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Engine & cooling

Lexus ES330 Engine problems by year

34 complaints filed with NHTSA about the Lexus ES330's engine & cooling. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.

Engine complaints by model year

YearEngine complaintsCrashesInjuriesRecalls
20066100
200514101
200414431

Engine recalls

Latest ES330 engine complaints

2005 Lexus ES330SteeringDriver assistanceEngine & cooling

My check engine light is on and when the diganoised code check is performed "no codes appear," but I do have a power steering leakage and I hear the power steering noise when I am turning and from the recall 11v53900 11/09/2011 engine and engine cooling its a huge problem. I call customer service and they where no help! I called for servicing and they stated on my vin there is no recall but on the nhtsa there pops up this recall so no cool. I am going to wait until something happens and sue the hell out of lexus...

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for refusing to service my vehicle and neglecting the issues when I called and all the calls are recorded. Trouble & horrible service I am not a satisfied customer. I guess you need to be in certain financial bracket to receive exceptional service.

Filed Incident Steering · Electronic stability control (ESC) · EngineNHTSA 11113561
2006 Lexus ES330Acceleration & cruise controlDriver assistanceEngine & cooling

The car was reversed and driven forward, suddenly accelerated forward. Applying brakes were not helping as acceleration still continued. There is no floor mat on the driver seat side to blame it on for gas pedal getting stuck to the mat.. The gas and brake pedals were adjusted to the highest level from the floor. Happened a week ago and happened again on 17/02/2018. First time the vehicle was on four lane city street. Second time on two lane city street. It can happen any time any where. I asked the dealer. No recall yet I see lot of people having this problem on this site. Https://www.Vehiclehistory.Com/lexus/es-330/2006

Filed Incident Vehicle speed control · Electronic stability control (ESC) · EngineNHTSA 11073586
2004 Lexus ES330Electrical systemBrakesEngine & coolingCrash

I had a car accident approximately one month ago due to sudden unintended acceleration and loss of steering in a 2004 lexus es330. I am the only owner of the car and I had it serviced regularly over the past 13 years. The night of my accident I lost complete control of my car as I attempted to merge on to the local lanes of an interstate highway in northern, nj. The car accelerated to the left and crossed sped across 8 lanes of the highway, including over a median before it spun around and jerked to a stop in the...

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left lane of the west bound lanes facing east. I was hit head on by another driver. I was not injured, but the car was a total loss. Both of my parents also currently drive lexus vehicles, and both models were noted to have similar issues. Furthermore, my mother recently received a letter indicating her car was being recalled due to the passenger air bag issues, the letter stated while toyota would offer what they considered to be a suitable fix at no charge. The letter further explained that they did not currently possess the parts needed for the repairs and would be in touch in the future, no indication of the expected time frame was provided. Between my accident and knowing both of my parents are currently driving vehicles that are unsafe to drive, by toyota's own admissions, I have been and continue to experience significant distress. I am aware of the significant fines and suits settled against toyota in the past, but they continue to seem unfazed despite their cars putting all of our lives at risk daily. I am also incredibly disgusted by their history of victim blaming and would love to do whatever I can to bring attention to this issue. I feel it is only fair that toyota accept responsibility for their seemingly never ending list of wrongdoing and take immediate steps to correct ongoing issues.

Filed Incident Electrical system · Service brakes · EngineNHTSA 10956681
2004 Lexus ES330Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 lexus es330. While driving various speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was previously inspected per nhtsa campaign number: 11v539000 (engine and engine cooling), but the repair was never performed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the crankshaft pulley fractured and would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 175,000.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10936761
2005 Lexus ES330Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. The contact stated that the battery discharge warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under nhtsa campaign number: 11v539000 (engine and engine cooling), however the failure recurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 66,108. *Consumer request to withdraw complaint. Updated 10/21/16*lj the consumer requested to withdraw the complaint. The issue was fixed. Updated 10/26/16.*Jb

Filed Incident Engine and engine coolingNHTSA 10898756
2004 Lexus ES330Engine & coolingFuel system

When starting the lexus es 330 2004 for the first time in the day it makes a horrible sound that lasts about 5 seconds while still parked then when driving it seems like I am forcing it do accelerate. After being warmed up it is fine and after subsequent starts it does not make that noise.

Filed Incident Unknown or other · Engine · Fuel / propulsion systemNHTSA 10854532
2004 Lexus ES330Electrical systemEngine & cooling

Since I purchased this vehicle in 2008 I had the problems with the car jerking between 40-60mph and had the dealer to investigate my concerns which I took the car to a lexus dealership for diagnosis of the problems which they never found; I was then told that this problem occurs in all 2004 330es and the problem wasn't detected. So I drove this car for all the years I have it with the same problems; until 12/19/2015 the problem continued when I was enroute to another town and the engine light came on and the...

