The Soviet advance on Pest from the southeast formed a bulge in the defensive lines, dangerously exposing the Red Army divisions to counterattacks on their flanks. For that reason, 46th Army ordered the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps holding the right flank to send out an armored force bypassing the town of Pestszentimre which it failed to occupy on the previous day, and driving straight toward the airport. Leaving a small detachment at the southeastern limits of Pestszentimre to protect their extended left flank, the bulk of the task force (including the 37th Guards Tank Brigade) attacked toward Pestzentlörinc. The powerful thrust of about 30 tanks supported by the infantry of 4th Guards Mechanized Brigade ejected the German combat outposts and pushed forward.

Shortly after the start of the attack, stiffAxis resistance halted the Soviets. Having checked Baskakov's onslaught, by midday the defenders (a mix of Germans and Hungarians, mostly from the 13th Panzer Division and Group Billnitzer) counterattacked and recaptured the tactically important Hill 129 (just to the northeast of Pestszentimre). Up to 50 armored vehicles smashed into the lines of the 4th Guards Mechanized Brigade while Axis artillery pounded their positions.

Chaos broke out as casualties began to mount. Twenty out of 35 Soviet tanks were destroyed and an infantry battalion that accompanied them nearly wiped out. The wounded included the brigade's commander, his chief of staff, and the commanding officer of the 23rd Guards Tank Regiment. Among the troops, mostly inexperienced recruits, anxiety and something approaching panic broke out. The entire brigade stood on the verge of catastrophe when Baskakov intervened, ordering the corps artillery to bombard the German assembly areas. At the same time, 37th Guards Tank Brigade, along with the Stalin tanks of the 30th Guards Heavy Tank Regiment, returned to the endangered zone and eventually halted the German attack.

Throughout the rest of the day fierce fighting continued, but the Soviets gained no more ground and instead switched over to the defensive. At around 1400, the 13th Panzer and Feldhermnhalle Divisions attacked with the objective of repulsing the Soviets and trapping Baskakov's task force. The German attack ground to a halt at Hill 120. After so many attacks, counterattacks and fire exchanges, the entire area was covered with dead bodies and wrecked machines.

By the evening of 4 November, it was already clear to both the Stavka and OKH that Malinovsky's attempt to capture Budapest had failed. At 2000, Stalin signed a "stop order" that was immediately sent to the 2nd Ukrainian Front's headquarters.