Lexus ES 300/ES 330

riez · November 2001

My local Lexus dealer's salesperson made a point of discussing cloth seats. Told wife and I they are theoretically available but the dealership doesn't order any ES300s without leather so if you want cloth you have to special order and put down a deposit. He recommended against cloth saying it hurts resale badly. I retorted something to the effect, then why doesn't Lexus just make leather standard like Infiniti does in the I-35? Optional leather in an ES300 is a huge scam!

gambhir · November 2001

All,
Got my black garnet yesterday with all options excluding AVS-what a treat-the car is quiet and super smooth-I love the instrument cluster-the NAV is very good-Surprisingly I had thought the ML will be a disappointment--it wasn't--quite good
The car also seems pretty quick (well, okay not the quickest:) but it wasn't slow either--
Only complaints so far--my windows fog very quickly (more than my previous ES) and I had to learn how to caliberate the compass

I still can't get the universal homelink work on my garage door--don't know how to do it--the manual procedure doesn't work--any suggestions

Beautiful car

Gold package looks like on this color

Seats are A+ --very cushy and cozy--only problem is getting out of the car to go into the office building!

rleong · November 2001

According to our Lexus sales person, I cannot order an es300 from Japan with cloth seats. He said if I wanted basic es300 he can probably track down an es300 without the heated front seats. We only have 2 Lexus dealers in the state. I'll stop by the other one and see what they say. I agree with everyone about the resale value without the leather seats. I have a feeling I can get a better deal buying the car off their lot than special ordering one.

mrzinj · November 2001

congrats on the new car! my millenium silver and black interior is 8 days old and so far so good. with regards to your garage opener. our sales guy programmed the button by simultaneously pushing our old remote with button #1. after several attempts it finally "took" so you may have to be patient. i am by no means an audiophile but the only reason i bought the ml/nav was because i just, for once in my pathetic car-owning existence, wanted a good stereo. i'd say i got it. to me, i want to listen to music loud and still have it hold together with no distortion. the ml does this with aplomb. i read with interest comments made around nov. 1st by an audiophile who described some criteria to judge a system by: namely, clarity of tone at low volumes and "brightness". i would have to say that he is right on both counts and i never thought about these issues until i read his post. indeed, tonal discrimination is difficult at low volumes but i just chalked it up to my ears being numb after having it cranked for so long!! not too bright on my part. is suspect, though, for the average listener the system will be impressive. the nav has proven to be a pleasant suprise. i wasn't that keen on it at the outset but have become somewhat addicted to it now. if i don't know immediately what the name of the upcoming street is i get panicky.

incredibly accurate i must say. as i've said previously, buttery smooth ride and, as has been the consensus, adequate power. admittedly, i dread my first stoplight encounter with a TL owner. i wouldn't even try to fake it. but how heavenly smooth the defeat!!!

gambhir · November 2001

Thanks--so look like my dealership can program the garage opener if I bringthem the handheld one?
If that is the case then super

The only problem no is my wife wants to drive it to work and so do I --and that is a problem:)

More as I drive it--completed 100 miles--like the trip computer a lot
Regarding ML--I am an average listener so I guess my demands are few and I am satisfied with it.

People give lot of curious looks: two problems--I am experiencing some tailgating--the person behind me stops the car too close to mine to observe it :-(
and yesterday a BMW 325 pumped the pedal and dangerously overtook me just to prove that he was superior--Interesting because ES ha smore power and torque than a 325--I ofcourse ignored him like a true cautious Lexus owner

So my advice to the folks here is--people will admire your new car--don't give in to their challenges though--not safe at all

mb4z · November 2001

I noticed that the 02MY ES300 come standard with Summer tires. How many of the owners out there actually got the vehicles with summer tires on them? I see all season tires are a no cost option. Just trying to understand the standard summer tires. I figured most people wouldn't want them.

antiosama · November 2001

mb4z,

It depends on where you live. If you live in a area which gets no snow, you most probably will get the summer tires. People living in wintery climates get all-season tires.

fredvh · November 2001

Thanks for the update on your new ES300. I drove both (2001 and 2002) the other day and noticed the difference right away. The 2002 rode more quietly and had less wind noise. The driver's door was heavier and had a more solid feel. I also really liked the steering response( tighter control than the 2001). It feels like a better car even though I much prefer the styling of the 2001. I will wait until spring to seriously consider one. The prices will be lower than MSRP. Please keep us informed on the new one and check the gas mileage for us as it should be better with the 5-speed trans. Did you happen to notice that the spare comes with the alloy wheel? Is the oil filter easy to change on the 3.0 V6? Thanks

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

gambhir · November 2001

All season tires are a pre-requisite for getting chrome wheels--well if you order them from lexus--so I got chrome wheels from lexus and hence got all season tires as a default option
pl. see kbb.com and it lists all season tires as a requirement for chrome wheel

oil filter is easy to change--I always have the dealer do it as part of service

Mileage is too early to tell-have not refilled it even once--but I am expecting avg 25 with 60% highway and 40% city

esowner · November 2001

I've got 700 mi on my 02 Es300 and one small problem. Although the transmission shifts unbelievably smooth under moderate and heavy acceleration, under light acceleration it is clunky. The computer upshifts too soon, it is in 5th gear by 25 mph with all 4 shift points resulting in a noticeable power sag and a little jolt when the trans engages. It feels like a mild version of my Suburban 3qts low on trans fluid. The dealer says the computer says everything is a-ok and the computer knows best! Has anyone else experienced this issue?

asaw · November 2001

That's what it is: light acceleration. The onboard computer chip expects you not to demand too much power by moving into higher gears quickly. This results in fuel saving when you expect it the most, during light acceleration.

caves · November 2001

Agree with esowner about the transmission. It is smooth, except when quickly acceleration from low speed. Seems a little crude. My 2000 Mits. Galant is a lot smoother. Surprised by how firm the ride is in positive sense. No float. Spent the weekend in San Francisco, felt the potholes but with a filtered sense. Average 27.5 on the highway. Nav. System is great and HID lights are amazing. Car needs wider tires. The tires look too narrow for the car, just like the GS 300. Ordered a wood kit. Too many pieces, I only wanted pieces for door switches.

Enjoy your new ES300.

rebelsk · November 2001

I checked with my dealer regarding my special order of the car with the Mark Levinson but no navigation system. I ordered it on September 6th and have now been told that I may be February before I see the car. Boy, that is a long wait for a vehicle.

antiosama · November 2001

I ordered my LS400 in 2000. It took my car about 3 months to get here from the time the dealer ordered it. I would say 3 months is about right.

feldstein · November 2001

The Lexus Es 300 in America is amazing with the flip motion dvd - navagation - system to the amazing 12 speaker surround sound. It also has rear heated seats but only in damn central calafronia because of a japan tech shop : (

rebelsk · November 2001

Have any of you compared these two vehicles when making a purchase? What thoughts did you have related to a comparison?

davidh44 · November 2001

Okay, just purchased the new ES for $2800 off list. Will take delivery in a week. Good luck with your purchases.

tiger8 · November 2001

DavidH,

Where did you get $2,800 under sticker? Is the car loaded? I assume you're not ordering it from the factory, if you expect delivery in a week.

davidh44 · November 2001

Anywhere in southern California...there's like 15 dealers in this region. Competition is strong. Make it clear that you're here for a no-hassle, quick deal and that you'll go to one of the dozen other Lexus dealers if they don't sell it to you for what you want. Settle on one price where the dealer can still make a decent profit and don't budge from it, nor try to get a lower price afterwards. Be ready to buy on the spot with your offer (don't do a 'I still have to think about it'). And if you're young enough, it doesn't hurt to bring a hot girl along who knows how to flirt subtly.

