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NHTSA vehicle safety data

2004 Lexus ES330 Recalls, Ratings & Complaints

The 2004 Lexus ES330 has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns and 174 owner complaints on file as of November 3, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized Lexus dealer.

Includes campaigns NHTSA files under the spelling "ES 330".

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2004 Lexus ES330, plus NCAP crash-test ratings. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

Pre-purchase inspection checklist → Reliability & 5-year cost forecast →

2004 Lexus ES330 owner complaints

Owners have filed 174 complaints with NHTSA about the 2004 Lexus ES330, describing incidents dated September 29, 2003 to April 4, 2019.

Most-cited components

  • Power Train 61 complaints
  • Vehicle Speed Control 53 complaints
  • Air Bags 24 complaints
  • Service Brakes 16 complaints
  • Engine 12 complaints
  • Electrical System 7 complaints

Of the 174 complaints on file, 35 report a crash and 2 a fire; across all 174 complaints, owners report 22 injuries (owner-reported, not verified by NHTSA).

Newest complaints

  • ODI #11325913 · Filed

    EVERY WINDOW HAS STOPPED WORKING.THE FIRST ONE STOPPED GOING UP D OWN TEN YEARS AGO NOW THEY HAVE ALL STOPPED.

  • ODI #11203848 · Filed

    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.

  • ODI #11172702 · Filed

    AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON WHEN IDLE AND WON'T GO OFF. CODE B1787. NEVER IN AN ACCIDENT. UNPLUGGED AND RE-PLUGGED ALL CONNECTIONS; DISCONNECTED BATTERY FOR 15 MINUTES BUT DID NOT RESET LIGHT. DEALER CHECKED AND COULD NOT RESET SYSTEM. NO AIR BAG PROTECTION NOW. FIX REQUIRES NEW SEAT WITH SENSORS EST…

Read all 174 complaints

Owner-reported

2004 Lexus ES330 mileage at failure

126 of the 174 complaints on file for the 2004 Lexus ES330 give the vehicle's mileage when the problem happened.

Mileage at failure by component, from owners' complaints to NHTSA
Power TrainMedian 400 milesMiddle half up to 12,000 milesBased on 44 complaints
Vehicle Speed ControlMedian 25,000 milesMiddle half 3,000–55,000 milesBased on 41 complaints

A component's median is its 50th percentile, and its middle half runs from its 25th to its 75th percentile.

Owners give the mileage themselves, often as a round number, and NHTSA doesn't check it. A complaint that names several components counts under each one, and mileages that can't be right, such as 999,999, or 50 miles on a five-year-old car, are left out.

These figures describe the complaints owners filed. They don't predict when a particular vehicle will have a problem, and vehicles that never had one aren't counted.

Mileage from NHTSA's complaints file of October 31, 2026. How these figures are worked out

NHTSA defect investigations

NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2004 Lexus ES330 in 1 investigation. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.

Open and recently closed NHTSA defect investigations

CRANKSHAFT PULLEY

NHTSA #11V539000 · Engine and Engine Cooling · NHTSA notice

Reported November 9, 2011 · Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing

Potentially affected: 420,326 vehicles

Owners notified December 31, 2011 · Vehicles built June 1, 2004 – March 31, 2005 (per NHTSA)

Defect description

TOYOTA IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2004 AVALON VEHICLES; 2004 AND 2005 CAMRY, CAMRY SOLARA, HIGHLANDER, AND SIENNA VEHICLES, 2006 HIGHLANDER HYBRID; 2004 AND 2005 LEXUS ES330 AND RX330; AND 2006 LEXUS RX400H VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JUNE 1, 2004 THROUGH MARCH 31, 2005, EQUIPPED WITH THE 1MZ-FE OR 3MZ-FE ENGINE. THE AMOUNT OF ADHESIVE AGENT APPLIED BETWEEN THE OUTER RING AND THE TORSIONAL RUBBER DAMPER (INNER RING) IN THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY MAY BE INADEQUATE. IF THE ADHESIVE IS INSUFFICIENT, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THE OUTER RING MAY BECOME MISALIGNED AND IT MAY NOT PROPERLY ROTATE WITH THE INNER RING, CAUSING NOISE AND/OR ILLUMINATION OF THE BATTERY DISCHARGE INDICATOR LIGHT.

Safety consequence

IN SOME CASES, THE BELT FOR THE POWER STEERING PUMP MAY BECOME DETACHED FROM THE PULLEY WHICH COULD RESULT IN A LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND A SUDDEN INCREASE IN STEERING EFFORT, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Manufacturer remedy

TOYOTA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL CHECK THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY TO IDENTIFY WHETHER IT WAS PRODUCED BY THE U.S. SUPPLIER. IF SO, THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE PULLEY WITH A NEW ONE AT NO CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING EARLY JANUARY 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

Notes

OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO <A HREF=HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV>HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV</A> .

TOYOTA/SEATBELT BUCKLE STATUS SWITCH

NHTSA #04V595000 · Seat Belts — Front — Buckle Assembly · NHTSA notice

Reported December 15, 2004 · TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Potentially affected: 150,061 vehicles

Manufacturer campaign SSC 40M · Owners notified December 20, 2004 · Vehicles built July 23, 2003 – September 2, 2004 (per NHTSA)

Defect description

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.

Safety consequence

IF THE SWITCH BECOMES UNSEATED, THE FRONT PASSENGER OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM MAY MISTAKE THE REAR-FACING CHILD RESTRAINT FOR AN UNBELTED ADULT OCCUPANT, AND MAY NOT SUPPRESS THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG.

Manufacturer 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..

Notes

THIS ACTION IS DEEMED A SAFETY IMPROVEMENT CAMPAIGN AND IS NOT BEING CONDUCTED UNDER THE SAFETY ACT.

Other Lexus ES330 model years

Check your 2004 Lexus ES330 VIN

Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your Lexus ES330 at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

Check a Lexus VIN