2005 Lexus ES330 - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2005 Lexus ES330 has not been rated for overall safety by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, in specific crash scenarios, it has received a 5-star rating for the driver's side in side crash tests and a 4-star rating for the passenger's side. It is equipped with optional electronic stability control to enhance vehicle stability in challenging driving conditions. This model does not come with forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems.

In terms of complaints and recalls, there have been 196 complaints reported and 2 recalls issued for the 2005 Lexus ES330. It is important for owners to ensure that any recalls are addressed promptly to maintain the safety and performance of the vehicle.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

196

Recall Count

2

Investigation Count

1

Safety Rating

Not Rated

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Safety Features

2005 Lexus ES330 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2005 Lexus ES330 4-DR. w/SAB

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Optional
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2005 Lexus ES330 4-DR. w/SAB Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2005 Lexus ES330 4-DR. w/SAB Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated
Front Crash Driver Side Rating Not Rated 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating Not Rated 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 4 4
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated Not Rated
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated Not Rated
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated Not Rated

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2006 Score
Rollover Rating Not Rated Not Rated
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated Not Rated

Complaints for the 2005 Lexus ES330

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2005 lexus es350. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to respond with the accelerator pedal depressed. the contact was concerned that the transmission was defective. the vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed nor repaired. a dealer was not contacted. the manufacturer was informed of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 72,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2020-01-03
Complaint:
"just bought car today. had new tires installed and they told me they put the car in park but ir started rolling. had to restart in neutral and put in park again. when i left went to auto parts store and parked and turned vehicle off. as i was getting out realized car was rolling. i put foot on brake and car restarted without putting in neutral. shifted to drive and back to park and it stopped this time."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2021-01-06
Complaint:
"did not have a car accident, or experience any injuries or car damage, but this car, like numerous other cars of the same make, model, and year has some serious transmission/computer software issues at times. it hesitates and lurches often. i drove on the highway yesterday and the car acted up in the worst way ever.but it seems to me that with information on these same transmission issues plastered all over the internet, your organization would make toyota engineer a permanent fix for this problem, and recall and fix these cars."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2013-01-11
Complaint:
"i did not have a car accident, or experience any injuries or car damage, but this car, like numerous other cars of the same make, model, and year has some serious transmission/computer software issues at times. it hesitates and lurches often, especially in d4. i drove on the highway yesterday in d4, and the car acted up in the worst way ever. i later tried driving in d, and the car did better in town and on the highway, but it seems to me that with information on these same transmission issues plastered all over the internet, your organization would make toyota engineer a permanent fix for this problem, and recall and fix these cars. by the way, this car had the lexus software update for its transmission issues last summer, and i only use the highest octane gasoline. the car actually belongs to my elderly mother, which makes me very concerned about the possibility of her having an accident, or complete transmission failure leaving her stranded somewhere. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2014-02-06
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact was driving 25 mph when the transmission shifted extremely hard, causing the passengers to be thrown forward. the failure recurred numerous times and became worse with each incident. the failure was reported to the dealer and the contact was told that there was a remedy for the issue but the remedy would destroy the computer in the vehicle. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was 22,000 and the current mileage was 70,000. updated 10/11/12*lj"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2011-03-08
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact stated that the vehicle would hesitate to accelerate from a complete stop and also while attempting to accelerate at various speeds. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they were unable to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was also made aware of the failure, but could not diagnose the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 52,000. the vin was unavailable."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2011-01-12
Complaint:
"transmission hesitates and jerks at all times putting the driver in unsafe situations. there appears to be a endless list of complaints regarding this and lexus not taking any action to correct it on their own. i just received a recall notice for a pulley problem that may cause a belt to come off but their is no recall issued for a dangerous transmission issue, seriously?? i hope someone forces them to take action soon since they don't appear to be concerned with customer safety or loyalty. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2011-01-01
Complaint:
"tl* the contact owns a 2005 lexus es330. the contact stated while driving at the speeds of 30 mph applying pressure to the accelerator pedal the vehicle would shift gears , but the speed would not increase. the dealer was contacted and stated this was a common problem. the vehicle failure was not diagnosed nor repaired. the failure mileage was 61,500 the current mileage was 65,000."
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2012-08-04
Complaint:
"transmission shifts very rough, up-shift and down-shift since vehicle was new. documented/reported problem at every service check. was told software had been 'adjusted/reset' and that this is normal for the car. as the car is aging problem is becoming more pronounced and rough/hard shifting is escalating. *tt"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2006-01-05
Complaint:
"lexus es330 transmission. surges. *tr"
Components Involved: POWER TRAIN
Date of incident: 2011-08-09

Recalls for the 2005 Lexus ES330

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"toyota is recalling certain model year 2004 avalon vehicles; 2004 and 2005 camry, camry solara, highlander, and sienna vehicles, 2006 highlander hybrid; 2004 and 2005 lexus es330 and rx330; and 2006 lexus rx400h vehicles manufactured from june 1, 2004 through march 31, 2005, equipped with the 1mz-fe or 3mz-fe engine. the amount of adhesive agent applied between the outer ring and the torsional rubber damper (inner ring) in the crankshaft pulley may be inadequate. if the adhesive is insufficient, there is a possibility that the outer ring may become misaligned and it may not properly rotate with the inner ring, causing noise and/or illumination of the battery discharge indicator light."
Consequence:
IN SOME CASES, THE BELT FOR THE POWER STEERING PUMP MAY BECOME DETACHED FROM THE PULLEY WHICH COULD RESULT IN A LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND A SUDDEN INCREASE IN STEERING EFFORT, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy:

TOYOTA WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL CHECK THE CRANKSHAFT PULLEY TO IDENTIFY WHETHER IT WAS PRODUCED BY THE U.S. SUPPLIER. IF SO, THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE PULLEY WITH A NEW ONE AT NO CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING EARLY JANUARY 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT TOYOTA AT 1-800-331-4331.

Component(s) Involved: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Date of incident: 2011-11-09

LEXUS Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

LEXUS ranks 23 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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