Lexus ES 350

riki1

Can you please give us the detail of the price. How much below MSRP. Usually you can get 1500$ below MSRP in the north east, Did you get any thing better?

philo82

I see what great deals people are getting on the west coast - in some cases $4300 or $4400 off MSRP. Based on conversations with dealers in the Wash DC area, the going discount these days is $1800 - $2200 off MSRP - maybe a little better at the end of the month. Has anyone been doing any better in this area? And if so, how much better, and with which dealership? Thx.

tonyguy2000

Do the steering wheel audio control and display buttons light up at night? Thanks.

bwolf

Yes, they do. What does not light up is the seat memory buttons and the universal transmitter buttons, which is very annoying because the garage door buttons are hard to see at night.

tonyguy2000

Thanks for replying. The lexus salesperson wasn't sure if they lit up.

mcguire

I'm looking at both the ES and the M by Infiniti. Has anybody compared these two cars? If so I would be interested in hearing their analyses. Thanks.

curt2005

The M and ES were my finalists.

I was able to rent an Infiniti G from Hertz, but not an M. Loved it except for the "Vroom-vroom" every time you accelerate. Drove me nuts on local errands.

The best way to compare is to set appointments so that you can drive them both one after the other over the same route. Your memory can really fool you. I found that my attitude toward the sales rep also affected my perception of the test drives.

I drove the M and ES 350 back to back three times.

The cars are very different. M is IMO a midlife crisis hotrod. ES is a luxury boat in a small package.

M is taller and 10% heavier and therefore has lower mileage and shorter range.

Fewer Infinitis are sold, so there are fewer dealers to compete for your sales and service business. In my area there are four Lexus dealers but only one actual Infiniti dealer (two stores under same ownership.)

Infiniti M is more powerful but, like the G, very noisy. They even bragged about their noisy exhaust system in a two-page ad in Car & Driver. I don't think I would get used to the distracting giant horizontal dashboard.

ES 350 is very quiet. Not as powerful feeling. I don't like the swoopy interior and the giant blind spots vs the ES330.

Wound up with a 15-month-old 330. Very good except, as with all Toyotas and Lexuses with that engine, it is loud when idling. Wonderfully quiet and smooth on the freeway. Much less fatiguing to drive long distances than other cars I rented or tested.

(For example, I rented a Lincoln Zephyr. Liked it a lot except that it is very noisy and fatiguing on freeway, has some cheesiness in the interior, and poor crashtest results. One Fusion/Milan/Zephyr broke the crash test dummy's ankle; the other had welds that came loose between body and chassis.)

The 330 does hesitate sometimes, but it never hesitates if I stab the throttle. So I stab the throttle when I need to do a merge and otherwise drive gently and don't worry about it. I gather that this is a side effect of tuning the engine computer for mileage and low emissions.

The ES is designed to make the car feel bigger than it is. This is done via the exterior looks; the interior layout, driver position, and detailing; and via the engine computer's programming. This is taking me a while to get used to.

I am going to ask the dealer to see if they can reduce the idle RPMs or otherwise reduce idle noise, but I don't expect much result.

jiang

hakpoon says: "I found my ES350 a bit noisy with clicking sounds ... during the engine start in the morning."

Yes, I had similar problem and noticed that the rpm=2000 for ~30sec before it comes down to ~1200rpm and the noise level comes down too accordingly. Once you know the pattern, it doesn't bother me too much any more, except I do wonder sometimes why Toyota engineers couldn't fix the problem at the design stage.

jiang

My ES350 steering wheel makes "clinking" sound when it turns to more than 70 degrees, eg., making a slow right turn from my driveway onto the street. The problem is more pronounced when the turn is slow, either to the left or right, especially when backing out of the drive way with turns. My hands on steering wheel could also feel the un-smoothness of the wheel as if there is a small loosen screw is in the way of the turning axis!

