The service (foot) brake is not holding pressure at a stop sign or stop light when the vehicle is in drive. Even though foot brake is applied fully, vehicle tends to move forward and may cause an accident with the car/object in front of the vehicle.
2004 Lexus RX330 brakes problems
65 complaints (23% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 8,000. 15 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 65
- of this car's complaints
- 23%
- typical mileage
- 8,000
- crashes
- 15
- recalls
- 0
Which part fails
- Power assist17
- Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip9
- Power assist: hydraulic4
- Foundation components: master cylinder3
- Foundation components3
- Power assist: vacuum2
- Pedals and linkages2
- Brake fluid low warning: lamp2
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Lexus RX330 brakes problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2004 Lexus RX330 brakes
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Related investigations
Vacuum brake booster failure
On february 10, 2005, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation to investigate alleged loss of brake power-assist in certain 2004 model year (my) lexus rx330 vehicles built through approximately june 30, 2004.the subject vehicles were manufactured at toyota motor manufacturing canada, inc.?s cambridge, ontario assembly plant and were equipped with vacuum brake booster assemblies sourced from aisin seiki co., ltd (aisin) subsidiary advics north america, inc. (advics-na).to date, odi is aware of 146 non-duplicative reports that allege loss of brake power-assist and 6 crashes allegedly caused by loss of brake power-assist (resulting in 1 minor injury) on the subject vehicles.the subject vehicles use a conventional brake booster assembly that contains a rubber diaphragm to separate the fore and aft pressure chambers.the outer edge of the rubber diaphragm is held in place via a retaining groove on the brake booster body.if the booster loses vacuum (e.g., operator depletes the vacuum by pressing the brake pedal several times while the engine is off), it may cause the diaphragm to deform in the area of the retaining groove to the point that insufficient seal exists between diaphragm and booster body, thus causing a momentary loss of brake power-assist.the advics-na supplied diaphragm has slightly different material properties compared to the diaphragm inside brake boosters supplied by advics japan, corp. (advics-j) and used on 2004my lexus rx330 vehicles manufactured at toyota motor kyushu, inc.?s assembly plant.the softer rubber used in the advics-na diaphragm allows greater deformation and is less resilient when compared to the advics-j diaphragm.loss of brake power-assist most often occurs at vehicle start-up and appears to be more prevalent in colder temperatures.most owners report that brake system operation returns to normal within a few seconds after vehicle start-up.testing conducted by the manufacturer indicates that the advics-na diaphragm?s reduced ability to return to shape is exacerbated by colder temperatures and that loss of brake power-assist at start-up may last for a maximum of 95 seconds at temperatures below ?20 degrees celsius.however, the subject vehicles have a back-up system that can sense a loss of brake power-assist and enable the ABS actuator for brake hydraulic pressure support (I.e., brake pedal force assist).the manufacturer will conduct a service campaign (lexus special service campaign #5la) to replace the vacuum brake booster assembly on all affected subject vehicles.the action taken by the manufacturer is sufficient to resolve the issues raised by this investigation.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
PE05009
What 2004 Lexus RX330 owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 lexus rx330. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 11v112000 (vehicle speed control) and 10v499000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The dealer indicated that the repairs would be completed within 4 to 6 weeks. The contact called for an extended period of time and received no follow up response from the dealer. Months later, the dealer indicated that the parts were not available for the recall repairs. The contact was unable to determine when the vehicle would receive the repairs. The manufacturer was notified. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 lexus rx330. While backing up the vehicle in the driveway at a low rate of speed, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and crashed into the garage and house. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. During the incident, the vehicle failed to immediately stop while depressing the brake pedal. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 119,000.
I have hard time depressing brake pedal. I went to lexus dealer to get it checked. I think I paid 170 dollars and they said it is ok. But, I still do not like the brake pedal never been smooth.
2004 lexus rx330. Consumer states problems with the brake fluid after the vehicle went in for a 30,000 mile clean up. *kb the consumer stated the brake light illuminated on the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The consumer was informed that an air bubble had formed in the brake line, possibly caused when the line was drained during a 30,000 mile check-up and resulted in the brake fluid being slightly low. The following week, the brake light illuminated again and the consumer immediately returned to the dealer. It was discovered there was absolutely no brake fluid in the reservoir. The brake cylinder and brake booster were replaced.
