2004 Lexus RX 330 3.2 from North America

Faults:

When braking and going down from 3rd to 2nd gear, vehicle surges. I hesitate to take on highway as a I expect a rear end collision eventually!

19,000 miles and new tires are needed even though they were driven in normal conditions and rotated every 5,000 miles.

Engine is loud, sounds like tapping to due to low oil.

General Comments:

Spent $42,000 on this vehicle, which was extreme and extravagant for us, only to have Toyota not acknowledge these known defects/complaints.

Will not buy a Toyota or Lexus vehicle again.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 23rd February, 2005

13th Jul 2007, 23:54

Don't know what to say about your experience. I bought a new 2004 RX330 for my wife. Now has 40K miles on it. We have not had one problem with it. She could not be happier. I personally don't like the looks of the vehicle, but it is fun to drive, powerfull and has never given us a minute of grief. Wife loves it. Sorry to hear about your experiences.

2nd Sep 2008, 18:01

I have a 2004 Lexus RX 330. After 25000 miles I needed new tires. Now at 45000 miles my best Michelin tires are almost ready to be replaced again. Can anybody tell me why the 330 RX needs new tires so often? Is there anything wrong with the front wheels to wear them down so fast?

Any comments are appreciated.

16th Dec 2009, 21:48

Reason new tires are needed is because we're using still pretty skinny tires. I've got the 18's on it, and the tires are just 235/55... that's really a size for a car; and we're lugging around an entire SUV/Minivan... and I say minivan because mine's FWD, so ya, a heavy car like this will eat up those skinny tires. My only recommendation, stay away from Michelins, at their price.

2004 Lexus RX 330 3.3 V6 from North America

Summary:

Lexus has lost their edge and made a mess with the RX330

Faults:

Serious transmission problem in the RX 330.

General Comments:

My dealer has been given the go ahead from Lexus to replace the transmission with a rebuilt one.

The service manager at my local dealer has performed this service on a few other cars and says it corrects the problem.

Interesting that it can be corrected with a rebuilt transmission, but the original one from the factory is terrible at best. It makes me wonder how they're correcting the problem with the rebuilt transmissions. Something in the bowels of the transmission must be repairable, but Lexus won't admit to it.

I think they ultimately will have to recall these cars.

I intend to make sure that Consumer Reports finds out about this as well. Maybe they can put some pressure on Lexus.

I wish I had never purchased this particular vehicle and I have to admit that without some sort of free extended warranty, I will never purchase another one. There are too many other good choices out there.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 22nd November, 2004

19th Dec 2005, 13:47

I have a 1999 RX 300 and I'm having transmission issues.

I took it into the dealership for the normal 30,000 mile checkup where they changed the trasmission fluid. No more than 2 weeks later the transmission is dead.

The car has 120,000 miles on it.

It seems odd that 2 weeks ago I came in and got a clean bill of health for the car/transmission on now it's dead.

2004 Lexus RX 330 from North America

Summary:

Don't buy it until Lexus fixes the problem

Faults:

I want to issue the same complaint regarding the transmission issue. The RX330 often seems to be in the wrong gear. There is a hesitation during the gear change where the computer cannot decide to up-shift or downshift.

General Comments:

This vehicle is dangerous and it is incomprehensible to me that a manufacturer with as high a satisfaction rating as Lexus, would risk their reputation by not acknowledging the issue as a valid problem.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 16th August, 2004

29th Sep 2004, 07:46

I owned a 2002 ES300 and it had the same problems. Since the RX and the ES share the similar trans it makes sense that problem would also be on the RX. Lexus refused to do anything on the vehicle, but stated if I would just keep the car a couple years they would probably have a fix. I lost money on the deal, but I had to get rid of the car for the trans made this car dangerous. I would not recommend this car to anyone until Lexus finally fixes the problem.

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