2004 Lexus RX Problems

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 LEXUS RX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE DASHBOARD WAS CRUMBLING AND MELTING. THE FAILURE WAS PRESENT NEAR THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG HOUSING OF THE DASHBOARD. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE LOCAL DEALER (BUTLER LEXUS LOCATED AT 4025 JONESBORO RD, UNION CITY GA) AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED BUT NO ASSISTANCE WAS OFFERED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 140,000.

I HAVE A SEVERELY CRACKED DASHBOARD AND A LOT OF THE VERY DEEP CRACKS ARE OVER WHERE THE PASSENGER AIRBAG IS LOCATED. THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR A FEW YEARS NOW BUT LATELY IT HAS GOTTEN MUCH WORSE IN THE AREA OF THE AIRBAG. LEXUS ACKNOWLEDGES THE PROBLEM BUT THEY SAY IT COULD BE SEVERAL MORE MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS BEFORE THEY HAVE ENOUGH REPLACEMENT DASHBOARDS. I BELIEVE MY DASHBOARD IS MORE OF A SAFETY ISSUE THAN JUST COSMETIC. UNABLE TO ATTACH PHOTOS BUT COULD EMAIL THEM TO YOU IF AN EMAIL ADDRESS IS PROVIDED. *TR

Dashboard crack in 2024, that started on passenger side near air vent, expanded recently causing the "passenger air bag off" alert to light up and stay on continually. If I were to have a passenger at the time of an accident, the air bag might not deploy, which would be a safety issue. This could possibly lead to a liability issue, so I have not had any passengers but that isn't sustainable, so I contacted the dealer. I was told that the previous recall for cracked dashboards ended in 2017 and that it was cosmetic only, not safety related, but that the part was available for $964.50, not including labor, tax, etc. I feel that a safety related recall should be issued, the previously known dash cracking problem didn't end when their recall did, the fact that my vehicle is primarily garaged preserved the interior integrity, I don't believe I should be penalized for my dash not cracking 8 years earlier. Thank you for your consideration.

MELTING/CRACKED DASHBOARD PASSENGER SIDE - SMELLS OF CHEMICALS - DOES THIS AFFECT PASSENGER AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT? I HAVE OWNED THIS VEHICLE FOR 4 YEARS AND WAS NEVER NOTIFIED OF ANY PROGRAMS - DASH FIRST STARTED MELTING/CRACKING ABOUT 6-8 MONTHS AGO LONG AFTER THEIR CONSUMER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM WENT AWAY.

Power steering very stiff and difficult to steer vsc light on and air bags light goes on and off and unknown cause.

DURING NIGHT DRIVING, THE HEADLIGHTS RANDOMLY GO OFF. I HAVE TO SWITCH THEM OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN. IN A FEW MINUTES I HAVE TO REPEAT. THE BULBS ARE NOT BLOWN BECAUSE WHEN I SWITCH THEM ON, BOTH LAMPS COME ON. HAVING TO CONSTANTLY TURN THEM OFF AND ON DURING DRIVING. IT SEEMS TO BE GETTING WORSE. I WORK NIGHTS AND THIS IS GETTING TO BE A BURDEN. OF COURSE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAUSES THIS TO HAPPEN SO I TOOK IT TO GET IT REPAIRED AND THEY TOLD ME THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THE HEAD LIGHTS. UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T HAVE THE RECALL NUMBER. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY RISK BECAUSE THEY GO OFF RANDOMLY WHILE I'M DRIVING.

