2004 Lexus ES Powertrain & Transmission Problems

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.

WHILE DRIVING, MY TRANSMISSION FAILED ON MY 2004 LEXUS ES330 WITH 97,000 MILES. CARS WERE SWERVING TO AVOID HITTING ME AS MY CAR ALMOST CAME TO A STOP WHILE DRIVING ON A BUSY ROAD. LEXUS CORPORATE GAVE ME HALF OFF THE PARTS FOR THE TRANSMISSION AND THE DEALER GAVE ME HALF OFF OF LABOR. HOWEVER, TRANSMISSIONS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO FAIL ON 1984 BUICKS, LET ALONE 2004 LEXUS' WITH UNDER 100,000 MILES. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 LEXUS ES330. WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS RANGING FROM 0-10 MILES PER HOUR, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE TRANSMISSION JERKED, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO HESITATE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT CALLED THE LOCAL DEALER AND THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED AT THE TIME OF THE COMPLAINT. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 42,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 LEXUS ES330. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH AND ATTEMPTING TO SHIFT FROM SECOND TO THIRD, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL SYSTEM HESITATED AND AS A RESULT, THE COMPUTER MODULE WOULD NEED TO BE UPDATED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE WHO DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING UP TO THEIR STANDARDS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 70,000.

ONE MONTH AFTER PURCHASING MY CERTIFIED/PREVIOUSLY OWNED 2004 LEXUS ES330 ON 9/30/05, I HAD THE DEALER CHECK VEHICLE'S SLOW TO SHIFT, SLIPPING THROUGH GEARS WHILE ACCELERATING, AND 'SURGING' WHILE ATTEMPTING TO STOP, AS IF GEARS/TRANSMISSION WERE SLOW TO GET THE MESSAGE. I HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE CHECKED 5 TIMES (2005-2009), AND EACH TIME, THEY EITHER SAY THEY DID NOT FIND A PROBLEM OR, TWICE, RESET THE COMPUTER. I FEEL AS THOUGH I'M 'AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN,' HOWEVER, HAVE SEEN NO REPORTS/ INVESTIGATIONS/RECALLS ADDRESSING THESE LEXUS/TOYOTA PRODUCT ISSUES. PLEASE ADVISE HOW NHTSA/I CAN ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM BEFORE I OR SOMEONE ELSE GETS HURT OR KILLED. *TR

MY LEXUS 2004 MODEL ES330 HAS BEEN ACCELERATING BY ITSELF. THIS ACCELERATION HAS BEEN HAPPENING TWO TO THREE TIMES A WEEK FOR ABOUT A YEAR. I DID NOT REALIZE THAT THE CAR WAS ACCELERATING BY ITSELF, BUT HAVE NOTICED MORE DURING LAST 3 TO 4 MONTHS. *TR

MY 2004 LEXUS ES 330 SEDAN HAS A TRANSMISSION SHIFTING PROBLEM THAT I HAVE DESCRIBED TO THE DEALER AS "SLIPPING". WHEN THE TRANSMISSION IS UNDER LOAD (GOING UP A HILL) AND YOU ACCELERATE OR DECELERATE YOU FEEL AND HEAR A DEFINITE ABRUPT SHIFT IN THE VEHICLE. I HAVE HAD THIS CAR TO TWO SEPARATE DEALERS OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS AND HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THIS BEHAVIOR IS "TYPICAL". *TR

DUE TO A LEXUS ADMITTED TRANSMISSION DEFECT, AT TIMES YOU PRESS THE GAS AND THE CAR SIMPLY DOESN'T GO. IT ALMOST CAUSED ME TO GET CRUNCHED WHEN PULLING OUT INTO TRAFFIC. THERE'S NO DOUBT THIS WILL EVENTUALLY COST SOMEONE THEIR LIFE. *TR

CAR WAS PURCHASED NEW IN 2004. PROBLEM STARTED OCCURRING SHORTLY THEREAFTER. CAR HAS BAD HESITATION WHEN ACCELERATING CREATING A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY SITUATION. CAR HAS BEEN BACK TO THE DEALER TWICE. DEALER, KENNY KENT LEXUS IN EVANSVILLE, IN WILL NOT OR CANNOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THEY ALONG WITH LEXUS SAY THIS IS THE WAY THE CAR WAS DESIGNED. WHAT A JOKE THEY BOTH ARE. SAYING THE CAR WAS DESIGNED WITH A SAFETY DEFECT IS PURE STUPIDITY. LEMON LAW IS OUR NEXT OPTION. *TR

TRANSMISSION ISSUES AND HESITATION IN ACCELERATION. HAVE BEEN BACK TO THE DEALER 4 TIMES SINCE OCT 2006. DEALER "REPROGRAMS" THE TRANSMISSION BUT IT DOES NOTHING. *TR

