Airbag inflator rupture on the 2011 Lexus Es350
When airbag inflator rupture gets reported
Owners of the 2011 Lexus Es350 report airbag inflator rupture at a median of 50,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 65,000 miles, from 10 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 80,000 miles. It is the 1st most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 30,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 70,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 42,140 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
30% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27,560 miles | 31,475 miles | 50,000 miles | 63,500 miles | 69,700 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $0–$0 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
This mode is classified as critical, which means a failure can leave the car unable to stop, steer, or stay out of the way of traffic. It is weighted accordingly in the risk score.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 6 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2009, at a median of 45,000 miles, and latest on the 2008 at 100,000 miles.
By volume the 2008 carries the most reports, with 128; the 2011 has 114. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Takata recall. I was informed of the recall. No current repair and was advised to not operate with a front seat passenger. Contacted the manufacturer and was told the remedy would not be ready until, at least, first quarter 2017. The dealership is willing to provide a non-comparable loaner vehicle (I would expect a luxury vehicle). My vehicle was purchased with an extended warranty and scratch and dent protection. I have also prepaid for an xm subscription. All of these purchases are being wasted if I accept the loaner. If I don't accept a loaner, my vehicle continues to depreciate and is no longer serving my needs. This is an unacceptable solution and the time period for the inconvenience (6+ months) is too long.
Takata recall: the information provided 4 months after original recall notice is listed as "no remedy". This is not acceptable. Having no front passenger seat available is not acceptable. A fix needs to be done immediately. We are in zone a *tr
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2011 lexus es350. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16v340000 (air bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vine tool confirms parts not available. Updated 12/23/16*lj updated 01/03/17.*jb
Also reported on the 2011 Lexus Es350
Airbag failed to deploy in a crash
Other electrical problem
Sunroof failure or glass breakage
Other body or interior problem
Stalling while driving
Other engine problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 114 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does airbag inflator rupture happen on the 2011 Lexus Es350?
Across 10 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 50,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 65,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is airbag inflator rupture on the 2011 Lexus Es350?
114 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 3.1 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed