Brake Foundation Components Problems of Lexus RX330

On January 17, 2005 I was involved in an automobile accident in my 2004 Lexus Rx330. This accident occurred less than 1 mile from my home, on my own street, 1-2 minutes after leaving my home. It had snowed the night before and the roadway was still snow/ice covered, it was a frigid morning. I was traveling approximately 15 miles per hour and the vehicle brakes failed to engage. I attempted to push the brake petal to the floor without result. The anti-lock brakes did not function. The damage to this vehicle exceeded $8000. Days after the damage to the vehicle was fixed my husband took the vehicle to the Lexus of towson dealership to have the braking mechanism looked at. During the drive to the dealership (in similar, snow covered/frigid conditions) my husband was able to reproduce this problem, again just after leaving our home. The dealership (a 40 minute drive from our home) was unable to reproduce this problem and told us to call back if the problem occurred again. Today, may 24, 2005, we were informed during a routine oil change that there may be a problem wth the brakes and that a campaign was underway to investigate. I wanted to formally add my vehicle to this list of compaints.

See all problems of the 2004 Lexus RX330 🔎.

Article in nytimes re Rx330; problem with brake booster known months ago. We had a # of scary, almost serious episodes with this issue. No one told us, even though they knew! it was very hard to stop the car and pedal required significant effort. Problem always happened just after starting the car at the beginning of the drive. Our car was at dealer for one month, while we awaited parts to repair. Dealer replaced vacuum brake booster and have not had any problems since.

When initially depressing the brake pedal, the pedal does not depress smoothly, instead in frequently shudders as it goes down through the initial part of the stroke, going down in a stair-step manner. This happens even when standing still, and is most noticeable when pressing the brake gently. It makes it very difficult to stop smoothly and precisely, occasionally causing jerky, erratic braking. The dealer replaced the master cylinder and booster assembly, only to have the problem become even worse!.