Mine's not anywhere near fully loaded (no nav, no levinson, no vsc, etc.). I could've got the one off the lot, but I opted for the one coming in next week that'll still be wrapped in plastic when i get it.

modvptnl · November 2001

Picked up a Dark Burgundy(?) cream colored(?) interior '02 ES on 10/27. It's got the ML, NAV, lights etc. It stickered for 39,3ish(?) and capped it at 36,700. I felt $1,000 over invoice was a fair deal for all.

Dealer claimed the NAV will play a DVD in the disc changer. Does anyone know if you can??? We keep getting a GPS map type message when we attempt this.

@80 MPH plus I hear a little wind noise around the drivers
side B pillar. Should I complain to dealer?? The car is so eerily quiet, a noise like this seems out of place.

Color is a little dark for Vegas dust but is beautiful when polished. NAV is a cool toy. ML could thump a little more and be louder but I think it sounds crisp.

Tried to push wife into CL type S(GREAT LEASE RATE!!) but she complained that the high bolsters were uncomfortable. The Lexus was way smoother/quieter but the Accura flat hauled. After driving a Cobra for 4 years I guess she wanted to be pampered!!I then tried to push her into the GS430 but she didn't like the styling!!!

The main attraction to the wife was the SC430 style front end. Does anyone else see this???

It was tough to buy a car with no major incentives but the ES did get to the wife like no other car I've seen in our near 19 years of marriage.

Wish list??? MORE HORSEPOWER and rear wheel drive.

gambhir · November 2001

hard to complain about perfection but two minor and very minor gripes
_Rainsensing wipers do not start till rain hits really hard--so small droplets dont trigger it making me nervous sometimes
--rear sunshade goes down when in reverse but doesnt come back when shifted back in drive

otherwise just wonderful

tiger8 · November 2001

Thanks for the tip. I assumed because the car is new and demand high that dealers were selling them at or about sticker.

antiosama · November 2001

gambhir, THink about how annoying that would be when parallel parking, when you are reversing the car then forwarding then reversing, and so on .

michaelf2 · November 2001

I stopped to get gas today and the latch for my gas tank didn't release. I had to manually open the latch with the release in the trunk. I have a 97 ES 300. Has anyone experienced this problem and is there a quick fix without taking it to the dealer?

bglass3va · November 2001

The Honda Odysey has what looks to be the same NAV as the ES300. A Honda dealer lives up the street. He told me that his service dept also told him that you could play a DVD in the NAV but apparently this is not so...He thought it would be cool for the kids

bglass3va · November 2001

For what its worth, it seems that the ES300's are in very high demand..one dealership was sold out, one had a few. Most want between 1000 under MSRP to MSRP..if you want to order NAV w/o ML or vice versa, 120 days...also, traction control not yet avail (coming in DEC)..same for the option that changes handling from sport to normal..

bglass3va · November 2001

Don't they come with an ON OFF button?

saltysam · November 2001

Does anyone have any experiece with the dealers here. I understand JM Lexus is biggest but I know of two others (same ownership) in FT Lauderdale. I'm going to be looking for the new ES300, but do not weant the NAV set-up.
Thanks. Bill

gambhir · November 2001

My car has traction control

lenscap · November 2001

My grandfather bought three LS 400s from JM (1990, 1993, 1996). He loved the dealer.

And yes, JM sells more new Lexuses than any other dealer.

kitchens · November 2001

We just picked up our 2002 ES 300 (Navigation, ML stereo etc.) on Monday. Everything worked OK when we took car out prior to delivery. However when we got home, the navigation system was not working (got an error message something to the effect that external link was missing). So we took it back to the dealer last evening and their diagnosis was that the antenna was bad. They replaced the antenna and have checked the system several times. My wife is on the way to the dealership now to pick it up...hope that the problem is solved. Anyone else ever seen anything like this before..dealer said they hadn't.