Has anyone got similar problems?

lahamjat

I am in Illinois and I have not read any discounting over here. I was thinking of buying in California however fleetrates may be a better option. I will have to finance the car. Any advice will be appreciated.

normal

I bought my car in Chicago, they are discounting, what you get will depends on how you bargain. They will deal up to a point. But keep in mind this is a redesigned model, if the dealer doesn't have a lot of them, he may be less inclined to discount.

shank2

I got my ES350 from Lexus of Silver Spring, MD. I got $2000 of the MSRP and I got it last month end.

tdoh

Now isn't that a hoot? Apparently the salesperson didn't have enough common sense to check for himself? After all it shouldn't be too difficult at all for him/her to find out...

tonyguy2000

Maybe he was new at the dealership. Do they light up when you turn your headlights on, because I was a a dealership today during the day and still didn't see the controls lit. Maybe I need to go look at night.

zekeman1

What a unique idea! If he didn't know, why not go to the service department and find out? If he was THAT new, why not go the extra mile, do some research, find the answer, and be a hero in the eyes of a prospective customer. One thing that has become so common today, it's easier to just say "I don't know" rather than "I don't know, but if you have a moment, I'll find out for you." Common sense is becoming a rarity anymore.

hakpoon

I am not too bother by it too much either... just curious if this is the characteristics of newly designed engine. I will probably bring it up when I visit dealer in the first 5000 service check. I do not have any noise from the steering wheel while turning. You may bring it to the dealer to check it up.

For other owners who claim no noises on cold start, I wonder if you guys listen careful enough when you start the engine first time in the morning, with all accessories, fan/ac turned off. The sound is not really loud. I know noise level is very subjective as our ears may have different sensitivities.

rcallahan

I just received my ES500 and was a little disapointed in the dashboard. Has too much of a plastic look. What is the best way to clean it? Any experiences?

jiang

I agree. The dashboard looks a bit cheap and unimpressive. If you look at the "corner" where door and dashboard meets, they don't even "match" to each other as if something is wrong with the parts specifications.

dreyfus

Well, I've listened with no other accessories and I have to say there is no tapping, clicking, or any unusual engine noise with a cold start on my ES350.

Only 15% of the ES350 owners on the Club Lexus forum indicate that they have the cold start engine noise issue.

ray_h1

)) "Only 15% of the ES350 owners on the Club Lexus forum indicate that they have the cold start engine noise issue." ((

I wonder how that percentage compares with the number of ES 350 owners who actually bother checking their engine oil level routinely? The ES350's motor is essentially the same as the new Camry's 3.5L V6. Several posters on the Camry boards have noted that their dealers are still using bulk 10W-30 motor oil pumped out of a drum through a hose for service fill even though the oil filler caps are clearly imprinted with "5W-20". If these accounts are accurate, I wonder whether the higher viscosity 10W-30 oil may flow sluggishly enough in cooler weather to result in brief hydraulic tappet noise after overnight drainback. Might ask your dealerships or independent shops what they're putting in your ESs, guys.

pat

Please don't post salespeople's names. The name of the dealership is fine along with its general location, but not any contact information of any sort. See the Rules of the Road linked on the left for all the details. Thanks.

dreyfus

I just received my 5,000 mile service from the dealer. They used 5W-30, which is the viscosity the manual says to use (pg. 286).

wwest

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6588860.html?highlight=5343970

Wow...Double that, WOW..!

I have NEVER seen a more direct admission of the hazards of engine braking on a FWD or front biased AWD in my life, never really expected too, from FORD yet. Good-o.

You should note that the FEH/MMH regenerative braking is significantly reduced ONLY at, near, or below freezing.

Regenerative braking is instantly reduced to zero if ABS needs to release the brakes to prevent lockup. But what about the ICE itself, does it raise the ICE RPM simultaneously to prevent actual engine braking?

Now I am very sure, certain, sure, I never want to drive a FWD or front torque biased AWD in wintertime conditions.

zekeman1

Why would they use anything else?

ncdaydreamer

I asked about using synthetic oil at regular service intervals. My dealer said that it was fine with them as long as I paid the difference in price between reqular oil and synthetic. I assume the recommended variable viscosity of the synthetic would be the same as the regular oil.

ncdaydreamer

I saw this earlier post. It was never answered. I did figure out that you can continue to play the audio of a DVD while driving but not the video. It is the strangest combination to get a DVD to play. The car must be in park with the parking brake fully depressed before the DVD video will appear. Once you get the DVD to play, you can release the parking brake. The video will disappear but the audio will still play tracks and you can select different tracks.

It still would be nice for the passenger(s) to be able to view a DVD while the vehicle is in motion. Has anyone heard of a solution to allow this function?

hakpoon

Maybe I did not make myself clear. The noise is only present in the morning, after you cold start your engine and drive your car immediately. No noise is present while idling. I can only hear the tapping sound when I press the gas pedal with all accessories off and car moving at low speed (the sound is gone when I release gas pedal or when the temperature gauge rise to the mid-point).

