Lexus ES 350

amf1932

The transmission problems were in a very small percentage of cars that were manufactured in April, 2006. I absolutely love how this new transmission works, and that's the reason I traded in a '03 ES300 with 16K miles. I wouldn't worry about it because the Lexus Corporation stands behind 100% of any problems that might arise.

sammys

Hmmm...I wonder what happened to my original message on this??
Anyway, what were/are the symptoms of the transmission problem and under what circumstances does/did it occur? Sounds like the issue in cars made after April have been adressed?

Also, how do you find out when a car was manufactured? It is not on the window sticker nor is it on the memorandum invoice from Lexus - unless it is buried in code within the vin number.
I ask because I pick up my car this week and I'd like to know when it was made.

Thanks.
SammyS

pat

Check your email ...

bobbo55

Bash4, I would like to know about your buying experience at the Merrillville store. I am very close to making a deal there on a Es350.I don't want or need the Nav. I just want a basic one with prem. pkg. Xm radio $650 and the plastic coating $950 they put on the front of the car.With a lot of highway driving I need this.I probaby will get the moonshell or granite color. I hope to get atleast $2000 off but I will try to get $2500 off.I have a 2005 Accord EX V6 with 13600 miles.Carmax will give me $20000 for it. So I have to get about $19000 a the Lexus dealer to break even with the Sales tax difference.Bash4 I hope to hear from you about your buying experience at the Merrillville store which is owned by the same guy who ownes the Orland store. Thanks Bobbo55

gohawaiian

Yesterday, I easily disabled the seat belt reminder chime in my new Toyota Avalon. From what I've seen of the ES 350, it appears to share quite a few parts and/or systems with the current model Avalon, so you might find it worthwhile to experiment by checking the easy-to-follow instructions that I used and see if they also work for your Lexus. They are posted in Message #12794 of the message board for the "Toyota Avalon 2005+". Good luck!

bobbo55

I wonder if anyone can tell me about the exterior paint Lexus uses, is it better than what they use on Toyotas?Also how much better than on Hondas. Honda uses horrible paint on their accords, a stone will hit the surface and a chip will always occur.What about the leather on the Lexus seats is that better than the toyotas?I'd like some feedback.

zekeman1

On the "plastic coating" you refer to for $950, I would suggest you shop around just a little bit and you'll probably find a MUCH better price as an aftermarket procedure. I had it installed on my smoky granite at a dealer who has a Ferrari following for the same material. Got it for a significantly better price than Lexus and it included coverings for all the lights as well as door handle indentions....just a suggestion - I think $950 is pretty steep!

luckyturk

I definetly agree the standard stereo system leaves much to be disired. I traded in a 06 Solora for the ES and the Solara standard stsero system was much better.

bash4

Hello Bobbo55,
I have been dealing with a guy named Steve over the phone for about a month now. I emailed a few dealers closer to me but none responded and when I called no dealing just MSRP. Steve called the next morning about 9:30am. Was very polite and offered me $1500 off any MSRP before I asked. Since this was my best offer I ordered one with the package that I wanted and color. Since then I found out Ruby w/cashmere is very difficult to get especially with the package that I wanted so Steve got me an extra $500 off a Ruby w/black that they had in stock. I pick the vehicle up this Saturday so maybe I should give you an update then. I hope everything goes smooth, especially the tranny. My car was built in April. Steve recently told me they cut their discounts down because of supply and demand. So good luck.

bartalk3

Check the driver's door jam. The manufacture date is there on my Acura.

dreyfus

A picture of my 350 with the body side moldings can be found here.

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214896&page=2&pp=40

clc82

Tried it. Didn't work. Didn't get any change in the display or the chime. I tried it several times, several ways. No luck. Thanks for the info 'though.

beachgary

Thanks a lot for the picture. I think the moulding looks great. Enjoy your new ride.

dp5

I posted this on the bluetooth forum but wanted to post here, as well, to get as many responses as possible.

Whenever I am using the bluetooth and recieve a 2nd call on call waiting, both lines disconnect when either caller hangs up. I took my Motorola Razr to the store I bought it from and was told that this was a software issue and they needed to load a different operating system on my phone. They asked me to call Lexus to learn which operating system works with the Lexus. I spent almost 2 hours being bounced around between Lexus, the Lexus bluetooth specialists and Motorola. Finally, a Lexus customer service representative told me that the Lexus bluetooth does not support call waiting and that I needed to disable call waiting on my cell phone when making a call to keep from having call waiting disconnect the original call. She said that this is true for all Lexus vehicles and all phones.

