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Lexus ES 300/ES 330
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Comments
hak
Mileage on my ES300 reached 3,448 miles and I changed the oil/filter yesterday afternoon and it was a breeze. The oil filter was snap to change - I used a new OEM filter (DENSO) and Mobil-1 5W30. As I noted before, there is a small 'tray' attached to the engine just below the oil filter to direct any remaining oil in the filter away from the engine and other components. Overall, this was the tidiest oil change I have ever done. The ES300 is now ready for another 3,500 miles of service.
HK2LA - I didn't mean to compare the interior of the 2K2 ES300 with that of the Maybach. They are horses of a different color for sure. I consider the interior of the ES300 to be beautifully done in comparison to the other vehicles in the 'near luxury' class. The Maybach interior raises the bar on opulence into the heavens!
Happy motoring to all -
M. J. McCloskey
"Why buy an ES 300 over a loaded Camry XLE V6 that costs several thousand dollars less and can be equipped with many of the same features? Because you seek the former's higher level of luxury inside the cabin; the greater powertrain and chassis refinement, which yields a silent cabin and a plusher ride; more distinctive exterior styling and a sufficient level of luxury to see you through encounters with important clients and judgmental relatives."
"Is the I35 more of a Maxima than the ES 300 is a Camry? Yes. Nearly everything's the same right down to the sheet metal and nonindependent rear suspension."
"Yes, the Lexus ES 300 is based on a Toyota Camry, but there's enough of a luxo-feel to the Lexus to warrant its price premium. You don't get that with the Infiniti."
Transmission - I don't really detect a problem as others on this board have noted. I have observed that accelerating briskly from 60 MPH I have to really press the accelerator hard to get the car to react. There is a 'slight' delay, then the car gets down to business and moves out smartly. There is very little audible drama eminating from the engine compartment which is very deceiving when reaching 80-90 MPH. I find the engine/transmission are working as they should and the overall performance is more than sufficient.
I do hope LEXUS resolves the transmission glich for those have severe problems. If not, then this would affect sales of the 2003 model and the value of the 2002's would certainly suffer. Maybe the 2004 model with the larger engine will have a 'perfect' transmission.
Regards -
M. J. McCloskey
I bought my ES300 about 6 months ago.
The thing I like most about this car is its quietness.
But it is getting more and more noisier everyday after about 6 months.
Many time I feel like I didn't close the windows or moonroof totally.
But I made sure all windows and doors and moonroof were closed totally.
Am I alone with these road and wind noise getting louder and louder?
Thanks,
I'm very happy that some of you aren't having as bad a problem as mine. As to whether I'll be successful with a lawsuit, I really don't care now, I'm so sick of dealing with this dealership I want my pound of flesh. There's no excuse for their incompetence. Like I said before, I think the problem is only related to this dealership. At least I hope so.
Not true!
The headrests do articulate from the bottom.
Under "Information" you'll see a link to "About the Editors" - if you know which editor you'd like to address, you can find his or her email address at that link.
Then there is a section below that titled "Talk to Us" - you have several options there to provide feedback.
Check it out.
My main animosity lies in the fact they will not return calls about this and about my ceiling rattle. You see I bought the car from a dealer out of town, because this dealer would not negotiate at all plus had expensive additions, and it appears I'm getting retaliatory service. I've called so many times, I wrote a letter, but only through pressure from Lexus Quality Service and the Dealer where I bought the car, have I been able to schedule appointments. Their adjustments in the ceiling have only been temporary and I've been in five times now. They acknowledge the problem and agree it shouldn't be there. After the last failed attempt, I talked to them two weeks ago. They said they needed to talk with a Lexus Engineer and then blew me off again, which is why I'm fed up. Like I've said, I believe this dealer to be an isolated problem, because I've never had this problem with any dealer before. The noise in the ceiling sounds like the twang of a door stopper when I shut the car door, and can hum steadily when I'm waiting at red lights. It would seem so easy to correct.
Ironically, it's the transmission issue that warrants the most cause for concern, but it's their refusal to handle the ceiling problem that really irks me.
Lexus fully acknowledges this to be a problem with the 2002 model. My understanding is that this car came out last October and by February Lexus had enough complaints to know there was a real problem. I drove two different loaner cars and found both had different levels of the problem. One was almost as bad as mine. Therefore, the problem is systemic but variable. There are an incredible number of reasons that this can be a great car, but I wouldn't buy this car until they correct the transmission problem. Since June, I've been told almost every month that the next month a fix is coming out. One other thing, the car handles like a big car, not a sports car so take that into consideration. Sitting in traffic as much as I do, there's no real need for performance.