LEXUS HAS HAD PROBLEMS WITH BRAKE VIBRATION, THEY HAVE ISSUED A TSB BUT ALL THEY ARE DOING IS THROWING NEW ROTORS AND PADS. THIS IS NOT ADDRESSING THE REAL ISSUE AT HAND. BRAKE VIBRATION CAN CAUSE A CAR TO GO OFF THE ROAD WHEN THERE IS ICE OR SNOW ON THE GROUND AND ONCE THE CAR STARTS SLIPPING IN ICE OR SNOW YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REGAIN CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. MY COMPLAINT IS REGARDING A 2004 RX 330 THAT ONLY HAS 34K ON AND I'M GOING ON MY THIRD SET OF BRAKE PADS. THE CALIPER IS HANGING UP CAUSING UNEVEN PAD WEAR, CAUSING BRAKE VIBRATION. THIS IS NOT ONLY COMPROMISING THE SAFETY OF THE PASSENGERS, BUT MY ENTIRE SUSPENSION WEAR AND TEAR, CAUSE PREMATURE WEAR. THIS PROBLEM HAS CAUSED MY TIRES TO FEATHER AT THE EDGE. I THINK IF LEXUS ISSUED A TSB FOR THIS ISSUE THEY NEED TO GO TO THE ROOT CAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM RATHER THAN JUST THROWING NEW PARTS AND CALLING IT GOOD FOR ANOTHER 15 TO 20K. ALL MY SUSPENSION IS TIGHT AND I HAVE NO RUNOUT AT THE HUB, JUST ON BRAKE PADS. THE DEALER KEEPS SAYING THAT EVERYTHING IS OKAY AND THAT THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH MY VEHICLE. MY CAR IS PROPERLY ALIGNED, BUT WE KEEP HAVING THIS PROBLEM. THIS ONGOING BRAKE VIBRATION PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT CAUSE I DON'T FEEL MY WIFE IS SAFE DRIVING THIS CAR ON BAD WEATHER. THIS VIBRATION CAN CAUSE CAR TO LOOSE CONTROL ON BAD WEATHER OR DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. PLZ LOOK AT ALL COMPLAINTS REGARDING BRAKE VIBRATION. I HAVE GOTTEN ON LEXUS WEB FORUMS AND THERE IS A GOOD NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITH THIS COMPLAINT. I FEEL THAT BY LEXUS PUTTING OUT A SERVICE BULLETIN THEY KNOW THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM BUT THEY ARE JUST COVERING UP THE PROBLEM AND NOT GOING AFTER THE ROOT CAUSE. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME ANGEL. *TR

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITIONS, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION HESITATED WHEN MAKING THE SHIFT FROM FIRST TO SECOND GEAR AND FROM SECOND TO THIRD GEAR AS WELL. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS INDICATING A FAILURE IN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN TAKEN SEVEN TIMES TO THE DEALERSHIP WHERE THE SOFTWARE HAD BEEN RESET SEVERAL TIMES HOWEVER, THE DEFECT WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT ALERTED. THE CONTACT WAS VERY CONCERNED BECAUSE THERE WAS NO SATISFACTORY RESOLUTION.

I HAVE HAD AN ONGOING ISSUE WITH MY '04 LEXUS RX330. I AM CONCERNED BECAUSE THE ENGINE NEEDLE GOES INTO THE RED ZONE ALMOST IMMEDIATELY UPON DRIVING THE CAR. I HAVE HAD TO FILL UP THE COOLANT TANK EVERY 3 MONTHS. THE PROBLEM WAS JUST DIAGNOSED AS A CRACK IN THE RADIATOR. I FOUND A TSB FOR THIS ISSUE BUT AM THE 2ND OWNER AND WAS NEVER NOTIFIED. IT APPEARS THAT I AM OUT OF THE COVERAGE PERIOD. IS THERE CAUSE FOR CONCERN THAT THIS ISSUE COULD LEAD TO FURTHER DAMAGE TO THE CAR OR A SUDDEN DRIVING IMPAIRMENT? DOES A TSB = A RECALL? LEXUS HAS TOLD ME THAT THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO FOR ME. *TR

ONLY 60K MILES FOR THE CAR, THE WATER PUMP LEAKS AND NEED TO COMPLETE REPLACEMENT. *TR

DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING, CONDITIONS WERE DRY, SUNNY FALL WEATHER. AVG SPEED 45 MPH, LIGHT TURNED YELLOW, VEHICLE IN FRONT STARTED TO SLOW DOWN, DAUGHTER APPLIED BRAKES, PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR, NO SLOWING DOWN, REPEATEDLY PUSHED BRAKE AND APPLIED FULL FORCE, CAR DID NOT SLOW DOWN, HIT OTHER VEHICLE, TOTALING THE LEXUS. AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY UNTIL AFTER MY DAUGHTER HIT THE STEERING WHEEL. WITNESS REPORTED SEEING MY DAUGHTER TRYING TO BRAKE BUT THE CAR NOT RESPONDING. NO EVIDENCE OF TIRE MARKS ON THE ROAD

THE LEXUS RX 330 IS ON RECALL BY LEXUS BECAUSE THE DASH HAS DEVELOPED CRACKS,I HAVE BEEN WAITING 2 YEARS FOR A REPLACEMENT AND WAS TOLD BY LEXUS OF ORLANDO I AM NUMBER 1024 ON THEIR LIST FRO REPLACEMENT. BY THE TIME THEY GET TO ME ACCORDING TO MY CALCULATIONS THE YEAR WILL BE 2095 AT THE PACE THAT THEY ARE REPLACING THE DASHES. ALSO LEXUS HAS A PROBLEM WITH THEIR BRAKE LIGHT SWITCHES,ALL OF THEM SEEM TO DEVELOP A PROBLEM WHERE THE VSC,BRAKES AND ABS LIGHTS ALL COME ON AT THE SAME TIME. THIS PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED TO ALL THREE LEXUS' THAT I HAVE OWNED. THEY ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BECAUSE RIGHT NEXT TO THE SHIFTER IS A SMALL COVER TO BYPASS THE HARD SHIFTER.

WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET, THE CABLE HOLDING THE SPARE TIRE (SPARE TIRE CARRIER PART #51900-0E012) UNDER THE CAR, BROKE AND SPARE TIRE AND ACCESSORIES FOR IT FELL INTO STREET INTO TRAFFIC CREATING A HAZZARD

RECENTLY, WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, MY 2004 LEXUS RX 330 STARTED MAKING A "HOWLING" SOUND (FOR LACK OF A BETTER DESCRIPTION). UPON HEARING THIS DISTURBING NOISE, I IMMEDIATELY DROVE IT RIGHT TO MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP (IRA) IN PEABODY, MASSACHUSETTS. THEY DETERMINED IT WAS THE BEARING AND HUB ASSEMBLY IN MY LEFT REAR WHEEL. I WAS TOLD THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS CONDITION THAT MUST BE REPAIRED IMMEDIATELY. THIS ENDED UP COSTING ME $676.87 (11/14/14). THIS ISN?T THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED WITH THIS CAR. IT HAPPENED MARCH 3, 2011 AND IT COST ME $704.35 THEN. I HAVE HAD AT LEAST 6 CARS DURING MY DRIVING HISTORY AND NONE OF THEM EVER HAD ANY BEARING AND/OR HUB PROBLEMS AND THIS HAPPENS TWICE WITH SAME CAR??? IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT MY PREVIOUS CARS WERE LESS EXPENSIVE CARS; BRANDS THAT MAY BE EXPECTED TO HAVE MORE ISSUES THAN LEXUS; HONDA'S, PONTIAC'S, NISSAN'S, AND CHEVY'S. *TR

DEALERSHIP INSPECTION. DISCLOSURE-SATISFACTORY THROUGHOUT THE LIST ACTUAL INSPECTOR-VISIBLE LEAKS TO THE NAKED EYE WHEN LOOKING UNDER THE CAR. I WAS MISLED IN THIS PURCHASE AS THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE THAT WERE NOT DISCLOSED TO ME BEFORE PURCHASE. *TR

