2004 LEXUS RX330 Complaints

RIGHT SIDE TIRE HITS THE CURB LANE TRIED TO CORRECT IT& LOSES CONTROL (FISH TAIL) ROLLS OVER SEVERAL TIMES & LANDS ON DITCH. BOTH SIDE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY THAT CAUSE SEVERE INJURY TO PERSON OCCUPYING PASSENGER SIDE.

HIGHWAY DRIVING @ 70 MPH DRIVING AFTER 360 MILES AND 250 MILES, CONDITIONS WERE DRY AND PAVEMENT SMOOTH AND CLEAR IN BOTH CASES, NO CONSTRUCTION IN THE AREA. VEHICLE STARTED WITH A SLIGHT VIBRATION AND EVENTUALLY IT LED UP TO A SIGNIFICANT VIBRATIONS THAT SHOOK THE CHASSIS INCLUDING THE STEERING WHEEL. VIBRATION WORSENED AS THE BRAKE WAS APPLIED TO PULL OVER. THE FIRST TIME WE CHECKED VEHICLE OUTSIDE AND NOTICED NOTHING UNUSUAL AND RESTARTED TESTING THE BRAKES THE FIRST FEW HUNDRED FEET AND THE VIBRATION WAS STILL THERE DURING BRAKING BUT NO LONGER THERE WHILE DRIVING. THE SECOND OCCURANCE I COULD FEEL THE VIBRATION BUILD UP SO I STARTED TO SLOW DOWN AND AGAIN BRAKING MADE IT WORSE. I THOUGHT THIS IS A BRAKE PROBLEM SO TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM I TRIED PUTTING MY FOOT UNDER THE BRAKE PEDAL AND PULLING BACK TOWARDS ME. AFTER DOING THIS I IMMEDIATELY FELT THE VIBRATION GO AWAY. HOWEVER, FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL BRAKE SITUATIONS, THE VEHICLE STILL VIBRATED WHILE THE BRAKES WERE APPLIED. I THOUGHT THIS MIGHT BE THE MAT, HOWEVER, THE PEDAL GOES STRAIGHT UP INTO THE IP AND THE MAT CAN NOT INTERFER WITH PEDAL TRAVEL. DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HUNDRED WE WOULD PULL BACK ON THE PEDAL. MOST CASES THE PEDAL WOULD HAVE NO TRAVAL BACK BUT ON OCCASSION WE WOULD FEEL THAT IT WOULD HAVE TRAVEL BACK. I WILL BE TAKING THIS TO A DEALER TO HAVE THIS CHECKED OUT. IT WAS ALMOST AS IF THE BOOSTER WAS CREATING A NEGATIVE VACUMN PULLING THE PEDAL TO THE FLOOR APPLYING THE BRAKE. FIRST INCIDENT WAS ON 6/10/05 ON I-80 360 MILES EAST OF CHICAGO (IN OHIO) AND THE SECOND WAS ON 6/20/05, 250 MILES WEST OF NIAGARA FALLS.

OUR LEXUS RX330 WAS PURCHASED IN AUGUST OF 2003. FOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, THE VEHICLE HESITATES TO SHIFT GEARS WITH A LAG CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO JERK FORWARD. WE HAVE TROUBLE MERGING ONTO THE HIGHWAY AS WELL AS ACCELERATING FROM A STOP AND WHILE TURNING DUE TO THIS DANGEROUS CONDITION. DEALER KEEPS PERFORMING THE TSB TC005-03 "POOR SHIFT QUALITY" AND REPROGRAMS THE COMPUTER WITH NO IMPROVEMENT. WE ARE TOLD THERE IS NOTHING MORE THAT CAN BE DONE. AFTER MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS WITH LEXUS CUSTOMER SERVICE, THEY DENY A PROBLEM EXISTS AND STATES THAT THE VEHICLE PERFORMS WITHIN SPECIFICATIONS. CUSTOMER SERVICE EVEN FAILS TO DOCUMENT MY COMPLAINTS BY NOT ENTERING IT IN THE IR COMPUTER SYSTEMS IN AN ATTEMPT TO HIDE THE DEFECT. MANY OWNERS REPORT THIS PROBLEM ON INTERNET MESSAGE BOARDS. THIS IS A DANGEROUS AND UNACCEPTABLE DESIGN FLAW THAT NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED WITH A RECALL.