I'd like to know if all other ES 350 owners experience this problem or if I got some misinformation. Please post and let me know if a second cell phone call makes your phone disconnect when using bluetooth.

pat

Actually, instead of having this conversation in several different places and confusing readers, let's ask anyone who has suggestions for you to respond to your post at this link instead of here: Lexus ES 350 and Bluetooth.

rocketdan

or is the manual really deficient? I know we've talked about all the really pressing topics (should CAblondblue buy a dark car?) but after getting my ES, the one thing that stands out as disappointing is the MANUAL! This is like a '70s manual for Japanese stereo gear. There are way too many areas where, despite the large size and copious pictures, the manual is just NOT HELPFUL.

Obviously, if this is my biggest complaint, I just love this car. I do! But it cracks me up how often I go to read the manual, then just go out to the car and "try this and try that." Has anyone else felt the manual leaves a lot to be desired? (I know most people feel reading the manual is a last ditch approach never to be admitted to, but if you were to read it.....does it tell you what you need to know?)

i need some validation here....

bobbo55

I would like to know how a dealer trade works. The sales guy at the local Lexus dealer said they could find the exact Es 350 or really close to it in a day or so.Do they trade with only certain Lexus or all Lexus dealers in my area? And how many miles would they trade to make a deal?

zekeman1

Sorry, cannot give you any validation. My last 6 cars were Toyota or Lexus products (Avalon, ES-300, Tundra, Highlander, Avalon, ES-350) and have not found any of the manuals, including the 350, difficult to maneuver through to find an answer on how something works. I've found out all I needed to know and then some! Please understand, I'm not throwing rocks at anyone in particular on this board, but reading some of the issues, I sometimes wonder how people get up in the morning and make very basic decisions in their lives or work...guess that's what makes life so interesting! :confuse:

elwoodmoraga

Noticed a message from Swobro that he was able to get the car for $1000 over invoice. I've been quoted about 5% over invoice at a couple of dealers in the San Francisco Bay Area and figured that was as good as it's going to get. Has anyone else been able to find a deal at less than 5% over invoice?

And if Swobro sees this, would you mind sharing the name of the dealership.

Thanks

maypo

I'll give you some validation. I've picked up the manual several times to find something and become irritated that there is no index in at least one (if not both) of the manuals.

luvblac

My wife and I completely agree with you. Some of the instructions are not written clearly. The manual was obviously written by a Japanese translating to English. For instance I found that hooking up the Homelink garage opener much easier by following my GM manual. Plain language. And there are other instances. But as you said, "try this and try that" will usually work. :>)

jsdtx

Lexus should be ashamed to not offer as standard a level of safety that is expected from this level of car.

I cannot believe anyone would by the cars without side airbags. They should be boycotted.

psychdoc

First, the areas that I consider a draw or where the feature in question is of no value either pro or con.

- "Ventillated seats" ...Hahahahahaha, what a joke...they don't do a damn thing...save a few bucks and give me some extra wood on the dash!

- "Voice command"...Another joke...first off, they don't "hear" half of what you're saying and, more importantly, there's not a thing you can do with these voice commands that can't be done infinitely easier by pushing a button or turning a knob...another waste of money that could have been put to much better use.

- Swiveling headlights...Yeah, I know it's kind of cool to watch them turning a little bit at night but in reality, another one of those things that really don't do a damned thing to improve the driving experience.

- Keyless ignition....And this is surely the biggest waste of money and annoyance on the new car....my key fob is on the rest of my keys which I don't like carrying in my pocket as they're way too bulky...at least in the old car I "stored" them nicely right there on the dash hanging from the key input...I'm now either throwing them on the passenger seat or putting them in the cup holder which ruins the look of the interior as the flap must remain up...I hate this feature...it's about as bright an idea as BMW's Idrive (which is to say, not very bright).

[Now that I read this I suppose I should have put this under the "pro's" of the ES300/330....oh well]

ES350 Pros

- Power, power, power (oh, did I forget to mention that I ADORE the power of this car?)

- 17" wheels...much nicer looking and more in keeping with a car this size than the former 16"ers.

- Ipod/MP3 input....renders the CD changer essentially irrelevant...brilliant addition.