As an ES300 owner, I feel very lucky because, although Lexus replaced the ECU on 1998 GS transmissions, and although there were some complaints by GS owners on the transmission, the $45,000 GS seemed to have so many more problems than the $35,000 ES300 has today. On the Edmund's board at the time, the biggest complaints were: rattling glovebox, rattling moonroof; wind noise, and steering wheel and accelerator vibration. These problems were bothersome enough to cause a fair number of board members to demand that the dealers do something about them, and a fair number of respondents claimed that their glove boxes, moon roofs, etc had been repaired or replaced. A couple of board members complained of sluggish transmission, but relative to the other complaints, the transmission issue paled in comparison.
By contrast, our 2002 ES300 board has a minute number of complaints about noise compared to the those on the transmission. This could be interpreted a couple of ways:
1) The 1998 GS transmission problem was not as bad as that of the 2002 ES300.
2) The other GS problems bothered GS owners so much that it diminished the impact of the transmission problem.
From my own standpoint, I would not exchange the squeaks, wind noise, bad moonroof and bad glove boxes for the transmission symptom I feel today.
I say all of this because it gives one hope: not only that the transmission issue will be fixed, but that from here on out, the ES300 will continue to get better so that the next time I buy a new car, it stands a good chance of being (almost) perfect
You could also use the Feedback Form and you could send a letter "to the editors" from that page.
I don't know why Christian Wardlaw is not listed - that's odd.
Thanks
Somebody said "God is in the details." I must agree. Add the great customer service at Lexus compared to the "get in line" attitude at my local Toyota dealer, and I'm happy to cough up another 5k for a Lexus. IMHO
You could probably call a dealer and find out about the 2003's or if you live in So Cal, you could probably test drive one.
I doubt that the transmission has changed. As lenscap or kreativ said in a previous post, the only change is the addition of a power adjustable accelerator. And lenscap and kreativ are pretty much on the money.
If you are interested in buying a car, I recommend you do the following: call around Southern California Lexus dealers until you get a service manager who agrees that there is a transmission issue, and then ask if it is fixed in the 03 models. You could start with Lexus of Cerritos and ask for Steve, whom I have had good luck with. He'd better admit the transmission problem, since we discussed it in my car.
The reason I recommend So. California is because their car inventories tend to be huge. Try Lexus of Cerritos and/or Crown Lexus in Ontario. I also think Lexus of Riverside is huge, too. Their turnover is so great that they are likely to have already seen and sold 2003s.
You should be getting a loaner for any warranty work that's done. You might have to call in advance to reserve one. If they still don't give you a loaner, then that particular dealer sucks.
Asked about the firmware updates and they haven't heard of such a thing. The tech said in his many years of working at that dealership, they have never received a firmware update for trannies for any model - even the GS. Some people mentioned here that the older GS models had firmware updates but this may be turn out to be BS. If the older GS models trannies did not use fly-by-wire, there wouldn't be anything to update, right? I mean, if the computer didn't use to control the transmission, how would a firmware updgrade make it shift better?
HakPoon: Those rates sound pretty good, it looks as though you have just the premium package ordered, and I guess you still have to put tax on that. I'll take it and run if you can!
I'm also looking to buy, problem is, not many 02's remaining, which is where you can get better prices. I'm in NY, so we are not as lucky like those guys in CA.
I also must have those HID's, wood steering, and most importantly, Trac and VSC with the all season tires. Good luck with your purchase.
Kymmy123, does that include nav, if so, where is delaer located?
He really wanted the 02, seeing there is more room to negotiate, especially when the 03 is the same exact car. We went to 5 dealers, I guess we'll check a couple more. Worse yet the colors we want are hard to come by (gold/ivory) or mystic sea/ivory). Wish us luck!
According to a couple dealers, there are no more 2002's to come in, only 2003's.
Looks like Mark Levinson and I will be getting to know each other soon. Let me know how it goes!
Back to the topic, the V6 3.3L putting out an estimated 240hp is the only news so far on the '04.
Sorry for being slightly misleading.
Thanks.
IS300 owners also had their ECUs replaced under warranty to fix a shift problem with their e-shift. No more hesitation problems for them anymore.
(I thought the ECU had something to do with that power button that the old 4 speed toyota vehicles had, which is why I thought the 02 ES300 did not have one.)
Thanks in advance!
I highly recommend them.
http://www.goodyeartires.com/catalog/products/EAGLERSA.html
They were very grippy in all weather and were pretty darn quiet, too. But if quiet is what you're really after, check out the Goodyear Eagle LS:
http://www.goodyeartires.com/catalog/products/EAGLELS.html
But with that, I'd suspect you'd trade snow traction for quietness. So, I'd go with the RS-A's. The Goodrich tires lenscap mentions are also a good choice - had them on my last Celica. (Although they were Comp T/A's)