AROUND 11,000 MILES MY 2004 RX330 STARTED HAVING A THUMPING SOUND THAT OCCURRED INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DECELERATING ESPECIALLY AROUND 29 MPH AND THEN AGAIN AROUND 19 MPH. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT IT WAS MY TRANS COOLER LINE ASSEMBLY AND OIL COOLER HOSE WHICH WERE REPLACED AND THE PROBLEM WAS RESOLVED FOR ABOUT ONE WEEK THAT WAS BACK IN OCT. 2004. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE BACK ABOUT 4 MORE TIMES FOR THE THUMPING NOISE THAT CONTINUES TO OCCUR INTERMITTENTLY AND NOW THEY TELL ME THE NOISE IS NORMAL AND THAT THE VEHICLE IS OPERATING AS DESIGNED. I QUESTIONED HOW CAN IT BE CONSIDERED ABNORMAL BACK IN OCTOBER BUT NOW THAT THE THUMPING NOISE CAN'T BE FIXED THEY CONSIDER IT A DESIGN FLAW. THEY APPARENTLY UPGRADED IT AND THAT SHOULD HAVE ELIMINATED THE NOISE BUT IF IT DIDN'T THERE IS NOTHING ELSE TO DO BECAUSE THIS IS HOW THE VEHICLE WAS DESIGNED... I FEAR EVERYDAY THAT THIS THUMPING NOISE IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF WHAT IS YET TO FOLLOW AS I READ ALL THE OTHER TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS THAT HAVE BEEN OCCURING AND SOME HAVE EXHIBITED THE THUMP SOUND...LEXUS NEEDS TO FIX THE PROBLEMS AND NOT JUST PUT A BAND-AID ON EACH ONE THAT OCCURS UNTIL THE NEXT MAJOR INCIDENT ... TAKE THIS VEHICLES OFF THE ROAD IF SO MANY CONSUMERS ARE PUTTING THEIR LIFE IN JEOPARDY DRIVING A VEHICLE THAT WAS APPARENTLY NOT MANUFACTURED PROPERLY AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED SAFE TO DRIVE.

PICKING UP MY DAUGHTER AT A FRIENDS HOUSE AND FORTUNATELY WAS ONLY GOING ABOUT 5-10MPH TO A STOP SIGN WHEN MY BRAKES FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. I HAD TO PUT MY ENTIRE BODY WEIGHT ON THE PEDAL TO SLOW THE VEHICLE DOWN. THE CAR WAS TOWED BY FLATBED TO DEALERSHIP AND DETERMINED IT WAS THE BRAKE BOOSTER ASSEMBLY. AT THE SAME TIME MY FUEL INJECTOR ASSEMBLY APPARENTLY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED WHICH I HAD NO IDEA OF UNTIL I RECIEVED MY WORK ORDER SHEET. I WAS ACCUSED OF USING CHEAP GAS WHICH I ABSOLUTELY NEVER USED. I ONLY USE THE HIGHEST GRADE OF FUEL IN MY VEHICLE SO THEY COULD GIVE ME NO OTHER REASON FOR THE COINCIDENCE. IT SEEMS LIKE MANY 2004 RX330'S HAVE BEEN HAVE ALOT OF BRAKE ISSUES BUT LEXUS' ANSWER TO THE PROBLEM IS THAT IF THE PROBLEM CAN BE FIXED THEN THE CAR IS RUNNING ACCORDING TO SPECIFICATIONS. MY QUESTION TO THEM WAS CAN THEY FIX THE PROBLEM OF THE LOSS OF A LIFE WHEN THIS UNSAFE VEHICLE PRODUCES THAT PROBLEM? I HAVE ALSO HAD TO HAVE BRAKE ROTOR PADS REPLACED AT 15,000 MILES WHICH ACCORDING TO THE SERVICE TECH WAS OUT OF THE ORDINARY BUT NOT ACCORDING TO A LEXUS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ADMINISTRATOR. I FIND IT APPALLING THAT LEXUS IS NOT STANDING BEHIND ITS PRODUCT TO HAVE THESE UNSAFE VEHICLES TAKEN OFF THE ROAD INSTEAD THEY ARE WILLING TO RISK CONSUMERS LIVES NATIONWIDE.... SO MUCH FOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION.

CONSUMER HAS 3 MAJOR COMPLAINTS ON THE 2004 LEXUS RX 330: SUN GLARE FROM THE DASHBOARD OBSTRUCTING VISIBILITY. THE HIGH INTENSITY LIGHTS DO NOT ILLUMINATE ENOUGH DOWN THE ROAD FOR THE CONSUMER TO SEE SAFELY. THERE IS SEVERE HESITATION AFTER SLOWING THE VEHICLE DOWN, FOLLOWED BY A SUDDEN SURGE OF POWER. *MR THE DEALER IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT INDICATED THERE WAS NO WAY TO FIX THEM. *NM

ENGINE/TRANSMISSION HESITATION; MISSED SHIFT POINTS; AND STALLS IN TRAFFIC UPON ACCELERATION. USING AUTOMATIC CLIMATE CONTROL CAUSES ALL WINDOWS TO FOG UP TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU CAN NOT SEE OUT OF THE WINDOWS. LOAD ENGINE NOISES AND POPPING SOUNDS.

ON JANUARY 17, 2005 I WAS INVOLVED IN AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT IN MY 2004 LEXUS RX330. THIS ACCIDENT OCCURRED LESS THAN 1 MILE FROM MY HOME, ON MY OWN STREET, 1-2 MINUTES AFTER LEAVING MY HOME. IT HAD SNOWED THE NIGHT BEFORE AND THE ROADWAY WAS STILL SNOW/ICE COVERED, IT WAS A FRIGID MORNING. I WAS TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 15 MILES PER HOUR AND THE VEHICLE BRAKES FAILED TO ENGAGE. I ATTEMPTED TO PUSH THE BRAKE PETAL TO THE FLOOR WITHOUT RESULT. THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES DID NOT FUNCTION. THE DAMAGE TO THIS VEHICLE EXCEEDED $8000. DAYS AFTER THE DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE WAS FIXED MY HUSBAND TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE LEXUS OF TOWSON DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE BRAKING MECHANISM LOOKED AT. DURING THE DRIVE TO THE DEALERSHIP (IN SIMILAR, SNOW COVERED/FRIGID CONDITIONS) MY HUSBAND WAS ABLE TO REPRODUCE THIS PROBLEM, AGAIN JUST AFTER LEAVING OUR HOME. THE DEALERSHIP (A 40 MINUTE DRIVE FROM OUR HOME) WAS UNABLE TO REPRODUCE THIS PROBLEM AND TOLD US TO CALL BACK IF THE PROBLEM OCCURRED AGAIN. TODAY, MAY 24, 2005, WE WERE INFORMED DURING A ROUTINE OIL CHANGE THAT THERE MAY BE A PROBLEM WTH THE BRAKES AND THAT A CAMPAIGN WAS UNDERWAY TO INVESTIGATE. I WANTED TO FORMALLY ADD MY VEHICLE TO THIS LIST OF COMPAINTS.

MY 2004 LEXUS RX330 HAS NOISY RATTLING SUSPENSION WHEN DRIVING OVER UNDULATING SURFACES OR SPEED BUMPS, ALSO THE STEERING APEARS TO DRIFT WHEN TRAVELLING IN A STRIAGHT LINE,. DEALER HAS CHECKED ON NUMBER OF OCCASIONS BUT STATED IT IS JUST A CHARACTRISTIC OF THE VEHICLE, BUT I HAVE DRIVEN MANY OTHER SIMILAR CARS WITH NO SUCH NOISE OR DRIFT.

THE ACCELERATOR STUCK, AND CONSUMER WAS NOT ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE. CONSUMER LEFT THE VEHICLE, AND CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER. THEY HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED, SUPPOSEDLY REPAIRED, BUT CONSUMER WAS NOT SATISFIED.*AK BECAUSE CONSUMER HAVE NO BRAKEBRAKES HE HAD TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE WHICH SLOWED THE CAR DOWN ENOUGH TO PUT IT IN PARK WHILE MOVING, THEN HE SHUT OFF THE IGNITION. THIS VEHICLE CAME WITH NO CLIPS ON THE KICK PANEL. *BF