27th Aug 2005, 18:36
I purchased (leased) an RX330 in Nov. '03 on a 3 year lease. I have been in to my dealer at least 3 times regarding the "jerkiness" and unreliability of the transition, and have been told that's the way the car was engineered. I thought it was just me. I am a Realtor, have people in my car a lot, and they never fail to comment on it, as it is most apparent when coming off a stop sign, or a rolling yield. Additionally I never know, when I get on the freeway, how the car will react and don't take chances. What a shock, coming from a company that stresses their luxury cars. Can't wait for the lease to expire, and won't do this again!
1st Nov 2005, 10:13
I disagree with most of these comments. I have a 2004 Lexus RX 330 and a 1999 Lexus GS 300 and I have not had a single problem with both these cars. I take the GS 300 to work every day from Richmond Hill to Toronto (about a 30 min trip) I am very happy with these cars. There has not been any major problems other than normal wear and tear experienced with many cars.
6th Nov 2005, 10:05
Hi Guys.
Try this link from the UK site. Had similar problems here, and as you will see, Lexus are in the process of fixing it...
http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=23591
Val Christensen.
17th May 2006, 15:49
I bought a 1999 Rx330 new and it now has 87K miles and today I was told that the transmission is shot. This vehicle has all regular service performed by Lexus dealer. I too have noticed the trans problems before this, but never got a satisfactory answer from the dealer.
Judging from what is on this and other Internet sites there are numerous RX owners in the same boat and Lexus refuses to acknowledge this problem.
I believe Lexus has a liability to correct this RX design defect and all owners should band together to expose this to the public in whatever way possible.
Anybody know a lawyer that would take a class action suit? Bad PR is the only way to get action from Lexus.
7th Jun 2006, 13:33
I bought a 2005 Lexus RX330 in July 2005. It now has approximately 11,000 miles on it. I have had problems with the transmission since the day I bought it. My problems are similar to the problems mentioned in other comments: jerky shifting, lagging or hesitation between gears, hesitation upon hard acceleration such as when speed is needed for highway passing, etc. The acceleration when the cruise control is engaged is also very jerky. I have had the car back to the dealer several times to fix the problem; they installed a software patch, but that didn't help much. I, too, called Lexus Customer Service and got the same runaround--that the car is performing as engineered. Frankly, I'm embarrassed to have others ride in the car and witness its herky-jerky routine. I'm angry and disappointed that I paid so much money for a vehicle that was supposed to be so wonderful.
10th Jun 2006, 05:46
I have an 2006 RX330. I brought it new and this is my first Lexus.
Is the transmission similar to ES330. I had this for couple of months and experiencing a similar jerks. These jerks are more prominent during initial acceleration.
Can I take to the dealership and complain about it. What is good way to describe it, so that I get full attention.
Earlier, I once took it to the dealership and said described it was acceleration problem. Dealership checked and said the acceleration is fine. My bad way to put the thing...
Thanks,
25th Jul 2006, 23:11
I just bought a 2005 Lexus ES330 last week. It now has approximately 10,000 miles on it. I have the same transmission problems too. At the beginning I thought it was my problem because I am not familiar with this car, then I knew it is not my problem, it is the car's transmission that has the problem.
All the problems like jerky shifting, lagging or hesitation, hesitation upon hard acceleration, etc. Sometimes I feel the car is going to stop itself, or it is feel the car can stop at any minutes and anywhere.
This is the second Lexus I have owned. My previous owned was ES300 2001, it also had some other problems as well. Dealer used to tell me that was just my bad luck. Because the 2001 ES300 was a car that comfortable to drive. So I decided to buy another one. Now the problems come again, its trasmission has serious problems.
This time I don't think that it is my bad luck, it is the Lexus, they're are not that good quality cars. Probably a lot of them have some kind of problems.
19th Sep 2006, 05:56
I have a certified pre-owned 1999 Lexus RX 300. I have about 156K miles on it as of this writing. I was about 30 miles from home when my car stopped accelerating. I had to turn my car off, restart it, and then accelerate, only to go another 2 miles or so before the transmission slipped again. I finally pulled into a parking lot and was towed to my repair shop. The repair shop confirmed that the transmission was shot. This repair, with labor, will cost $4,800 to replace with a rebuilt transmission! Next, I called my Lexus dealer. The service manager at the dealership said cars with 80K miles had transmission problems and I should feel lucky that I had 156K. The dealer was trying to get me to think about purchasing a new car!!! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Purchase a new Lexus? No way. I certainly won't purchase another Lexus. I think this transmission problem is Lexus' way of ensuring future sales! I won't be their sucker again! I kept my Acura for 12 years before having any problems. My Nissan before that was good for 10 years before I had any problems. I never expected such poor performance from a Lexus.
14th Apr 2007, 07:29
Transmission broke down twice under 30,000 miles. While I was driving the car shut down twice; once in a ghetto, and once going full speed hwy 95 s.
Lexus were no help to us, vacation with no loaner vehicle, it stunk. I was told they have never heard of a transmission going twice on a new Lexus with that many miles. I am afraid of and can't stand this car anymore, and do not like driving it. I asked if they would buy the car back and get me into a new Lexus around the same price range, and they didn't do one thing to even work with me.
Lexus national "service" never returned my calls, when they did it was because I raised a fit. The last thing they said is that they went over and above regular service, and that I just had gotten a car that was the exception. I asked them to put that in writing and they said OK, but I never heard from them again. Argh. I hate my Lexus RX330 2005.
8th Aug 2005, 18:33
We have purchased the 2004 edition of the RX 330 last year. It was our first Lexus and we were very excited, but we have been extremely frustrated and disappointed with its performance from the beginning. Everything else was fine except for its own idea on when and how to shift gears. It is jerky at stop-sign take-offs and is sluggish during mid gear shifts. We took it to the dealer several times for this problem. They even loaded a new program... It got a little better, but it still lags and jerks... I called the Lexus HQ and raised this point. Their answer was a well trained recording. The dealer says that it meets the specs, and that there is nothing more that can be done. They are telling us to “live with it…” Maybe Lexus is over rated… We are considering switching it with another vehicle. If anyone has experienced the same problems, I would like to know how this can be resolved. Thanks… -Disappointed & Frustrated RX330 owner-