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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2004 Lexus ES330 Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
61about this part
Share
35%of 174 total for the year
Median mileage
450miles
Trend
StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.

NHTSA recorded 61 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2004 Lexus ES330, 35% of the 174 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 450 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“My 2004 Lexus ES 330 sedan has a transmission shifting problem that I have described to the dealer as slipping . When the transmission is under load (going up a hill) and you accelerate or decelerate you feel and hear a definite abrupt shift in the vehicle. I have had this car to two separate dealers over the past 12 months and have been told that this behavior is typical .”

NHTSA complaint #10303511, filed 2010-02, 64,500 miles

“While driving, my transmission failed on my 2004 Lexus es330 with 97,000 miles. Cars were swerving to avoid hitting me as my car almost came to a stop while driving on a busy road. Lexus corporate gave me half off the parts for the transmission and the dealer gave me half off of labor. However, transmissions are not supposed to fail on 1984 buicks, let alone 2004 Lexus' with under 100,000 miles.”

NHTSA complaint #10344972, filed 2010-07, 97,834 miles

“My Lexus 2004 model es330 has been accelerating by itself. This acceleration has been happening two to three times a week for about a year. I did not realize that the car was accelerating by itself, but have noticed more during last 3 to 4 months.”

NHTSA complaint #10314754, filed 2010-02, 52,050 miles

“Automatic transmission produces unpredictable and erratic behavior, including vehicle hesitation, transmission slipping, and lurching on acceleration. I feel this is a serious safety concern for which the public should be made aware. I have had the vehicle serviced on four occasions without successful remediation. The dealer claims awareness of the issues and insists that there is no immediate repair available.”

NHTSA complaint #10065736, filed 2004-04, 20 miles

“My transmission feels confused in my 2004 Lexus ES 330. When slowing down to turn in the city or pull out of your driveway my car will hesitate and pause for about a second before accelerating. This seems to be very dangerous as I am afraid that someone will hit me in the back before I can get the car up to the desired speed. I find myself always double checking sometime triple checking beofre I pull out. I have looked online at many different websites and I have found about 1900+ people who have complained about this problem.”

NHTSA complaint #10323596, filed 2010-04, 32,000 miles

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
20061016%
20054331%
20046135%

Other parts of the 2004 Lexus ES330

Vehicle speed control
53 complaintsAir bags
24 complaintsBrakes
16 complaintsEngine cooling
8 complaintsElectrical system
7 complaintsOther or unknown
5 complaintsEngine
4 complaintsFuel system
4 complaintsSeat belts
4 complaintsBody and structure
4 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
4 complaintsExterior lighting
3 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2004 Lexus ES330

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology