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Comments
Yeah, that's good mileage, but I'm always looking to improve...no way will I switch to a Honda. Love the Lexus.
Have a good one.
Maybe I should consider myself lucky but after a year and a half and 22k miles on our ES300, I notice hardly any wind noise coming thru the windows. At least the wind noise coming in I accept it as acceptable. Just annoying that whenever I wash my car, if I spray the windows hard, water will drip in. I much prefer a car with framed windows.
Regarding wind noise----I have a 96 ES and have never had that problem, or water spray from car wash. Wonder if it has anything to do with the change of body style in 97?
Good weekend to you!
INKY
I guess I'll stick with 10w30 Mobil One. It's worked good for me.
Thanks.
Anyways, excuse me for a my stupid question, guys, do I have to wax my car to protect the paint. Can I live by just washing my car without waxing it. I know it would not look as great if you don't polish it, but wonder if the car paint would be damaged if you don't wax it.
But having said that, I did have a wind noise problem with my last car (1990 Audi 90) and it had window frames. Here's how the fixed it.....they loosened the door hinge bolts, re aligned the door, and tighten them down again. No more noise!....Perhaps a Lexus dealer could do the same?
Has anyone else felt that their HID headlights are aimed too low?.....I know that they self adjust ....but even so I still feel that mine are still too low.
I guess I'm the eternal optomist and cynic. If the dealer doesn't get this fixed, I'd go to a body shop that did ground-up show car kinds of resorations and spend some time chatting with the guys there, maybe even talk one of them to go out for a drive with you. They may be able offer you some new perspectives and ideas.
unfortunately, a lot of time I want to turn my CD off to concentration my thoughts on things, and sometime I just want to be very quiet. also, is the level of the noise going stay right where it, or is its going to get worse as the car gets older? if this is the case, I will have to turn my CD louder and louder everyday.
donald15,
I hope that it'll work. I think Lexus is so disappointing. What do you means that it "seems" to be "better"? does that mean there is still some but less noise than before? According to Lexus, there is no cure for this problem. I'm praying that some miracle will happen!!!
Does it mean that certain production/assembly line cars are experiencing wind noise problem?. I am not sure.
However, if I brought home a car that did have this problem, I'd be really bummed too. Maybe there was a momentary laps in the normal QC in the Lexus plant recently? Maybe it's an anti-Lexus campaign by the competition. You do see that kind of stuff in some of the other forums around Edmunds. But I'd like to believe that we are chatting with real Lexus owners who have a legitimate gripe.
I've only had my Lexus for a few months, but overall I've found my dealer/service people to go out of their way to make me happy, and have fixed the slightest issues I have had with the car.
My wife has an old 380SL that leaked water, and for the life of us, we could not locate where the water was coming from. What I ended up doing was using black electricians tape to create an extra "seal" in various places along the windshield, and then used a hose to "chalange" the area until I found where the leak was located. A little silicone solved this problem.
Could you seal one part of one side of the car with tape and take it for a ride, change the tape around and try again, until you could locate the area that the seal is not being made? You could tape the window/door seal, and aound the door and pillars, door and body panels, etc.
I know this is a sort of wacky idea, but if you can loacte the problem area, a solution might be easier to think out.
Keep us posted.
I requested to test drvie a 2001 ES300. This one is so perfect, engine is quiet, I could hear the wind outside (because it is kind a windy today) but there was no wind seeping through the seal. The technician sitting in the passenger seat keep saying there is plenty of noise on this side when there is absolutely none. That really made me furious. Then they both told the service advisor that there is nothing wrong with my car (it is actually louder than the Protege I rented one time). so the service advisor refused to have my car fixed. I finally could not hold my tears (don't laugh, I think you all know I'm a woman by now). I feel being mistreated. It was a terrible lie. I was so disappointed at my salesman, how dare he says that this is very normal for a lexus. Who would by a lexus like that?
With the engine louder than other lexus, and the tires rumble on the road like that I probably can live with. but constant windnoise even when it is not windy at all? well, I don't think so.
Finally, the service advisor finally asked two other techniican to test drive my car. they came back and said they agreed there was actually problem with windnoise. all they did was just to adjust the glass to lean more toward the car. To fix the problem of the tire rumbling too much on the road, they lower the tire pressure to 30 psi. (I guess there is not much they can do to the 16".) The weather is kind of windy so that I hear wind outside but the wind coming into the vehicle is less severe. maybe it'll be better on quiet day. but it is definitely better now after the glass has been adjusted. However, it seems like more work needed to put it in perfect condition.
so much for Seth Hamm, the salesman, and the first technician telling me such big lie. If the vehicle is perfect already, how can the other two technician say that it is a problem and how can it be adjusted to improve like it was today?
so if anyone happens to want to buy a car from Lexus of Rockville, avoid Seth Hamm. Also, I don't know if you would get good service there based on my experience with the first technician.
Bob
I talked to somebody that I know working for a dealer service shop. He says that the dealer would deny if there is anything wrong with the new car they've just sold becauxe
1) they don't want to lose their face that they sold you a bad one,
2) they don't know exactly how it can be fixed and afraid they if after they try to fix it, the problem still remains, you would even be more angry, it would also prove that they are incompetent not knowing how to fix your car right the first time or not knowing where exactly the problem come from in order to fix it.
I was thinking about the writing complaints to ower like turbotc did, but I don't know if they would lose their jobs. Further, next time I bring my car their, they probably treat me nice on the surface, but I don't know what they're going to do to my car inside the garage, or, more dangerously, they could damage my car somewhere making me keep spending money to fix the car. You never know.
A long time ago I had a Tercel. The brakes didn't seem to work that well. I brought it to Sears (thought it would be cheaper than dealer.) They told me I had to replace something that cost about 300-400 dollars. I then brought it to Toyota City in Brooklyn center (used to live in Minnesota)to compare the cost for replacing my brakes. They said there was nothing wrong at all with the brakes and adjusted it something for me free. It worked as good as when it was new.
However, I think I will still send Lexus and the dealership some complaints without mentioning the salesman's and the service tech's names.
At least, I feel much better, not that my car is better now, but because someone understand my situation. At least I know I'm not being laughed at (evidently you two don't, right?) :-) !
I might remove the trim and see if I can fix it myself, if not then a trip to the dealer will be in the works.
Let me know how you make out.
First, at about 71K, the entire dash display and the air conditioning shut down without warning. A local Toyota dealer replaced a fuse, but the moment I pulled into my office thirty minutes later the fuse blew. To make a long story short, no one found the problem until an independent electrical outfit replaced a circuit board (for $750 plus labor), which cured the initial problem. Trouble was, the odometer reading was wiped out. Now I was told I either could not trade the car or would have to take a severely diminished deal on it b/c of the crashed out mileage. After replacing the brakes, the belts, and maddressing numerous other problems over the past year, I recently paid $4300.00 to replace the transmission (auto) and torque converter--at approx. 77K!! An oil leak shortly thereafter cosr $350.00 to address, but I still get oil leaks three days later. The luminescent indicators on the dash display are blacking out, and I've heard that's about a $500 job And of yes, for good measure, my center air bag sensor blew while the electrical work was being done, so the airbag is non-functional. The response of Toyota was to throw me back to the dealer; the response of the dealer, to send me back to Toyota.
I offer the foregoing partly as a cautionary tale and partly to find if there is anyone out there who has had similar bad luck with a Lexus of some age. Thanks.
In any case, I'll report back.
As for the Volvo S70, that has been replaced by the new S60, so it's a discontinuted model. Do some research on-line and in car magazines and you'll find that the Lexus reputation for quality and all other important attributes far exceeds that of the Volvo. Volvo makes a big deal about their safety, but you'll find the safety ratings are pretty close.
In general, I hope Lexus/Toyota really focuses on upgrading their suspensions. I just purchased an 01 RX on which Lexus made the shocks/springs much stiffer, and it rides like a bucking bronco compared to the 99/00 RX. I am very unhappy with it. There has also been an undercurrent of comments about Lexus suspensions being initially soft, but on rough roads the ride can be quite jolting, in addition to leaning through curves and bounding several times after going over a big bump. The only suspension that now seems to approach the European sophistication are the GS300/430 and the LS430 designs.
I love Lexus build quality and superb service, but now would like their suspensions to match the Germans...
the totally redesigned ES300 won't be here until the 2002 model year, which will mean Lexus will introduce it around September-October of 2001.
Best bet if you're looking for excellent reliability is to go with the 2001 model.
$500,400 for radio,72 for labor, tax...
I wanted to replace just the defected screen
but no such luck. it's better for their business
to replace the whole radio unit I guess. service
is beyond expectation. didn't ask for a wash and
gas fillup but got both. guess cost is already
included. ...to address wind noise problem,
I do notice some on freeway and windy days but it's not leaking in. noise disapears when the radio is turned on. quietness is on par with
that of LS400 usually. feel bad to hear about
Liev's es300 wind noise problem. I hope you will
find a way to fix it. just keep chatting with
these guys. they'll help you find a way.
Two different mechanics at different garages tell me that I need to replace my bushings (rack and pinion).
Lexus says the right bushing costs $15 plus labor but the left one is much more as you have to purchase the whole rack and pinion unit for that one.
Do they know what they're talking about? Can you give me some advice on what I should do? How much should I pay? They tell me that these bushings are Lexus parts and I have to purchase them there.
As always, thanks for your expertise!
Rolloman
__________________________
Well, my post last week regarding the choice my wife and I had to make between the LS and the ES300 certainly sparked some voices. And I have appreciated all of the energy people have put into explaining their preference for the LS and their perceptions of the ES300.
That said, my wife and I have chosen the ES300. The one thing we learned was that these cars are not as alike as we had originally perceived. The Acura 3.2TL is more similar to the ES300 than the LS.
We test drove each model four times, each time under considerably different conditions. Once on a twisty road, another time on a flat, straight freeway. Each time noticing different aspects of each car. My wife sat in the back seat as I drove, then we swapped. We listened for wind noise, tire noise, road noise. We played with the handling. I cared more about 0-60 times and handling than did my wife. We both valued luxury and refinement.
Overall, the ES300 is a more refined car. But this is only logical considering it is 12 model years old. The LS is a more sporty car. No surprises there. Fit and finish we found to be better on the ES300. And the front cabin felt bigger.
If you lean toward luxury, the ES300 will win you over. If you lean toward performance, especially handling, the LS (sport package) is the clear winner. My wife and I will share this car and I honestly told her the decision was hers. Not being a performance buff, she obviously chose the ES300.
The choice is in the details, really. The only way to go on the LS, IMO, is the V-8 sport package. That is what the car is all about. And that peaks the car at about $40K. The ES300 is less expensive at about $35K. Difference number one. How much do you want to spend?
But what exactly do we mean by more refinement? Let's take the center console. Sounds trivial, and to many folks it may be. But we are often traveling with our daughter to the grandparents house or out-of-state. Well, the center console in the LS is a joke. No space. It was a clear afterthought by the Ford engineers. The center console in the ES300, however, is a roomy two-tier space with a hidden 12 volt plug in the lower tier for your cell phone; it is very nice.
Now let's look at luxury: the ES300 has auto close with safety mechanism (kid's arm in the window, etc.) driver and passenger windows and moonroof. Not so in the LS.
To its credit on the luxury side, the LS tilt/telescope wheel works very well, although it should have a slightly longer range. When I read that it was motorized, I thought it would be a joke. But it was wonderful. And the seat memory even stores the steering wheel position. Very nice touch for the luxury of the LS.
Thus, you can see how it came down to splitting hairs for us. Overall, we are more luxury-oriented than performance oriented. Also, the incredible reliability ratings of the ES300 for so many years made us happy. The LS doesn't have bad reliability ratings, but it is a relatively unproven car, only in its second model year.
We couldn't have gone wrong with either car, but the ES300 was a few thousand cheaper, more refined, and SMOOTHER. If you care about smooth, that is. I know many LS drivers prioritize performance and handling over smooth. And it doesn't mean the LS is choppy or rough. It's not. But when conservative Consumer Reports calls the ES300 "silky smooth," you know you have a refined automobile.
But driving is believing. Anyone with strong opinions either way on this issue who has not driven each vehicle is talking in theory and can't stand with the people who have. But that's true for any car comparison. It all comes down to subjective driving pleasure. The things that get you excited.
Or we would all be driving Yugos to work....
Curt & Susan in Akron, Ohio
HELP---Are there any 2000 or 2001 Lexus owners that have NO WIND NOISE. The sound is similar to the window being slightly open. The Field Representative said that all cars have the noise.
I just want to know if all cars have the problem or the few unlucky ones that have reported on this website.
Reguarding just how quiet an ES300 should be, well, MotorWeek tested a ES300 when it was redesigned back in 1997. If I remember correctly, they measured the interior noise level at idle to be about 34-35 decibles, and at about 70 mph, the noise is 64 decibels (Camry V6 gets 68 db at 70 mph). Those are extremely impressive numbers in automotive terms.
If you really want to make sure that it's not your ears playing tricks on you, you could get a decibel meter and test it out for yourself.