2004 LEXUS RX Complaints

I OWN A 2004 LEXUS RX 330. AS HAS BEEN WIDELY REPORTED ON THE INTERNET, THE DASHBOARD IN THESE CARS HAS A TENDENCY TO CRACK AND PEAL, PARTICULARLY AROUND THE AREA ABOVE THE PASSENGER AIRBAG. AT THE OUTSET THIS APPEARS TO BE A COSMETIC ISSUE. HOWEVER, WHEN I RECENTLY WENT TO AN AUTO UPHOLSTERY SHOP TO INQUIRE ABOUT REPAIR, THE TECHNICIAN BECAME ALARMED BECAUSE I -- LIKE PRESUMABLY MANY OTHERS -- HAD SOUGHT TO INITIATE A TEMPORARY REPAIR BY PLACING HEAVY-DUTY DUCT TAPE OVER THE CRACKED AREA. THE TECHNICIAN ADVISED ME TO IMMEDIATELY REMOVE THE DUCT TAPE BECAUSE OF HIS CONCERN THAT IT WOULD INTERFERE WITH THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIRBAG. THUS, IN THIS INSTANCE, WHILE THE ACTUAL PROBLEM MAY ONLY BE COSMETIC, THE TENDENCY OF CONSUMERS TO SEEK TO TEMPORARILY REPAIR THE ISSUE PARTICULARLY GIVEN THE PROHIBITIVE COST OF DASHBOARD REPLACEMENT AS A PROPER REPAIR?? CREATES A SITUATION OF GRAVE CONCERN FOR PASSENGER SAFETY. I HAD DRIVEN THE CAR THOUSANDS OF MILES WITH THE DUCT TAPE COVERING THE AIRBAG WITHOUT A THOUGHT TO THE RISK I WAS TAKING. *TR

OUR 2004 RDX, EXTREMELY LOW MILES, ALWAYS GARAGED, MINT CONDITION, HAS A DASH THAT HAS CRACKED ALL THE WAY AROUND AND IS BEGINNING TO EXTEND TOWARD THE MIDDLE. WHEN I WENT TO THE LOCAL LEXUS SERVICE DEPARTMENT SEVERAL YEARS AGO, THEY TOLD ME "LEATHER ALWAYS DOES THAT". STUPID ASS. I HAVE SINCE LEARNED THAT MANY OTHERS HAVE THIS ISSUE. I THOUGHT LEXUS QUALITY WAS BETTER, BUT IT'S THE SERVICE THAT IS APPALLING! WE WERE OFFERED A 25% COURTESY ASSISTANCE. *TR

I WAS ON THE FEEDER OF THE FREEWAY AND WAS GETTING READY TO ENTER THE FREEWAY ENTRANCE RAMP. I PUSHED ON THE GAS PEDAL TO ACCELERATE, AT THIS TIME THE CAR SPED UP ON ITS OWN BEYOND THE SPEED THAT I WAS ATTEMPTING TO GO. I REMOVED MY FOOT FROM THE PEDAL; HOWEVER THE CAR KEPT ACCELERATING. I PUSHED ON THE BRAKES AND THE CAR KEPT ACCELERATING. I HAD HEARD ABOUT THE FLOOR MAT CAUSING THIS PROBLEM; SO I CHECKED THE GAS PEDAL AND THERE WAS NOTHING NEAR PEDAL. THE FLOOR MAT HAD NOT MOVED EVERYTHING WAS IN PLACE. I PUT MY FOOT UNDER THE GAS PEDAL AND ATTEMPTED TO RAISE THE PEDAL; THIS HAD NO EFFECT ON THE SPEED. I STOMPED ON THE GAS PEDAL A COUPLE OF TIMES AND THE PEDAL THEN STARTED RESPONDING NORMALLY. I TRIED TO RECREATE THE PROBLEM SEVERAL TIMES WITH NO RESPONSE. *TR

OVER THE LAST 2 MONTHS I HAVE NOTICED A DETERIORATION OF THE DASHBOARD AS CRACKS AND PEELING HAVE OCCURRED . THE REST OF THE VEHICLE IS IN FINE CONDITION. I ASSUME THAT THE FLORIDA CLIMATE HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT. HOWEVER, I MUST POINT OUT THAT MY VEHICLE IS NORMALLY PARKED IN THE BASEMENT OF A CONDOMINIUM WHERE I HAVE BEEN RESIDING DURING THE ENTIRE PERIOD THAT I HAVE OWNED THE VEHICLE. I DID CALL THE CUSTOMER RELATIONS DEPT. OF LEXUS AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED AFTER 4 YEARS OR 50,000 MILES. I HAPPENED TO EXAMINE A 1990 MERCEDES BENZ SEDAN AND NOTICED THAT THE DASHBOARD WAS COMPLETELY INTACT. I UNDERSTAND FROM MEDIA COVERAGE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE DASHBOARD'S CONDITION. *TR

APPROXIMATELY A YEAR AFTER PURCHASING MY 2004 LEXUS RX330 FROM A DEALERSHIP THE DASH BOARD STARTED TO CRACK. EVENTUALLY, IT TRAVELED ACROSS THE ENTIRE DASH BOARD. I CONTACT LEXUS CORPORATE OFFICE TO COMPLAIN. AFTER REFERRING ME TO A LOCAL DEALERSHIP TO EXAMINE IT AND TAKE PHOTOS AND WRITE UP THE DAMAGE, THEY LATER TOLD ME IT WAS NOT COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY WHICH I ALREADY KNEW. HOWEVER, THEY ADMITTED IT WAS DUE TO INFERIOR AND FAULTY MATERIAL LEXUS USED IN 2004 THRU 2006 IN THEIR MODELS AND ALSO TOYOTA DASHBOARDS. THE COST TO REPLACE THE DASH IS $2,500 THIS IS MY 3RD LEXUS SUV BUT IT WILL BE MY LAST! I FEEL LEXUS SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE TO REPLACE THE DASH BOARDS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 LEXUS RX330. THE CONTACT STATED THE DASHBOARD HAD DEVELOPED A CRACK AND STARTED TO MELT. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN DECLINED TO REPAIR OR DIAGNOSE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 120,000.