Anyway, besides this problem, the car is wonderful. There are FEW ES 300 at the four Washington DC area dealers (two in VA, two in MD). We bought ours at Pohanka Lexus in Chantilly, VA...they had one unsold ES 300 in thier showroom, all others coming in are mostly sold. We were lucky since the airline crash in NY did not delay our car getting to the dealer--boat docked in Newark, NJ. Salesperson said there would be delays with other cars coming in...

We only we able to get about $850 off sticker...At the other northern VA dealer, it was even less..only a couple hundred dollars...

dbor · November 2001

My Lexus is on its way. Should arrive tomorrow at port. Ready in about a week per dealer. Must decide if I should get the Toyo summer tires or all season tires. Live in Los Angeles. Any thoughts out there as to which tire would be best?

lenscap · November 2001

Your $850 off is a great deal, do not think twice about it. Here in the Chicago area nearly all cars are going out at list.

How many people have the cargo net listed on their window sticker? Although you can easily buy it at the dealer for about $30, it seems some cars are having the net installed at their US port (and added to the window sticker) and others are not. Just curious.

davidh44 · November 2001

<<Any thoughts out there as to which tire would be best?>>

I think summer tires would be better than all-season tires for Los Angeles, being that LA has spring-like weather for a good majority of the year with the only adverse weather condition being some rain every now and then during the winter and spring months.

I'm not sure how the summer and all-season tires compare in terms of brand and quality though. Maybe somebody else can answer that.

fifislx · November 2001

Congratulations on setting the bar high at $2800 off list. My best is 2545 on the same configuration in So. Cal. Will you share your source with me? Email fiflarue@msn.com Thanks

lotusfla · November 2001

the same thing happened to my '99ES and the service dept. replaced the spring in the door for the gas tank. it took 5 minutes and they were familiar with the problem

rnbesquire · November 2001

Howdy:

Just passed the 2,800 mile report. Used the ZAINO polish on my black beauty, and am glad one of the folks on the list recommended it. Gives a deep, wet-look finish.

I put the GS300 chrome wheels on it last week; cost about $900. Well worth it. The dealer has tinkered with a few new ESs by putting chromes from the '01 ES on them; I love the way these angular wheels look on the '01, but on the '02 they leave me cold.

Of course, all of us who own one believe ours is the slickest one in town, but mine really is! With black paint, dark tinted windows and classy chromies, it is my little stealth fighter. I'll Email you a photo if you send me a note to Robert@BassLawFirm.com.

RANDOM MUSINGS: I'm getting a bit of wind noise at 70-80 mph, but maybe I'm too sensitive; the car is otherwise quite cocoon-like.

Visibility out the rear quarters isn't the greatest. I feel like I really have to crank the neck around to make sure I don't turn into someone when making a lane change, esp. at night. Partly my own fault for dark-tinting the rear windows, but hey, this is Scottsdale, where you can fry an egg on your dash after being parked in the sun for an hour in August.

The auto-trunk opening button on the key is balky; doesn't always open the trunk when I want it to. Is there a special place to aim the beam?

The trans is still a little timid and tentative in deciding which gear to pick when you accelerate from low speed. Factory, hear this: is this a software issue?

Every passenger to date has raved about the comfort and roominess in the back.

Still a very happy camper after 6 weeks, but I'm putting too many miles on it. Sure glad I own it outright; a lease would kill me with the amount of driving I do.

Even if you can't hondle a discount, don't worry, this car gives you more than adequate style, comfort, room, distinctiveness, performance, ambience, panache and elegance for your buck.

So bite the bullet; Go write the check and drive it home. You and your friends will marvel at the car. Don't forget the HID lamps and the wood steering wheel. You'll feel like a million bucks driving it. How can you go wrong?