- MPG....all I can say here is "WOW"....this baby averages about 25mpg in combined driving...the ES300 was good for only about 18mpg.

- Transmission....as good as they come....silky smooth and six speeds....it really doesn't get any better that this....compared to the positively awful jerkiness at low speeds which we've all come to know only too well and hate in the ES300/330, this is right up there with the biggest area of improvement.

- Mark Levinson sound system....it was damn good in the previous iterations of this car....now it's simply awesome....you don't get sound this good from a $20,000 home setup.

- Gen 5 Nav system...graphics are razor sharp and the number of POI and other features this thing is capable of are just about beyond belief...now, if they had just worked out an agreement with Zagat's to provide resauraunt ratings as I think Nissan/Infinity (or was that Honda/Acura?) did, it'd be perfect.

- Bluetooth....great system, works flawlessly...now if they could only enable the features when the car is in motion.

- Telescoping/tilt steering wheel....a big improvement from the tilt only.

- Appearance (exterior)....while still not a striking car, it now looks a bit more masculine and the addition of the dual tailpipes helps quite a bit....they could have done a better job overall ,however and in my opinion they should have done much more to distinguish this car from it's Camry sibling.

- Panoramic sunroof....absolutely terrific....gives rear seat passangers a real feeling of openness and airiness previously absent.

- Keyless entry....this I like.

- Design of the center console...the "slide away to the back" top is a stroke of ergonomic engineering genius.

ES350 Cons

- Front seats not as comfortable as in the outgoing model....just not shaped right...can't find that "sweet spot."

- Interior is spartan looking....not as bad as the new GS mind you, but compared with the richness and warmth of the ES300/330, it's not anywhere near as hospitable a place to be...it really, really needs a piece of wood trim over the glove box....big mistake deleting this!

- Placement of the front seat heating "ventillation" controls....under the lip of the front center console???...file this under "dumb."

- Burying the button to disable the A/C condensor in the climate control screen....the old car had its own dedicated button for this, a real plus in the winter we're going to see.

Well, that's about all I can think of right now.

luvblac

That was a very good summation. I agree with most of what you said. I find women like the keyless ignition as they have their keys and "key fob" in their purse. Since most men don't carry that article, there tends to be too much 'stuff'. A nusance. And from a design standpoint, the passenger side is very spartan as you said. It needs something elegant there (i.e. wood trim) to soften it up.
Some of those things will probably be fixed with the 2008 model. But it does have a creamy smooth drive. That's nice.

dp5

That was a nice summation of the car. However, I disagree with a couple of your conclusions:

Ventilated Seats - I believe I started the first thread that complained about how weak the blower was. I thought that it didn't do anything, either. It certainly wasn't as good as the ventilated seats in the GS 300. However, I've recently driven a Lexus loaner and my wife's Suburban. In both cars, I noticed how hot my back and bottom were and I kept reaching for the seat ventilation controls to turn them up only to remember that I wasn't in my vehicle. I live in Houston where it is really hot. While the ventilated seats aren't strong enough to be noticeable, I think that they do make a difference.

Voice Command - I use this to find gas stations, particular types of restaurants, coffee houses, etc. with the Nav system and it seems to work great. I also occasionally use it for the Dial By Number feature while driving. This also is reliable if you speak the number quickly but the multiple steps are cumbersome. I haven't tried any of the other voice controls but I've heard that they don't work well.

Swiveling Headlights - Mostly a "wow" feature but may add to safety. I now notice that other cars headlights don't swivel whenever I am driving them at night.

Keyless Ignition - This is one of my favorite features. I just keep my keys in my pocket all of the time. I can unlock the door, start the car, turn the car off and lock the car when getting out without removing my keys. I wish I had one for my front door.

Anyway, just my opinions. I guess they add so many features because we all value different things. It sounds like you really enjoy the panoramic roof but this feature doesn't do anything for me. My kids occasionally enjoy it to look outside but I would probably prefer to be without this feature. We're all lucky to have so many nice features on such an inexpensive car.

guest

***We're all lucky to have so many nice features on such an inexpensive car.***

You hit on one of the major attractions of this car. I'm embarrased that I omitted it. Value for dollar this car is a real winner. As I've posted here in the past I would still happily take this car over the M-B E350, Audi A6 or the BMW 53i (though here it gets a bit closer) if they were all the same price. The fact the the tutonic competition is about $9-12k pricier just makes the ES350 an even more awesome buy.