I FIRST NOTICED CRACKS IN THE PLASTIC IN SEVERAL PLACES RUNNING VERTICALLY ON BOTH SIDES OF MY DASHBOARD AND IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS WET. IT WAS VERY STICKY TO THE TOUCH AND LEFT A RESIDUE ON MY FINGERS LIKE PINE TAR. MY CAR IS NOT SITTING IN THE HOT SUN AND IS GARAGED FOR THE MOST PART UNLESS GOING TO THE STORE. *TR

I PURCHASED MY 2ND LEXUS IN 2011; BY 2012 THE DASHBOARD WAS CRACKING, AND IN 2014 THE DASHBOARD MELTED. I REPORTED THE CRACKING PROBLEM TO LEXUS OF ORLANDO IN 2013, AND THEY TOLD ME IT WAS DUE TO TYPE OF SPRAY I WAS USING TO CLEAN THE CAR. AFTER RESEARCHING THE CRACKING AND MELTING DASHBOARD SCENARIO, I READ THE CUSTOMARY RESPONSE FROM LEXUS TO THEIR CUSTOMERS IS, ??TYPE OF SPRAY YOU ARE USING TO CLEAN THE CAR??. I WENT BACK TO LEXUS IN JULY ON 2014, AND THIS TIME THEY TOOK PICTURES OF THE CRACKED AND MELTING DASHING. I DID NOT HEAR BACK FROM LEXUS THEREFORE I CALLED THEM FOR A STATUS, AND THEY FORGOT TO REPORT MY COMPLAINT TO THE CORPORATE OFFICE. WOW, REMEMBER THIS IS A LUXURY DEALERSHIP. AFTER WAITING ANOTHER 2 WEEKS, I CALLED LEXUS OF ORLANDO AGAIN, AND WAS TOLD THEY DID NOT HEAR BACK FROM THE CORPORATE OFFICE, AND WOULD CALL THEM FOR A RESPONSE. AFTER A FEW DAYS, SOMEONE CALLED BE BACK JUST TO REPORT THAT LEXUS WOULD NOT DO ANYTHING TO REPAIR MY MELTING AND CRACKING DASHBOARD, AND I NEED TO PROVE MY LOYALTY TO LEXUS. REALLY, WHAT ABOUT LEXUS LOYALTY TO THEIR CUSTOMERS TO PURCHASE A LUXURY CAR WHERE THE DASHBOARD DOES NOT CRACK OR MELT? I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED IN LEXUS WITH THEIR RESPONSE AND THE UNPROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR OF THEIR EMPLOYEES IN HANDLING THIS PROBLEM AT LEXUS OF ORLANDO. IT SHOULD NOT MATTER THE YEAR OF A CAR; A DASHBOARD OF A CAR SHOULD NOT MELT. I AM FRUSTRATED AND DISGUSTED WITH LEXUS. *TR

MY ELECTRICAL WIRING HAS A HUGE ISSUE. I AM CONFIDENT THIS HAS TO BE A HAZARD OF SOME KIND! A FEW YEARS AGO I STARTED HAVING ISSUES LOCKING/UNLOCKING MY CAR DOORS WITH THE KEY FOB. ONLY ONE OR TWO DOORS WOULD LOCK/UNLOCK ON COMMAND. AFTER RESEARCH I FOUND THIS TO BE A POSSIBLE ACTUATOR PROBLEM. LEXUS ESTIMATED THE COST TO BE $700/ACTUATOR (PER DOOR). WITHOUT HAVING THE ACTUATORS FIXED JUST YET, A COUPLE OF DAYS PASSED AND I NOTICED MY TAIL LIGHT WENT OUT. THE NEXT DAY A HEADLIGHT WENT OUT. I VISITED OUR LOCAL ADVANCED AUTO WHERE THEY REPLACED MY HEADLIGHT AND ONLY 'WIGGLE' REAR TAILLIGHT RESULTING IN IT TO WORK AGAIN. UPON LEAVING, I NOTICED THAT ALL OF MY DOOR LOCKS WORKED AGAIN! THIS BULB ADJUSTMENT EFFECTED THE OTHER ELECTRICAL ITEMS. MANY MONTHS LATER, I HAVE REPLACED A HANDFUL OF BULBS AND HAD TO 'WIGGLE' TOO MANY BULBS TO COUNT. THIS EXACT ISSUE HAS NOW SUBSIDED BUT I AM STILL SEEING OTHER ELECTRICAL ISSUES THROUGHOUT. RIGHT NOW, MY WINDOW MOTOR GRINDS ON PAST THE WINDOW BEING CLOSED AND MY SUNROOF WILL NOT WORK. *TR

MY 2004 LEXUS RX330'S EXTERIOR LIGHTS HAVE ALWAYS LEAKED. FRONT AND BACK BUT THE FRONT IS THE WORST. THIS NOW TO THE POINT THAT THE HEADLIGHTS ARE SO POOR THAT I HAVE BEEN ADVISED NOT TO DRIVE AT NIGHT. LEXUS WILL NOT CORRECT THIS ISSUE UNLESS YOU PAY THEM A WHOPPING $400 + PER UNIT! NO THANK YOU! I SOON HOPE TO PURCHASE SOMETHING NOT MADE BY LEXUS! *TR