I brought it up to my dealer yesterday when I brought my car in for environmental coating... the dealer said it is normal. It is just the characteristics of injector in the new design. They told me in fact they had to do a complete check when they first received an ES350 because of this sound.

My loaner Es350 (with 6K milage, and build date of 03/2006) also has the same sound. So I am pretty sure this is pretty common in ES350. If only 15% of the eS350 have such problems, chances I have two ES350s having the exact same noise would be close to none(0.15*0.15=~2%). Maybe other owners just did not pay much attention to it.

Don't get me wrong though.. I love this ES350 a lot compared to the ES300. It would have been perfect without this tapping sound in the morning though.

zekeman1

Has anyone ever purchased aftermarket rims off of Ebay for their 350? I'm interested in the 10 spoke rims which comes with the UL, replacing the 7 spokes which came with my Premium. On Ebay there is an advertiser (OEMRIMS, Inc) which is selling the 10 spoke rims for $600/set, with no exchange involved. I've checked their ratings and they appear to be good. Anyone ever deal with them? Experience? Reputable? Comment(s) would be appreciated.

bwolf

That's not that much less than you can get them from the dealer. I got the 10 spoke in Chrome for only $1000. If you put rims on from anywhere else, you void certain parts of the warranty too if you every have allignment problems, etc.

ray_h1

There's copy-cat crap coming in from China that look identical to the pricier real McCoy, but the quality, ability to resist shedding plating (if plated), and long term reliability might be suspect. I'm all for saving a buck, but you have to also answer the question to your own satisfaction what your life's worth because everytime you get behind the wheel, that's exactly what you're betting.

zekeman1

Did you get them through the parts section of your Lexus dealer? I priced them yesterday and to purchase them from the dealer non-chrome came to a little over $2K w/o tax or labor to mount. Here in the midwest chrome is not all that popular (more so on the left coast), although you can get them. According to the parts guy, Lexus does not stock chrome wheels; they have them done somewhere in Colorado.

hjs

I too would like to know how to do this . Anyone figure it out ? I did get a hint at the Lexus dealer that it can be done but they weren't telling.

ricwilli

I think that it only works if you have the UL package.

bwolf

$2000 for the non chrome 10 spoke is ridiculous! The list price for Chrome rims is $2000 on the sticker, but every dealer will sell them for between $1000 and $1200. Chrome is popular in CA and when you go on a Lexus lot more than half of the ES 350's have Chrome, mostly chrome 7 spoke, but a few with the chrome 10 Spoke. When I negotiated my deal, I asked for the rims for $1000. Then, I requested the 10 spoke instead of the regular 7 spoke. They did this for me without any hassle. So if we're getting Chrome for $1000, you should be paying even less than that for the non-chrome, but if you've already purchased the car, you may have lost your ability to make a deal. I'd talk to the manager and tell him that he'll lose your future business and see what happens. As far as sending them to Colorado? The dealers here in CA stock them and I think they even "dip" them right at many of the dealers.

craignhp

I purchased some 17" chrome "OEM" wheels from them for my 2001 GS430. They looked great but I was never able to get the tires balanced after that. Even through two sets of tires and multiple Hunter Road Force balancing attempts, I still had vibrations and/or shake. NEVER will I purchase anything other than true Lexus wheels. Even though they looked the same, they were miserable. I was glad to sell that car just to get rid of the wheels. OEMRIMS was absolutely no help. They just blamed the tire installers. I live pretty close to Tire Rack and they couldn't get them balanced. Nuff said?

tdoh

Just curious--does the oil filler cap on the '07 Camry indeed have "5W-20" imprinted on it? I ask because the recommended oil for the ES 350 is 5W-30, and if the '07 Camry and '07 ES 350 essentially share the same engine--if not just about almost everything else...why the different oil viscosity requirements?

ray_h1

I was going by what's been posted on the Camry discussions. Toyota appears to be acquiescing to "ecouragement" from the EPA - least ways in the U.S., though maybe not in all its lines, yet. Other 5W-20 "converts" are Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Honda (except Acura), and Hyundai. Neither GM nor the Euro-makes have totally bought into the siren song of 5W-20 mousemilk, yet.

(They'll have to tear my 10W-30 out of my cold, dead fingers. )

tonyguy2000

I was driving my new ES350 home from Los Angeles and stopped to get a bite to eat. I was in a rush when I got to the restaurant and turned off my engine while the shifter was in drive (I never owned a car that could do this, it always needed to be in park in my other cars).

When I opened the door and got out, since my car was on a small incline, the car preceded to roll backwards. Thankfully I was able to jump in and apply the brakes. Boy, did that frightened me. Has this happened to anyone else? How can an engine be turned off in any gear and just park? Is my car normal or is something wrong?

I WILL remember to shift into park for now on.

Thanks, Tony

is0

Nothing is wrong with your car. This is written in the Lexus manual. It is really stupid and dangerous thing that they did. Not only your can turn OFF your car without shifting to park while you stop, if you accidentally press the STOP button while you are driving, you will shut down the engine. As crazy as it sounds, but this is how the START/STOP button works

tonyguy2000

Thanks for your reply. It is dangerous in my opinion especially when you turn off the car on a hill and forget to put it in park, thanks for your reply.

larrymit

It does seem dangerous at first look, but what if you needed to turn off the engine when not in park? For example, if you are in a wreck, you should always shut down the engine immediately to avoid a fire. You might not be able to more the gear lever in that situation. Less likely, but possible, would be the necessity of shutting down the engine while in motion.

Every car I've had has allowed me to turn off the engine without putting the car in park. What I've haven't been able to do is turn the key past "off" to "lock," which has reminded me to put the car in park. Without a key, it would be nice to have an audible warning that the car is not in park, though I'm sure someone can come up with a reason that isn't practical either.

Finally, way back in high school drivers training, I was taught to always put the parking brake on when parking the car. It is dangerous to depend on the pawl in the transmission to hold the car, especially on a hill. And it's hard on the transmission, too, to have the entire weight of the car pressing on the PARK pawl.

is0

It would make some sense to make a START/STOP button to be at least “PRESS AND HOLD” for 2-3 seconds when stopping the engine. Just in case if a driver or a passenger accidentally touched it, while re4aching for other controls.

tomd

I just got a 2004 ES330. From what I understand, it has a drive by wire system, which is assume is similar to the ES350. Here's my question: I was driving along at about 30 mph with the shift lever in 2nd gear. If I punched it, there was a definite delay before the engine responded - very different from a conventional system. Same applys to 3rd gear. I don't think this has anything to do with the transmission. I think the delay is in the software. Is the ES350 the same or has that been improved. Also, does anyone know of any software updates for the 330? Thanks!

ricwilli

Here is how to feel really stupid!! I stopped at a store, pressed the stop button and the engine stopped (I was on a level parking lot so no roll) and the dash lights would not turn off, then I couldn't get it to start, then I noticed the check engine light was lit, I figured I had major problems so called Lexus...they asked me if I had the car in park...duh!!

jiang

If you turn off engin on a gear other than P, you'll hear a couple sounds when you open, especially lock the door. I noticed the "problem" the first time when I turn off engin on N, and I couldn't lock the door. I had to go back in and put it into P to make the process complete and correct, then the door can be locked.

richard43

i just got my es350 i ordered back in june. blue
onyx pearl with light grey interion; with e-wheels.
pictures just posted on carspace ( richard333 ).
body molding will be put on ( $165 part[with calif taxes ]
and $85 to put on )

love the car; have 2 negatives:
1. i don't have nav; the radio/cd read-out is very, very
hard to see in the daytime
2. a replacement key will cost $500 plus $50 to program it
this is ridiculous

normal

You have a very nice car there. Yeah the key replacement cost is high, panic time if you misplace it. The Nav is probably my favorite feature on the car, but there is a lot to like, congrats.

richard43

correction:

on carspace should
have said "richard43" not "richard333"

zekeman1

Please give me the name of a dealer selling chrome rims between $1000 and $1200. I can understand negotiating for chrome when cutting a deal on the car, but to buy after-the-fact, I haven't found anyone below $2K and that was for non-chrome. Based on other postings I've received, I'm not willing to roll the dice with OEM Rims, Inc who advertises heavily on Ebay.

garmo

My dealer attempted the valve kit fix on my ES 350 (purchased 5/06) last week and it didn't work. The tranmission slips (or flares) between 3rd and 4th gear more than before. If Lexus has fixed the problem with newly manufactured tranmissions, I'm willing for them to try one more time by replacing the transmission with a new one; otherwise, I'm going to damand that they repurchase the car from me. Had a '98 ES 300 that I really liked, but this has really soured me on Lexus. If anyone has anymore info on this subject, please share it.