2004 Lexus ES 330 Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other ES 330 years
- Far more complaints than other years 1st of 4 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 2 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 174 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Lexus ES 330. That is the most of any ES 330 model year in the database (4 years). The most reported problem area is power train (61 complaints, 35%), typically at around 450 miles. Complaints mention 35 crashes, 2 fires, 22 injuries. There are 2 safety recalls covering this model year. NHTSA has opened 1 defect investigation involving it.
- 174owner complaints
- 2safety recalls
- 1NHTSA investigations
- 35complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2004 Lexus ES 330 problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Train problems | 61 | 35% | 450 | “transmission hesitates” (10%) | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control problems | 53 | 30% | 22,445 | “suddenly accelerated” (17%) | — |
| Air Bags | 24 | 14% | 80,500 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 12 | 7% | 30,000 | — | — |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 8 | 5% | 800 | — | — |
| Electrical System | 7 | 4% | 154,000 | — | — |
| Engine | 4 | 2% | 144,467 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 4 | 2% | 94,000 | — | — |
| Structure | 4 | 2% | 75,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 4 | 2% | 118,240 | — | — |
| Visibility | 4 | 2% | 7,000 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 3 | 2% | 90,000 | — | — |
| Steering | 3 | 2% | 51,000 | — | — |
| Suspension | 3 | 2% | 24,502 | — | — |
| Equipment | 2 | 1% | 32,000 | — | — |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 2 | 1% | 88,639 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 2 | 1% | 28,300 | — | — |
| Seats | 2 | 1% | 150,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 2 | 1% | 48,000 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Parking Brake | 1 | 1% | 64,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Air | 1 | 1% | 8,000 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Electric | 1 | 1% | 90,000 | — | — |
| Tires | 1 | 1% | 44,704 | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2004 Lexus ES 330 recalls (2)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Engine and engine cooling
Problem: Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004 avalon vehicles; 2004 and 2005 camry, camry solara, highlander, and sienna vehicles, 2006 highlander hybrid; 2004 and 2005 lexus es330 and rx330; and 2006 lexus rx400h vehicles manufactured from june 1, 2004 through march 31, 2005, equipped with the 1mz-fe or 3mz-fe engine. The amount of adhesive agent applied between the outer ring and the torsional rubber damper (inner ring) in the crankshaft pulley may be inadequate. If the adhesive is insufficient, there is a possibility that the outer ring may become misaligned and it may not properly rotate with the inner ring, causing noise and/or illumination of the battery discharge indicator light.
Risk: In some cases, the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley which could result in a loss of power steering and a sudden increase in steering effort, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will check the crankshaft pulley to identify whether it was produced by the u.s. Supplier. If so, the dealer will replace the pulley with a new one at no charge. The safety recall is expected to begin during early january 2012. Owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.
Seat belts:front:buckle assembly
Problem: On certain passenger vehicles equipped with a front passenger power seat, when installing certain rear-facing infant child seat bases onto the seat with an excessively high seatbelt tension, it may be possible to unseat a component called the buckle status switch from the seat belt buckle.
Risk: If the switch becomes unseated, the front passenger occupant classification system may mistake the rear-facing child restraint for an unbelted adult occupant, and may not suppress the deployment of the front passenger airbag.
Fix: Dealers will replace the front passenger seatbelt buckle status switch. This safety improvement campaign (ssc 40m) began on december 20, 2004. Owners should contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331 or lexus at 1-800-255-3987..
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
NHTSA defect investigations
- Vehicle speed control (DP05002) — opened Aug 5, 2005, closed Jan 5, 2006.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
Every window has stopped working.the first one stopped going up d own ten years ago now they have all stopped.
Upper right motor mount has been replaced 3 times. Now car is vibrating between 45-60 and has no power and is taking up to 1-2 minute's.
Air bag light came on when idle and won't go off. Code b1787. Never in an accident. Unplugged and re-plugged all connections; disconnected battery for 15 minutes but did not reset light. Dealer checked and could not reset system. No air bag protection now. Fix requires new seat with sensors est…
Passenger air bag light came on about 6 months ago and won't cut off,i haven't been in a car accident nor has my airbag emploded, had it look at by mechanic at auto shop where i get my oil changes and such he didn't recognize any problems,called lexus dealership and they want to charge an arm and a…
I started my car and all of the sudden, air bag light came on. I never had an accident, airbags were never deployed, i checked all the wires and even unplugged the battery for good 10 minutes and the light will not go off. In case of an accident, my car will not deploy air bags and it creates a…
Other Lexus ES 330 years
| Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 ES 330 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006 ES 330 | 64 | 0 |
| 2005 ES 330 | 141 | 2 |
| 2004 | 174 | 2 |
See all Lexus ES 330 problems by year, every Lexus model, or the Lexus VIN decoder.
Similar Lexus models
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2004 Lexus ES 330?
Owners most often report power train, vehicle speed control, air bags problems. The top one, power train, accounts for 61 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2004 Lexus ES 330?
Yes, 2 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2004 Lexus ES 330 a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other ES 330 model years, the 2004 has far more complaints than most years. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.