1996 Lexus ES 300 Long Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited September 2014 in Lexus

image1996 Lexus ES 300 Long Term Road Test

We fixed the fading gauge lights on our 1996 Lexus ES 300.

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  • s197gts197gt Member Posts: 486
    worth every penny. i hate burnt out interior lights.
  • quadricyclequadricycle Member Posts: 827
    It's the details that add up to a good car ownership experience, so I'm glad you guys are doing this. Also, a $25 Haynes manual (or other brand) would help you guys with a lot of these repairs... Owning an older, paid for car really saves you money IF you can do a good chunk of maintenance and repairs.
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    This car's bezel comes off with 2 screws, with you sitting in the driver's seat The gauge cluster then comes out of the car with 4 screws and 2 wiring harness plugs. You put the cluster face-down on a table, take out the 16 screws (sounds like a lot, but...it's just 16 Philips screws) that holds the circuit board to the cluster. This exposes the 8 light sockets that come out of the cluster with a quarter turn. The bulbs just unplug from the sockets. Reverse of above to put it back together again...that's why the guy called them back in just a couple of hours. I've done it...this is a 45-minute job. Box of 10 bulbs costs about $6. They won't try to fix anything in this car themselves. Failure to hold an idle just screams vacuum line...so you don't even just raise the hood and look for a disconnected line?
  • zhangrenhouzhangrenhou Member Posts: 79
    You're lucky to have so many good referrals! That's the key when trying to maintain these older cars.
  • noburgers_noburgers_ Member Posts: 79
    WTF is with this car and the haphazard vacuum line issues? Doesn't anyone take any pride in their mechanical work?

    On a slightly related note, my backup car, a 1994 Dodge Intrepid seen last fall on Readers Rides, is getting donated next week. Worn tie rod ends did in the front tires, and with all the other issues, it is time to say goodbye. I would have owned it 19 years in April. You guys will definitely know when the Lexus' time is up, too.
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