Most common 2004 Lexus ES 330 problems
Share of the 153 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Lexus ES 330 complaints by model year
2004 Lexus ES 330 recalls (1)
Seat belts › Front › Buckle assembly
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.
Remedy: 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..
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into a possible defect involving the 2004 Lexus ES 330:
Vehicle speed control
In a letter dated July 8, 2005, and after experiencing two incidents (and one crash) where he alleges his model year (my) 2002 camry accelerated without driver input, mr. Jordan ziprin petitioned the national highway traffic safety administration?s (NHTSA) office of defects investigation (odi) to commence a proceeding to determine the existence of a defect within the etc system in my 2002 to 2005 Toyota and Lexus…
What 2004 Lexus ES 330 owners say
Transmission & drivetrain all 61 →
04 Lexus es330 transmission hesitation is serious danger to driver. Engine hesitates when starting from a dead start. Car has to be floored to move and even then it hesitates even more. Also car has serious blind spots on left and right outer side mirrors (they are too small for the car). Also, cruise control light stays lit even when the brake is hit or you dis-engage it. The only time the cruise control light turns off is when you physically turn it off with the switch or shut the engine off completely. This gives the driver the impression that it is on all the time even when it is off or worse they think they have shut it off but it's really still on and you have a very good chance of rear ending someone. This is extremely bad engineering and extremely dangerous. How you guys let a car like this on the road is beyond me. Did you test it? …
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. …
Speed control & acceleration all 49 →
My Lexus es330 was less than two months old and the mileage read about 950 the time when the accident happened.t occurred on the way to work at 8:40 am March 8th, 2004. It was a sunny warm day. As I was driving on the far right lane of south 5 freeway with speed around 65 to 70 MPH, a car next to my lane was trying to cut in front of me. In order to keep a safe distance, I tried to slow down the car by pressing the brake. The moment I pressed the brake the car swerved to the right. I couldn't control where the vehicle was heading and the car didn't slow down as I further pressed the brake. It bumped into the guardrail and turned 180 degree facing the oncoming cars. Luckily, I was able to make a turn and parked the car without hitting anybody. The car was damaged from the right head light all the way to the rear bumper. …
I was driving our 2004 Lexus es330 on a clear sunny day at approximately 2:30 pm. I stopped in the left turn lane at a very busy intersection in tucson, arizona. There were three cars in front of my vehicle and I had the car in neutral. When the left-hand turn-light signal changed to green, I pulled the gear shift from neutral to drive. Instantly, the motor made a loud revving sound and the car lunged forward and hit the vehicle in front of me. I immediately applied the brake but my car continued to push on the car that I had hit. I then tried to back away from the car I had hit by putting the gear shift into reverse. When I shifted my car into reverse it hit the car behind me and I immediately applied the brakes but they did not work. This occurred twice before the engine died. This was a harrowing experience. Fortunately no one was injured. …
Brakes
My Lexus es330 was less than two months old and the mileage read about 950 the time when the accident happened.t occurred on the way to work at 8:40 am March 8th, 2004. It was a sunny warm day. As I was driving on the far right lane of south 5 freeway with speed around 65 to 70 MPH, a car next to my lane was trying to cut in front of me. In order to keep a safe distance, I tried to slow down the car by pressing the brake. The moment I pressed the brake the car swerved to the right. I couldn't control where the vehicle was heading and the car didn't slow down as I further pressed the brake. It bumped into the guardrail and turned 180 degree facing the oncoming cars. Luckily, I was able to make a turn and parked the car without hitting anybody. The car was damaged from the right head light all the way to the rear bumper. …
I drove off the highway , route 50, in annapolis, md, onto an exit ramp leading to ferguson road. I applied the brakes but the car did not slow down. I avoided a car on the ramp in front of me but immediately came to the stop sign at ferguson road. The car had not slowed down and I attempted to make the left turn onto ferguson road, but hit the guard rail and another car in the intersection. The air bags did not deploy. I received a cut on my left hand, a bruise on my right hip from the seat belt buckle and my glasses were knocked off. My wife in the passenger seat received a bruised right ankle and experienced pain in the sternal region. We both walked out of the accident and did not deem it necessary to go to the hospital. My wife's sternal pain has not gone away now 7 days after the accident and she will seek medical advice tomorrow, on March 17. …
2004 Lexus ES 330 engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.3L 6-cyl | 5-speed automatic | FWD | 18 / 27 / 21 |
EPA ratings. Class: Midsize car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2004 Lexus ES 330 a good car?
There isn't enough complaint history for the ES 330 to compare model years reliably. So far owners have filed 153 complaints with NHTSA.
What is the most common problem with the 2004 Lexus ES 330?
The transmission & drivetrain — 61 complaints, 40% of all complaints for this model year, most often about automatic transmission. Next are the speed control & acceleration (49) and brakes (15).
How many recalls does the 2004 Lexus ES 330 have?
There is 1 recall for the 2004 Lexus ES 330, the most recent from December 15, 2004 (buckle assembly). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do 2004 Lexus ES 330 problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 19,000 miles; 69% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.