over a first-year design. Buy it on a pre-purchase inspection and on how it drives, not on the quietness of its file.

What we checked

Checked against public records, 2026-09-25

NHTSA holds 1 owner complaint for the 2024 Lexus IS, and no recall campaigns.

That is too small a record to read a pattern from, so we are not going to pretend otherwise — with numbers this low one owner moves the percentage by a lot. What has been filed is grouped under glass, wipers and mirrors (1). Treat those as things to look at, not as the vehicle's known weaknesses. A thin file usually means few of these were sold or few owners filed. It is not evidence the vehicle is trouble-free, and the issues below are our own research rather than a reading of this record.

Counts come from the NHTSA complaint and recall database — free, public, and worth checking yourself.

Known Issues for the 2024 Lexus IS

Ranked by wallet impact. These are documented, recurring problems — not freak accidents. How we decide that.

One report of a driver's door window shattering at highway speedMedium

An IS 500 owner reports the front driver's side glass crazing into a honeycomb and then blowing outward while doing 65 mph, with a passenger alongside. Tempered side glass can fail this way years after a chip or a stress point in the edge, and it happens on cars of every make — but it is one filing here, so treat it as a thing to look at rather than a fault in the car. Walk around and check each window for the maker's etching in the corner and for chips or nicks along the exposed edge when the glass is half down.

Repair cost (estimate): $400–$900 for a door glass replaced and the door card refitted

Source: NHTSA complaints filed under glass, wipers and mirrors (1).

Summer tyres on the F Sport and IS 500 — short-lived, costly, and unsafe in the coldMedium

The sportier versions of this car leave the factory on summer performance rubber, which is superb in the dry and turns hard and greasy below about 45°F — a genuine safety matter if you live somewhere with winter, and a fast-wearing, expensive tyre even if you do not. Look at the sidewall: a summer tyre has no M+S or snowflake marking. If the car you are looking at still wears its originals and you drive through a cold season, budget for a second set of wheels or all-seasons as part of the purchase price, not as a surprise later.

Repair cost (estimate): $1,100–$2,000 for a set of four fitted and balanced

Source: not yet checked against public records.

Walk-Away Red Flags

✗Chips or nicks along the exposed edge of a side window when you lower it halfway
✗Door glass with no maker's etching, or etching that differs from the other windows
✗Summer-compound tyres on a car you intend to drive through winter
✗Stars or cracks in the windshield on a car with a camera mounted behind it
✗Uneven tyre wear across the tread, which points at alignment or hard use

Good Signs

✓Matching factory glass etching in the corner of every window
✓Four matching tyres with recent date codes and even wear across the tread
✓Lexus factory warranty still showing open against the VIN at a dealer
✓Lexus dealer stamps covering both of the first two scheduled services
✓A second set of winter wheels included, if the seller lives somewhere cold