Cordially,

RNBESQUIRE
Scottsdale, AZ

inky · November 2001

Please forgive me but I find the 01 much nicer to look at. The 02 interior was perfect however. The exterior will take a while to grow on me.
INKY

justfind6 · November 2001

Does anyone remember how to get the windshield wipers back to their normal setting? The dealer just replaced my battery, and the wipers are now in winter mode, ie they sit a couple of inches up on the windshield when switched off.
I can't find my owner's manual right now, so if anyone knows how to reset the wipers, plese let me know. ('96 ES300).
Thanks,
Dave

dbor · November 2001

Took delivery of new ES-300 on Saturday. Car is beautiful, black exterior and interior. It's my wife's car but I have driven it almost exclusively since we had it. One question I have though for the board. After driving the car about 30 minutes parked car in lot so my wife could do some shopping. Reread manual trying to remember what each dial and button mean. Got car with Nav system. After about 15 minutes in parking lot decided to see under the hood. Hit the button in car to open hood. Went to the front to pop the hood open, but the grille was so hot I had to use my t-shirt to be able to touch the metal to find the latch to open the hood. Does this seem normal? Gas mileage not that great per the trip computer computation. Will wait for a couple of fillups of gasoline to see if change. Other than that the car runs great and the brakes are superb.

antiosama · November 2001

justfind6, Pop your hood open. Below the passenger side of the windshield you will see a little gray selenoid sorta thing protruding from the top of the engine bay under the wipers. Gently unclip it and turn the part of the selenoid that uncips 180 degrees and plug it back in. After you insert the key in the ignition again, the wipers should go up or down.

justfind6 · November 2001

Thanks, I'll give that a try when I get home this evening. Appreciate the help!
Dave

lenscap · November 2001

Lexus has topped the J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study for the 7th year in a row.

Lexus had fewer than half the problems of an average car.

The study measures the durability of four and five year old cars and trucks. An average 1997 car had 3.82 problems vs. 1997 Lexus models' 1.73.

The LS 400 and LX 450 were #1 in their respective categories, while the SC 300/400 and ES 300 were in the top three.

[Deleted User] · November 2001

Hold off on the solenoid. Turning it 180 degrees and pushing it back in may not be the answer. You now have an item installed opposite of it's original installation. Acccording to the owners manual, lift the wipers off the glass and push them back down. I did this a few months ago and had no problems.

[Deleted User] · November 2001

One note on pushing the wipers down, hold the blade and the arm snugly so as not to bend either. They require a slow but firm push downward. You can do the opposite of this to put the blades in the winter position. Sometimes, as designed, snow or ice under the blades pushes them into the winter position. You can leave them there for the winter or return them to the retracted position as I described. This info is per my 99ES300 owners manual, but I don't see why it should be different for your 96ES300.

njbaran99 · November 2001

What kind of deal did you get on the 02' ES300 w/ Nav? Did you get the Mark Levinson Sound System?

I'm interested in getting one, but do not want to pay MSRP.

antiosama · November 2001

rugmankc, The 98 on ES300 and 92-96 ES300 had different mechanisms. The 92-96 ES300's, you can't manually lower the wiper arms by forcing them down. The only way is through the selonoid under the hood. On 98-on ES300s they changed the mechanism and they eliminated the selenoid.

dbor · November 2001

I was able IMO to get a very good deal. I think one of the prime reasons though was cited in an earlier posting. I live in Los Angeles and the competition is intense among the Lexus dealers. I got the ML/Navigation package with an MSRP of $39,343 for $36,300. I have since ordered the chrome wheels which was not included in the above price.

justfind6 · November 2001

Thanks for all the info, guys. I had visitors last night, forgot to play with the wipers, but I'll give the solenoid trick a shot tonight, and let you know how it goes.
Dave

cwdavis1 · November 2001

I live in St. Louis where the deals for a new 2002 ES are not very good, I am from LA and plan on moving back or at least being there again this summer. Can you tell me what dealer you were able to get $3,000 + off list for I also want to get the Nav/ML pkg. Thanks very much. I have looked at all the cars for the past 2 years including the Mercedes C320, I-35, Acura, Altima, Avalon, and most other cars in its category and I must say I am impressed with the Lexus and do have one on order for January but may delay purchase to get it from LA. My email address is cwdavis1@aol.com
Craig

Lexus ES 300/ES 330

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