10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
29,036 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2005 Lexus ES 330:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #7

May 142012

ES 330

  • miles
Dashboard is melting and making the glare difficult to drive. Has been like this for some time. Just now finding out other people have problems with this. It has large bumps on the melting dashboard. Started doing this around may, 2012.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #6

Jan 012013

ES 330

  • 120,000 miles
Shrinking dashboard airbag cover - this is a common problem for Lexus owners - - Lexus says this is not a safety hazard and does not warrant repair - only cosmetic. They are repairing some dashboards for cracks on other models. I noticed the problem approximately January 2013.

- Huntsville, AL, USA

problem #5

Oct 152015

ES 330

  • 50,000 miles
Engine caught on fire. Was driving on a city street when I noticed flames shooting out under the hood.

- Flower Mound, TX, USA

problem #4

Jul 012009

ES 330

  • miles
Passenger airbag deterioration (separated) on dashboard.

- Pompano Beach, FL, USA

problem #3

Sep 012011

ES 330

  • miles
Transmission jerking and hesitation. Problem increasing steadily for the past year. We are experiencing hesitation when merging into traffic and just when driving at speeds of 35-40 mph. Updated 09/16/11

- Damascus, OR, USA

problem #2

Sep 302009

ES 330

  • 28,250 miles
Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) 2005 Lexus model ES330(VIN#[xxx] ). after entering a parking space at a shopping mall at very slow speed. My Lexus accelerated forward with my foot hard pressed on the brake, jumping an island impacting head on with the car parked in front. This accident caused extensive damage on both cars. Replaced the hood, grid, both head lamps, and front bumper on my car. The passenger of the other car was not in the car and was shopping in the mall. Fortunately there were no personal injuries. I called my Lexus dealer (Lexus of silver spring, md and was told that the 2005 Lexus ES330 was not covered by Toyota's recall for braking or accelerator problems. Since then, I carefully pull the carpet back when start driving. Hope your investigation will include the 2005 Lexus ES330 model.

- Potomac, MD, USA

problem #1

Aug 162005

ES 330 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 5,000 miles
The car had just completed it 5000 miles service. After leaving the dealership I drove about 5 miles and was stopped at a traffic light. I felt a jolt and got out of my car and walked around the rear and saw a tire laying in the roadway between my car and the car behind me. The driver behind me said that the tire appeared out of nowhere and bounced up and under his car and then bounced back and hit my bumper. I did not realize that the spare tire is stored under the vehicle in the 2005 Lexus rx 330. I immediately returned to the dealer and showed the service manager the tire and the cover for the tire which had also fallen off. He opened the cover and found that the metal cable that held the tire in place had severed. He said he wanted to keep the car to show to a company representative. It is now 4 weeks later and we have not received our car back or heard form Lexus as to the resolution. Shortly before the incident, I had been traveling at 55 mph. Someone could have been seriously injured if this had happened while moving.

- Belleair, FL, USA