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vehicle began jerking and slowed down and I could no longer accelerate the engine; when doing so the car made an arkward sound; so I began to turn around and head back home from where I was it was 8 miles back; and the car was jerking and shaking to where it was about to shut down completely and still pulling; I had my car towed to the dealership and left it over the weekend; and they finally found the problem code p0303 cylinder 3 misfire and po353 ignition coil, which was the problem all along but they couldn't find it because at the time there was no light indicator on; but now that the warranty expired for which the dealer I purchased the vehicle was reliable for the payment. $500 Later the problem discovered. Also recall on the issue but not the vehicle I own; since I experienced the same problems I feel that the recall should have included my vehicle and a refund due.

Filed Incident Electrical system · EngineNHTSA 10811654
2005 Lexus ES330Engine & coolingFuel systemFire

Engine caught on fire. Was driving on a city street when I noticed flames shooting out under the hood.

Filed Incident Unknown or other · Engine · Fuel / propulsion systemNHTSA 10785011
2006 Lexus ES330Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 lexus es. While driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle experienced unintended acceleration and the braking system would not respond. The contact had to shift to neutral to stop the vehicle. A number of warning indicators were illuminated at the time of failure. The vehicle would not restart and was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 148,800. Updated 09/08/15*lj updated 10/27/2017*cn

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10730341
2004 Lexus ES330Engine & coolingCrash1 injury

The driver was pulling into a parking space at the local train station. She was going forward at about 1 mph with her foot on the brake pedal in order to slow the car down as she was approaching the curb at the front end of the parking space. With her foot on the brake pedal, the car suddenly lunged forward and went over the curb and into a metal and wooden fence. The car probably would have landed on the train tracks; but, fortunately, it went into the fence which is used to support a shelter that shields...

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commuters from inclement weather. The damaged fence is owned by the union pacific railroad. The driver suffered a back injury and required medical attention, medication, and physical therapy. The incident was reported to lexus in torrance, ca. Lexus has a contractual arrangement with a vendor to inspect the event data recorder (edr) installed in the car. After the edr was inspected, the driver was informed that the edr in the 2004 lexus es 330 is very basic and not at all sophisticated enough to detect what actually occurred immediately before and after the accident. Lexus said the edr in the newer es automobiles would have been able to provide information as to exactly what occurred before, during, and after the accident. The driver was informed that the edr inspection report for this incident essentially addressed what happened with the air bags, none of which had deployed during the accident. Lexus informed the driver that they could not provide any further assistance or guidance to determine the extent of any parts or design defects.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10723780
2004 Lexus ES330Body, doors & structureAcceleration & cruise controlEngine & coolingCrash1 injury

I was parking my car in the parking lot of a garage when my car lexus 330 suddenly picked up high speed (full throttle) unintentionally. The vehicle went forward and fell approximately about 5 feet to the other parking level and violently hit the back of a pickup truck which was parked. I had my seat belt on. My body went forward and backward violently. For the next few days I had experienced muscle pain, stiffness and poor night sleep. The accident was reported to the police. *Tr

Filed Incident Structure · Vehicle speed control · EngineNHTSA 10627254
2005 Lexus ES330Engine & coolingAcceleration & cruise controlCrash

On december 5th, 2012 around 1:50 pm in the afternoon, I drove the car to pick up our nephew from school. While I was slowing down and looking for a parking place suddenly the car sped up and accelerated! Even though I applied hard on the brake the car kept running very fast and only stopped when it hit bushes and the house on the right of the road. I was lucky that no kids came out from school yet and no other cars were nearly so damages only caused to the car and the property.

Filed Incident Engine and engine cooling · Vehicle speed controlNHTSA 10491125
2006 Lexus ES330Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 lexus es330. The contact stated the battery discharge warning light continued to illuminate while driving 35 mph. There was a loud noise also coming from under the hood of the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified who informed the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer to run a diagnostic test to find the failure. The failure mileage was 72,000.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10472343
2005 Lexus ES330SteeringEngine & coolingEquipment & accessories

I received a safty recall notice from lexus indicating my engine crankshft pulley may loose and cause loss of power steering. I called lexus and they said I had to take the vehicle to a lexus dealer. Since there isn't a lexus dealer in my hometown they informed me that the closest dealers were at least 150 miles from my home. I bought the car at a local used car dealership that is no longer in business. I asked if they could certify my local toyota dealer to do the inspection and they said no. If this defect is...

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on my vehicle it would be unsafe to drive 150 miles to get to their certified dealer. If there is an accident on my way to the inspection who is liable? They will be. I want them to accomodate me by certifying the local toyota dealer to do an inspection for me. *Tr

Filed Incident Steering · Engine and engine cooling · Equipment adaptive / mobilityNHTSA 10445212

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

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