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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

Read daily updates on our long-term road test of the 1996 Lexus ES 300 and follow along as our editors live with this car for a year.

Read the full story here


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Comments

  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    This is a $50-$60 part, even if you get the Denso OEM one. They all say that it's tough to get to, but...you can at least try yourself first, before concluding it's too tough.

    Even if you had to buy the O2 sensor socket, this is potentially a $75 repair. Even if you end up having a shop do it, you could still have avoided paying double for the part itself.

    Philip, you people are missing the boat on all of these easy repairs - sooner or later, this car is going to need an expensive, tough-to-perform repair that you will HAVE to take it in for, and you are going to be way behind the curve on your cost per mile.
  • noburgers_noburgers_ Member Posts: 79
    I agree, fordson1, all repairs that are reasonably DIY should be tried, then seek professional advice if it can't be done. If I could reach it, I'd see if it could come undone. If seized, take it in. I wouldn't even buy the part unless I knew it could be undone. But to their credit, they did do some research to see if it made sense to try doing this and thought it was best to get it done at the shop. One good point from this issue is the affect on fuel economy--at approximately 10% loss of mileage, it would take $2600 in gas, or 2600/$4gal = 650 gallons at 24mpg = 15600 miles of driving to pay back--approximately one year of driving.
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    I would buy the part Once I get the car up in the air, get my tools out, get dirty and get the part loosened, I don't want to have to tighten it up again, then come back and do all that crap over again when I get the part into my hands. If you find you can't get the part out - if you have a good shop you have a relationship with, you can supply parts to have them do the work.
  • bassracerxbassracerx Member Posts: 188
    im assuming the quote to get it done at pep boys was more? what was it? did they have a long wait? did you have to get the fleet manager to authorize it?
  • eric_leric_l Member Posts: 7
    It is "difficult to reach" because it requires accessing the sensor from under the car. But then, Edmunds has their own lift! This would have made a great DIY writeup using your own lift for something other than suspension pictures.
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