So lets see, you can get a UL ES350 for $44k and an Acura RL for $49k.

Hmmmm Let me think about that for about 1 milisecond. OK, that wasn't hard. :P

psychdoc

***We're all lucky to have so many nice features on such an inexpensive car.***

You hit on one of the major attractions of this car. I'm embarrased that I omitted it. Value for dollar this car is a real winner. As I've posted here in the past I would still happily take this car over the M-B E350, Audi A6 or the BMW 530i (though here it gets a bit closer) if they were all the same price. The fact the the tutonic competition is about $9-12k pricier just makes the ES350 an even more awesome buy.

So lets see, you can get a UL ES350 for $44k and an Acura RL for $49k.

Hmmmm Let me think about that for about 1 milisecond. OK, that wasn't hard. What a joke that would be! :P

cablondeblue

Zekeman1 and Rocketdan:

Excuse me that my decision about a color is so troubling for you to understand. There are a lot of people on this forum having trouble choosing a color. Besides, that issue hasn't been bought up in weeks. Since I do not have the car yet, it is not likely that I would address any issues regarding performance, features or the manual, for that matter.

You can make all the assumptions you want about me but you will never really know the position I hold and decisions I have to make on a daily basis.

zekeman1

You can make all the assumptions you want about me but you will never really know the position I hold and decisions I have to make on a daily basis

Hmmm, bit touchy there. Frankly, you would be the last person I was thinking of. But if the shoe fits....suggest you re-read my post where I stated that I wasn't throwing rocks at anyone in particular.

Insofar as the importance of decisions that "you have to make on a daily basis", I would never assume anything! Nor should you, in your rather condescending but self-important response. Suggest you sit down and take multiple deep breaths...no one (at least me) was thinking of you. I'll let Rocketdan speak for himself.

cablondeblue

I stand corrected then. I guess just assumed you were both referring to me since "my name" was mentioned in the post and you quickly responded with those comments.

thaishark

So lets see, you can get a UL ES350 for $44k and an Acura RL for $49k.

Hold on there, while i have chosen the Es350 as well, lets get the facts straight.
You can easily buy an RL for 43K, 42 or less with some effort. so the value is not quite as high as you think, but i also chosse the ES mostly because of the better gas mileage and the quietness. I have owned several Acuras over the years and they are great cars.

psychdoc

The Acura is an OK car but it's not in the same league as the ES350 in my opinion. They made a fatal error when they priced it at $49k. BTW regarding my comparisons, I was listing MSRP prices. As I'm sure you know, the RL has been a complete marketing disaster. In addition to the ridiculous price, I attribute this to a number of things. Ever been to an Acura dealership? Very low rent service in my opinion. The salespeople were mostly in their offices playing solitaire it looked like and the place looked and felt like a morgue. The car itself felt cramped in the front and had an interior that can best be described as unexciting, uninviting and uninspiring.

The boys over at Acura better get their act together quickly or I doubt we'll be seeing them around for long. I've read they're readying a stripped down version of the RL for about $7k less than the original. If they don't do something about that interior and a rather typically Acura "blah," "so what" exterior, they're in trouble. There's only so much mileage they're going to be able to get out of the venerable TL.

elwoodmoraga

Somewhere in this forum is a discussion of a $950 dealer process having to do with "plastic", and talking about getting it done far cheaper elsewhere.

Is this some kind of paint sealant they recommend?

Thanks
Elwood

thaishark

Without turning this into an Acura vs. Lexus discussion I just want to say that i partially agree with you on the Interior, It could use a little work. The materials used are just a little cheap for the price level of the car, even at 42k.
But I completely disagree with you regarding the dealership, I have nothing but good things to say about them. At least the one i always dealt with. They were very professional , always did a great job with the service and were very prompt.
As always exterior designs are purely subjective.
Come on though, even you have to agree when you want to talk about 'uninspired' just look at the ES for the last 10 years. Boring rings a bell.
Don't get me wrong I really like the new ES otherwise i wouldnt be buying one!
As for a marketing disaster i will agree with that one, they never seemed to have a cohesive plan for who was going to buy this car.
but in my area since the car is such a great value right now, i am seeing more and more of them on the road, and i find i like the exterior personally.
To each their own, I don't think you will find very many dissatisfied RL owners out there.