On the date of the accident I was driving my 2004 lexus rx300 approaching an intersection with cars stopped in front of me waiting for the traffic light to change to green. Although I kept pressing on the brakes nothing happened and I ended up crashing into the car ahead of me and causing a chain reaction involving four (4) other cars, then swerving onto the side of the road and finally coming to a stop by hitting the traffic light pole. None of the air bags deployed. Still visibly in shock, I was helped out of my vehicle by others who had stopped to help including those involved in the accident. The police arrived shortly after on the scene and began an investigation by asking other drivers who had witnessed the accident. According to the police reports, the drivers behind me clearly saw the brake lights on though the vehicle obviously continued moving. Since the accident we have tried to work with our insurance provider (metlife) to do a thorough inspection of the vehicle and determine the cause of the accident, but it has been all with no avail. We have been kept in the dark as to what has exactly been done if anything. The vehicle in the mean time was deemed 'totaled' by the insurance company who has sent a check. We'd like to clearly understand what caused the accident since it was not an operator error. Please advise on how to proceed.
I have 2004 lexus rx330. Yesterday, april 26th, 2010 while driving to local bank, I needed to apply the brakes. I pushed on the brake pedal and it made some weird sound and pedal went all the way to the floor and vehicle had hard time stopping. Somehow I managed to come back home safely. The pedal goes to floor and vehicle barely stops. I do not see any leaks in my garage where vehicle is always parked. I took it to the toyota dealer and he says master cylinder has internal leak and need to be replaced along with brake pads both front and back.
Someone needs to listen! I have a 2004 lexus rx330. It's had trouble from day one, and I got nowhere! They have done 5 updates on the computer. Now it only seems to have trouble at 20 MPH, instead of 40-50 and 65-80, of lurching, hesitating, then taking off like a bat out of hell. It's had a "bulletin" on the front brakes, and shimmied all over the road. I have paper work on all of this and more. You, the ntsb, can take the car and go thru it, I'll give you the repair records. I've called the toyota headquarters in 04 or 05 begging them to help me. A woman said, the car was, "performing in the manner it was designed:" I saved a long time to buy my dream car when I retired, now I have a defective car, with only 48k miles because of fear of driving it. Please please, listen to what people wrote back in 04 about this car. One man said a friend worked for lexus and told him that his boss said there will never be a recall on this car because of the amount of cars sold in the us and canada. We need help. My car is a lemon. I've mentioned numerous times of painting it yellow and putting lemon all over it. Please try to pull up records back then, all these people were writing in with the same problems. No one listened then or now! Please, I'm begging you. I've had 4 toyota's in the past, and all 4 totally, never had the trouble this 1 lexus has. They were actually toyotas. Their complete stature has gone from years of loyalty by me and others, after all the built up trust, gone in an instant! One runaway car is enough! It's now killing people. I bought it for it's comfort, looks, but mostly for safety, and trustworthiness! Gone. All gone! I have a 91 ford van I drive instead of the lexus. I call it a piece of junk, nothing but trouble, and lexus had it more than I did the first 4 yrs. Please look into this all you can. All these people can't be wrong. I can't even sell it now. Shame on you, toyota. Shame on you! Greed! That's what it is, greed.
Lost the power brake assist in vail colorado coming down the mountain.
2 to 3 years prior to this accident I was coming to a stop light and the brakes did not work, but only for a few seconds. I reported this to my husband and he took it to several mechanics but did not find anything wrong with the vehicle, my husband has owned a auto parts store for 40 years and knows a few qualified mechanics. 3 people were on a freeway about 1/4 mile from off ramp doing about 65 MPH, we started to move over to the slower lane as we got to the slower lane I stepped on the brakes to slow down for the off ramp when I felt the brakes were not working, I pumped the brakes several times to make sure I was stepping on the brakes but instead of slowing down the vehicle kept accelerating. I depressed the brake pedal as hard as I could and hung on for dear life upon entering the off ramp I struck another vehicle and flipped the car several times. I ended up with a cracked sternum, the passenger broke 3 or 4 of her vertebra, and passenger in the rear seat was fatal. Updated 03/10/10 *bf *tr updated ivoq 09/28/10 update 9/19/2011
Questions about the 2004 Lexus RX330 brakes
Does the 2004 Lexus RX330 have brakes problems?
Owners have filed 65 complaints about the brakes of the 2004 Lexus RX330, 23% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2004 Lexus RX330 brakes problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 8,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2004 Lexus RX330 brakes?
There is no recall for this problem on this model year.
What year does the Lexus RX330 have bad brakes?
The Lexus RX330 model years with the most brakes complaints are 2004 (65 complaints) and 2005 (11 complaints).
Other 2004 Lexus RX330 problems
Transmission 69Acceleration 34Body 34Lights 22Airbags 21Visibility 20Engine 14Steering 9Suspension 8Electrical 7Tires 3Seat belts 2Wheels 2Driver assistance 1Locks 1Seats 1
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2004 Lexus RX330?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history