TRANSMISSION SHIFTING LURCH BETWEEN 30 AND 40 MPH STILL RE-OCCURRING AFTER TWO SOFTWARE PROGRAM UPDATES. *TR

MY TRANSMISSION FEELS CONFUSED IN MY 2004 LEXUS ES 330. WHEN SLOWING DOWN TO TURN IN THE CITY OR PULL OUT OF YOUR DRIVEWAY MY CAR WILL HESITATE AND PAUSE FOR ABOUT A SECOND BEFORE ACCELERATING. THIS SEEMS TO BE VERY DANGEROUS AS I AM AFRAID THAT SOMEONE WILL HIT ME IN THE BACK BEFORE I CAN GET THE CAR UP TO THE DESIRED SPEED. I FIND MYSELF ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECKING SOMETIME TRIPLE CHECKING BEOFRE I PULL OUT. I HAVE LOOKED ONLINE AT MANY DIFFERENT WEBSITES AND I HAVE FOUND ABOUT 1900+ PEOPLE WHO HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM.

THE 2004 LEXUS MODEL ES 330 HAS A SAFETY DEFECT IN THE ITS TRANSMISSION THAT THE COMPANY REFUSES TO FIX. WHEN THE DRIVER TAKES HIS FOOT OFF THE GAS AND SLOWS DOWN, THEN STEPS BACK ON THE GAS, THERE IS A HESITATION AND AT TIMES A JERKING IN THE TRANSMISSION. NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS TO LEXUS HAVE ONLY BROUGHT THE RESPONSE THAT THIS IS A KNOWN DEFECT, BUT LEXUS WILL NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM. AFTER SPENDING 35,000 DOLLARS FOR A CAR, THIS IS NOT THE RESPONSE ONE EXPECTS TO HEAR! AS ONE'S LEVEL OF FRUSTRATION WITH THE PROBLEM INCREASES, THE TEMPTATION IS TO SLAM YOUR FOOT ON THE GAS TO TRY TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM, WHICH COULD OBVIOUSLY LEAD TO MORE SERIOUS ISSUES. THE SERVICE MANAGER AT THE LOCAL LEXUS DEALERSHIP STATES HE HAS HAD NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE ISSUE, BUT LEXUS REFUSES TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE. THE DATE REFERENCED BELOW IS ONLY ONE OF CONTINUOUS DATES THE PROBLEM HAS OCCURRED; AGAIN LEXUS HAS BEEN NON RESPONSIVE AND BLATANTLY CALLOUS TO REQUESTS TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. *TR

ACCELERATION DELAY OF UP TO 2 FULL SECONDS. *JB

I WAS IN A GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT WHEN I STARTED MY CAR AND AS I PUT IT IN GEAR THE CAR SPED OUT OF CONTROL. I WAS LUCKY TO HAVE AVOIDED THE OTHER CARS IN THE LOT BECAUSE THE BRAKES DID NOTHING BUT SQUEAL. UPON HITTING A CURB ON THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT, THE CAR SPUN AROUND AND CAME TO A STOP. MY CAR WAS NOW FACING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION WITH A LOT OF DAMAGE. I WAS TREATED AT THE HOSPITAL AND RELEASED BUT HAD SEVERAL MONTHS OF THERAPY ON MY NECK. A FEW MONTHS AFTER BEING RELEASED FROM THERAPY, I HAD TO RETURN FOR A SECOND ROUND BECAUSE OF NECK PAIN. TOYOTA TIED UP MY CAR FOR A MONTH TO INVESTIGATE THE MATTER AND SENT ME A LETTER STATING THAT NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH THE CAR BUT IT WAS THE AFTER MANUFACTURE MATS. WHEN I ASKED FOR A COPY OF THE INVESTIGATORS REPORT, I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS NOT THEIR POLICY TO DO SO. I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT THEY ARE NOT RECALLING THE LEXUS ES330, AND OTHER PEOPLE MAY BE AT RISK. SINCE I STILL HAVE THE CAR, I WONDER IF THEY FIXED THE PROBLEM AND COVERED IT UP OR IF THE SAME THING MAY HAPPEN AGAIN. PLEASE INVESTIGATE PROBLEMS WITH THE LEXUS ES330 SERIOUSLY. I DO NOT FEEL THAT TOYOTA CARES ABOUT SAFETY WHEN IT MAY DIG INTO PROFITS. *TR

OUR 2004 LEXUS E330 HAS EXHIBITED MANY LIFE THREATENING PROBLEMS INVOLVING ITS AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION PERFORMANCE. OF GREATEST CONCERNS ARE LIFE THREATENING INSTANCES OVER THE TWO YEARS. HESITATIONS OCCUR WHEN PRESSING THE GAS DURING CRITICAL ENTRY ATTEMPTS ONTO INTERSTATE HWYS, ETC. WHERE WE HAVE EXPERIENCED NEAR DEADLY TRANSMISSION HESITATIONS OF NEEDED POWER GETTING INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. MY WIFE WAS ALMOST KILLED BY AN 18 WHEELER WHEN SHE OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE HAD ADEQUATE TIME TO SAFELY MERGE HAD THE TRANSMISSION NOT HESITATED. SHE WAS FORTUNATE TO HAVE SURVIVED. JUST ONE OF MANY CLOSE CALLS. ANOTHER ES 330 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION PROBLEM IS THE UNTENABLE, UNTIMELY, ROUGH DOWN AND UP SHIFTING BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND GEARS THAT LEXUS HAS ADVISED HAS BEEN CORRECTED IN THE 2007 MODELS WHICH OF COURSE WILL NOT HELP WITH THIS VEHICLE I AM STUCK WITH. SUCH ADMITTANCE SUPPORT MY ARGUMENT THAT THEY ARE QUITE AWARE OF THIS VERY UN- LEXUS TYPE PERFORMANCE IN THE 2004. WHAT A SHAME THAT LEXUS WOULD LET THE GREAT LEXUS NAME BE SO DEGRADED BY THEIR FAILURE TO SUPPORT THEIR FAITHFUL CUSTOMERS IN SUCH JUSTIFIED COMPLAINTS; THIS IS OUR THIRD LEXUS! *JB

2004 LEXUS 330 SINCE THE AUTO WAS PURCHASED AND DRIVEN OFF THE LOT, THERE HAS BEEN A NOTICEABLE DELAY FROM STOP OR SLOW SPEED ACCELERATION FROM THE TIME THE PEDAL IS DEPRESSED UNTIL THE ENGINE ACTUALLY STARTS TO DELIVER THE POWER. IF YOU STOMP THE PEDAL FOR A JACK-RABBIT START, THE DELAY IS NOT AS NOTICEABLE. THE DEALER J AND M, HAS BEEN GIVING ME THE RUN-AROUND SINCE PURCHASE WITH THE "NORMAL" PARTY LINE. *TR

WE HAVE A 2004 LEXUS ES330 WITH 22,000 MILES. WE HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH HESITATION, HARD SHIFTS AND MISSED GEARS FOR THE LAST 10,000 MILES. THE DEALER REPLACED THE COMPUTER MODULE AT 16,000 MILES AND THE CAR IS A LITTLE BETTER BUT NOT MUCH. I TOOK IT BACK IN FOR THE PROBLEM AT 21,000 MILES AND THE DEALER ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE CAR, BUT THEY DID NOT KNOW HOW TO FIX IT. THE DEALER TOLD ME THAT LEXUS TOLD THEM THAT THEY WERE HAVING TROUBLE WITH A NUMBER OF THE ES CARS AFTER THE MODULE WAS CHANGED BUT THEY DID NOT KNOW HOW TO TELL THE DEALER TO FIX IT. I HAVE SPOKEN WITH LEXUS AND THEIR REPRESENTATIVE AGAIN ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE SHIFTING IN THE ES. ALTHOUGH BOTH THE DEALERSHIP AND THE MANUFACTURER HAVE BOTH ADMITTED THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO GET THEM TO EVEN ATTEMPT TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. WE HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM FOR OVER 1/3 OF THE TIME THAT WE HAVE HAD THE CAR AND NOW I HAVE TO WAIT 2 MORE WEEKS FOR A LEXUS REP TO COME INTO TOWN TO "TALK TO ME". THE LEXUS PEOPLE TOLD ME THEY WERE GOING TO LOOK INTO MY COMPLAINTS AND CALL ME BACK IN A COUPLE OF DAYS AND 10 DAYS LATER I STILL HAD NOT HEARD FROM THEM. NOT ONLY DO I FIND THE PROBLEM VERY ANNOYING I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT THE HESITATION PROBLEM COULD LEAD TO AN ACCIDENT, AND I AM QUITE SURE THAT THE ERRATIC SHIFTING WILL LEAD TO PREMATURE TRANSMISSION FAILURE. *JB

2004 ES 330 EXHIBITING TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS EVEN AFTER "DEALER FIX". THERE IS SEVER GEAR HUNTING AT EVERY SPEED SOMETIMES RESULTS IN A LAG OF ACCELERATION OR ACCELERATION LURCHES THAT RESULT IN CLOSE CALL ACCIDENTS. NOTE THAT THIS PROBLEM DID NOT START OCCURRING UNTIL AFTER 2,000 MILES OF DRIVING AFTER THE CAR WAS PURCHASED AS BRAND NEW. *NM

SEVERE HESITATION WHEN MERGING ON TO A HIGWAY AT BETWEEN 20 AND 30 MPH. DEALER SERVICE HAS CHECKED VEHICLE PREVIOUSLY AND "ITS NORMAL FOR A LEXUS"