2004 Lexus GX470 problems & reliability
32 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2004 Lexus GX470, alongside 1 safety recall campaign. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
1 complaint report injuries (2 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags → | 12 | 38% |
| Structure | 9 | 28% |
| Unknown OR Other | 4 | 13% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 4 | 13% |
| Power Train | 3 | 9% |
| Suspension | 3 | 9% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 2 | 6% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 2 | 6% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 2 | 6% |
| Visibility | 2 | 6% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 15 reported components →Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 21 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 88,403 miles (middle 50% between 67,711 and 120,000 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The contact owns a 2004 Lexus GX470. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked when he noticed there was a crack on the dashboard. The contact was not sure what caused the dashboard to crack. The dealer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. The vehicle was not…”
Structure · filed Jul 26, 2021
“There was a recall on my vehicle. The dashboard is all cracked but my problem is that I drive my kids and there is a recall problem with side curtain-shield-airbags (csas) which deploy from the roof rails in the event of certain types of crashes. I had call 2 different lexus and the headquaters and they all them me…”
Unknown OR Other · filed Dec 3, 2018
“The car has been subject to 2 recalls. First, a recall for the self-destructing dashboard and for the curtain shield airbags. The company has refused to provide me with the part in order to proceed to a replacement of the affected parts.”
Air Bags · filed Jan 23, 2018
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
93 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2004 Lexus GX470. The 10 most recent:
Lexus Safety Recall and Service Campaign - Technician Certification Requirements 4.13.2022
Safety Recall 22 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 13, 2022
TSB: This Service Bulletin includes procedures to replace damaged or loose front carpet floor retainer(s) without replacing the carpet assembly. Follow the Repair Procedure in this bulletin to replace the loose or…
L-SB-0006-22 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 9, 2022
POL: This consolidated Tire Warranty Guide contains the complete warranty terms for all brands of ground and spare tires currently in use by Lexus. This information must be kept near the point of vehicle sale and be…
Lexus PRO19-02 - · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 12, 2022
TSB: OBSOLETE NOTICE June 23, 2020: This bulletin is now obsolete. Please see L-SB-0023-20.
L-SB-0174-08 Obs · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 23, 2020
Safety Recall and Service Campaign - Technician Certification Requirements
Lexus Safety Re · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 1, 2020
Dealer Daily Message: Lexus plans to send Safety Recall/Special Service Campaign Follow-Up Notices for the above referenced campaigns to remind owners whose vehicles have not yet had campaign repairs completed.
Lexus Dealer Dai · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 23, 2019
Region Letter: Lexus plans to conduct Safety Recall/Special Campaign follow-up notifications to owners whose vehicles have not yet had the following Safety Recall/Special Service Campaign repairs completed. Please note…
Lexus Region Let · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 23, 2019
Dealer Package: Follow-Up Owner Notification Letter Mailing Date The Campaign Follow-Up Owner Notification(s) will begin in Late October 2019. Owner notifications will be sent over a period of several weeks consistent…
Lexus Customer R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 23, 2019
TSB: REVISION NOTICE September 27, 2018 Rev1: ? Applicability has been updated to include 2012 model year ES350, 2016 ? 2017 model year GS200t, 2013 ? 2018 model year GS350, 2013 ? 2017 model year GS450h, and 2016 ?…
L-SB-0011-15_Rev · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 27, 2018
TSB: OBSOLETE NOTICE January 22, 2018: This bulletin is now obsolete. Please see L-SB-0001-18.
L-SB-0021-14_Obs · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 24, 2018
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2004 Lexus GX470 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2004 Lexus GX470?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 88,403 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.