bwolf

Just put a deposit down on a premium plus Ruby Red. Hope I don't have to wait 3 months to get one! After seeing it in person, I couldn't get any other color, it is very sharp and a huge contrast from my Gray Acura TL.

nedb52

I was told that most of the gas stations in DE now contain 15% ethanol. I've been using mid-range gas, should I have any concerns?

bash4

Ruby with cashmere will be a problem but black is not and I'm not sure about grey. I just picked up my Ruby w/black Saturday. I love it. I had ordered Cashmere a month ago but had no luck. So I settled for the black. Atleast it will stay cleaner.

rocketdan

Gracious! That was said in jest. I too had more trouble with the color than deciding on the car to buy. Sorry if that wasn't obvious. I have really enjoyed your agonizing over the selection and all the lively white vs. dark debate

PS - I bought white! It's been through several rains and looks great! Go light!

bwolf

I have black leather in my current car. I love it, but I want a change so I guess I'm just going to have to wait a while to get the Ruby/Cashmier.

Are you going to post pictures of your new ES???

cablondeblue

Rocketdan - It is fine. I knew you were joking, it was the other comment that followed by someone else. I'm over it. Life's too short.

Guess what? I picked a color................. Crystal White. I just figured with my busy lifestyle and how often I don't wash my car, it is the easiest for me to maintain.

I wrote about my experience at the dealer this morning and the deal I got in the Leasing session of the forum:

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.f0cb489.f0cb487?displayRecent

Now the wait begins.

pat

Congrats! Keep us posted.

Here's a direct link to cablondeblue's post about her lease: cablondeblue, "Lexus ES 350: Lease Questions" #63, 17 Jul 2006 1:26 pm

cablondeblue

Thanks Pat. I didn't know quite how to link that so it would stay on my post and not recent ones.

pat

Making a link like that is very simple! All you have to do is right click on the post number of your post (it's a link) and "copy", then come to the new message you want to create. Right-click in the message space and "paste". What you will see will not look like what posts, but when the message is posted, the copy/pasted link will turn into the format that you see in my message.

Lots easier to do than to explain, trust me!

rocketdan

Congratulations! Obviously, I think you made a GREAT choice on color Oh, the waiting part is hard. After I negotiated my deal, I waited three weeks. I read the forums here constantly, I even read the online tutorial for the Nav on lexus.com. I don't think I remembered any of it, but it helped pass the time. I'm sure you'll love it when it is in. Then of course you get to go through the new car paranoia - not parking in the closest spots, changing lanes to not drive behind a big truck that could kick up rocks, rerouting travel to avoid freshly tarred sections, etc. But it is SO worth it. And it sounds like you got the big toys package. I envy you the ML sound system. I hope your delivery goes smoothly.

lookinginscv

cablondeblue... congrats on picking out a car. Who did you end up ordering from? Sounds like a GREAT DEAL!!

cc2010

Did you get the body moldings? Have you seen what they look like? The latest trend in moldingless car doors...while they look sleek, makes me even more apprehensive. I try picturing them with a big ding and it gives me nightmares. Do you think it's just a matter of taking the time to park in a decent spot? Can any new recent owner get me over my paranoia? ha

amf1932

First of all, I really like the moldingless look, and secondly, if I did get moldings the first ding on my door would definitely be above or below the mouldings. Just my luck.

Alan

cablondeblue

I ordered it from Lexus of Valencia, lol, the dealership that you said you didn't want to go to because they quoted you too high. I think the key to any dealership is that you have to do your homework and get several quotes from other dealers. Most of the dealerships are going to come in high at first, of course. But if you use these other quotes as ammunition, it helps tremendously. By showing him that other quote, it forced him to come down at $138.00 in the monthly payment in one shot because he knew he had to meet it or beat it.

He wasn't too happy, but I wasn't too happy with him trying to jack me up with a high payment after he said that he will "take good care of me."

richard43

what did you pay for the molding?

psychdoc

As I recall, you are paying about $600/month with a $2800 drive off. Are you saying that the dealership's first ("I'm going to take good care [advantage?] of you") offer was $738/month???

I think I would have been so angered I just would have told him he was on the wrong drugs if he thought he could rope me into a rip off like that and walked out. Later I would have called the sales manager of the dealership to express my outrage and probably be offered a much, much better deal!