MY 2004 LEXUS RX330 HAS REPEATEDLY HAD ACCELERATION PROBLEMS WHEN I HAVE SLOWED AND NEED TO ACCELERATE QUICKLY DUE TO TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. TODAY ON THE WAY TO WORK I WAS TRYING TO MERGE ON TO HIGHWAY TRAFFIC AND NEARLY GOT REAR-ENDED BECAUSE MY VEHICLE DIDN'T ACCELERATE WHEN I PRESSED THE PEDAL AS I WAS TRYING TO MERGE IN TO THE LANE. THERE HAVE BEEN COUNTLESS TIMES IN THE 2 YEARS I'VE OWNED THIS VEHICLE THAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED NEAR COLLISONS DUE TO THE SLUGGISH OR LACK OF ACCELERATION WHEN I DEPRESS THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. MY HUSBAND WON'T EVEN DRIVE THE VEHICLE DUE TO THIS PROBLEM AS HE FEELS UNSAFE ON THE ROAD IN IT. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER NUMEROUS TIMES AND THEY INSTALLED A COMPUTER UPDATE OR PATCH TWICE WITH NO RESOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM. THE DEALER'S SERVICE MANAGER SAID THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE '04 RX330 AND THAT LEXUS HAS SAID THEY ARE NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM ALTHOUGH THEY DID CORRECT IT IN THE 2005 MODEL. GIVEN THE MANUFACTURER IS AWARE OF A POTENTIAL SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE RELATED TO THIS THEY ARE FOR SOME REASON NOT BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE OR RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DANGEROUS SITUATION. CONSUMER PROTECTION FROM NEGLIGENT MANUFACTURERS IS THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY, ISN'T IT? WHAT CAN BE DONE TO REQUIRE LEXUS TO PROVIDE CONSUMERS WITH AN ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION TO THIS SIGNIFICANT VEHICLE SAFETY ISSUE?

I was driving with the driver’s seat heater turned on. While I were traveling, I noticed that the seat heater was very hot, so I turned it off. I arrived at my destination and parked the vehicle for about two hours. I did not turn the seat heater back on when you returned to the vehicle. I was removing snow from the vehicle with the driver’s door open and some of the snow landed on the driver’s seat. When I brushed the snow off the seat, I noticed a burn mark in the seat cushion. I called Lexus USA to report this 2 days later and showed my local dealer (Lexus of Portland) and they had never seen this before. Here is the response from Lexus today: "In response to your concerns, a vehicle inspection was conducted by a Lexus Field Technical Specialist (FTS) on January 19, 2022 at Bud Clary Toyota of Yakima. A visual inspection confirmed there was a small 6mm x 7mm burn hole in the driver’s seat leather cover on the bottom cushion. The hole was in the outer bolster portion of the bottom cushion. Resistance was checked through the seat warmer grid. The seat back was recorded at .7 ohms and the seat bottom had an open circuit. The seat cover was removed to examine the seat heater grid. Two wires were found near each other at the burn area. One wire was broken at the location. Our FTS disconnected the seat heater switch after the inspection was completed." They left me with now 2 non functioning seat heaters by disconnecting it during a cold winter. They did not offer any sort of assistance or recommendations for next steps, I feel like they hung me out to dry.

THE DASHBOARD IS DISINTEGRATING. THE CAR HAS BEEN PREDOMINANTLY KEPT COVERED AND WELL MAINTAINED. INITIALLY A LARGE PIECE (CREDIT CARD SIZE) BROKE OFF DASH. WE REPAIRED WITH VINYL RESTORATION COMPANY, AND ANOTHER AREA ABOUT A YEAR LATER. SINCE THEN, NUMEROUS CRACKS ARE PRESENT - TOO MANY TO REPAIR. THIS IS NOT NORMAL WEAR! *TR

Power steering very stiff and difficult to steer vsc light on and air bags light goes on and off and unknown cause.

RAPID ACCELERATION AS I RELEASED THE GAS PEDAL AS I PARKED MY CAR - TOOK OUT A 6 FOOT BUSH. I WAS INTERVIEWED ON 10NEWS SAN DIEGO CONCERNING THIS INCIDENT I TOOK THE AUTO TO MY LEXUS DEALER/A DIAGNOSTIC AND A TEST DRIVE WERE DONE AND EVERYTHING CHECKED OUT NEGATIVE. THE DEALER TOLD ME THEY COULD NOT DO ANYTHING TO HELP ME SINCE THE DIAGNOSTICS WERE NEGATIVE. *TR

DEALERSHIP INSPECTION. DISCLOSURE-SATISFACTORY THROUGHOUT THE LIST ACTUAL INSPECTOR-VISIBLE LEAKS TO THE NAKED EYE WHEN LOOKING UNDER THE CAR. I WAS MISLED IN THIS PURCHASE AS THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE THAT WERE NOT DISCLOSED TO ME BEFORE PURCHASE. *TR

2004 LEXUS RX 330 HAD A COMPLETE BREAKDOWN ON DECEMBER 6, 2006 WITH JUST OVER 43,000 MILES. VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALER. THEY SAID THAT THE BATTERY WAS COMPLETELY DEAD AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. THIS SHOULDN'T HAPPEN IN THIS NEWER LUXURY VEHICLE. THEY REPLACED THE BATTERY WHICH WAS UNDER WARRANTY. *JB

THE TOP LATCH STRAP PROVIDED ON THIS SEAT CANNOT BE TIGHTENED FIRMLY AGAINST THE VEHICLE SEAT. RATHER THAN PROVIDE A (NORMAL) TENSIONING DEVICE FOR THE TOP STRAP, THE MANUFACTURER ELECTED TO PROVIDE A DUAL LOOP STEEL PLATE. THE STRAP IS THREADED THROUGH THIS PLATE IN A RIDICULOUSLY COMPLEX MANNER, AND NO AMOUNT OF PULLING, TUGGING, OR TRYING TO FINAGLE ENOUGH SLACK THROUGH THE MULTIPLE LAYERS THE STRAP GOES THROUGH (TO ALLOW THE WHOLE STRAP TO BE PULLED TIGHTLY) ALLOW PROPER TENSIONING TO SECURE THE CHILD SEAT BACK TO THE VEHICLE SEAT. A FEW DOLLARS SAVED IN MANUFACTURING COST BY PROVIDING THIS PLATE RATHER THAN A TENSIONING DEVICE HAVE RESULTED IN A CHILD SEAT THAT CANNOT BE USED PROPERLY. THIS IS SIMPLY INCOMPETENT ENGINEERING. I RETURNED THE SEAT TO WAL-MART FOR A REFUND, BUT THERE MAY BE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE THE SAME OPTIONS FOR RETURN, AND END UP INSTALLING THE SEAT IN AN UNSAFE AND INSECURE MANNER. NOTE THAT THE CORRECT MODEL OF SEAT WAS NOT SHOWN IN YOUR DROP-DOWN MENU, SO I HAD TO SELECT ANOTHER MODEL IN ORDER TO PROCEED. THE SEAT I'M FILING A COMPLAINT ABOUT IS A SAFETY 1ST BOOSTER SEAT MANUFACTURED BY DOREL JUVENILE GROUP. MODEL # 22-561-WAL. MANUFACTURED: P102 B 220565 09/22/06. THANK YOU. *NM

Power steering very stiff and difficult to steer vsc light on and air bags light goes on and off and unknown cause.

DEALERSHIP INSPECTION. DISCLOSURE-SATISFACTORY THROUGHOUT THE LIST ACTUAL INSPECTOR-VISIBLE LEAKS TO THE NAKED EYE WHEN LOOKING UNDER THE CAR. I WAS MISLED IN THIS PURCHASE AS THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE THAT WERE NOT DISCLOSED TO ME BEFORE PURCHASE. *TR

WAS ON FREEWAY, HEARD A LOUD POP , LOOKED AROUND AND EVERYTHING LOOKED OK, SAW SOMETHING FLY OFF VEHICLE IN REARVIEW MIRROR. NOW THERE IS A SOUND OF WIND RUSHING, CHECK WINDOWS ALL CLOSED, DECIDED TO PULL OF FREEWAY TO SEE IF THERE WAS DAMAGED TO VEHICLE . STOPPED GOT OUT DID NOT NOTICE ANYTHING UP TILL WE LOOKED AT THE ROOF AN SAW A HOLE. LOOKED LIKE IT BLOW OUT NOT IN , DID NOT NOTICE IN THE CAR BECAUSE SUNROOF COVER WAS CLOSED.